A tip of the meat-thermometer to Herb Weisbaum for an excellent column on how stores could to a better job of notifying customers about recalled products.    Mr. Weisbaum points out that stores are the last line of defense in our food safety system.  He also points out that they often fail. 

California State Senator Dean Florez said his staffers found numerous recalled products on grovery store shelves when doing a spot check.  Senator Florez is introducing legislation to force stores to adopt systems to block the sales of recalled products.   Corporate food safety leader Costco already does just that.   This is especially important in light of a recent study that consumers are not generally in the habit of scanning their household for implicated products when recalls are announced. 

One place consumers can keep track of recalls is at www.recalls.gov.