More Trader Joe’s Salads Recalled, This Time Due to Salmonella and Listeria

Check your fridge, Trader Joe’s shoppers

Crunchy grocery chain Trader Joe’s is once again recalling salads over food safety concerns. The company is pulling a variety of “fresh salads” from shelves in nine states — Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and New Mexico — due to possible salmonella and listeria contamination, reports USA Today. The products in question have best-by dates from October 15 through October 20. Trader Joe’s says no illnesses have been linked to the salads. The chain last issued a recall of salads in August because of an intestinal parasite.

LA’s siren song lures another New Yorker: Peter Meehan

Peter Meehan, former New York Times cheap-eats dining critic and David Chang business partner, is heading west for a new gig with the Los Angeles Times. Meehan will split time between New York City and LA and join the paper as a contributing editor, the company announced, and he will attempt to provide “the vibrant, layered coverage of food and culinary culture [Los Angeles] deserves.” More importantly, Meehan will play a part in filling some awfully big shoes.

Instacart raises a ton of cash; Beyond Meat heads for IPO

Instacart, the grocery delivery startup that partners with supermarket giants such as Kroger, Costco, Walmart, and Sam’s Club, just raised a $600 million in a round of venture-capital funding, according to Tech Crunch. That brings the company’s valuation to $7.6 billion — yes, billion with a “B.” Executives see no reason for Instacart’s growth to slow. “The U.S. is a $1 trillion grocery market and less than 5 percent of that is bought online,” chief executive officer Apoorva Mehta tells Tech Crunch. “It’s an enormous category that’s highly under-penetrated.”

Elsewhere in food-world financials, Beyond Meat, one of the big players in the “bleeding” veggie burger game, is headed toward an initial public offering. The company has hired some big investment banks to handle the business, reports CNBC, though no date for going public, nor a potential valuation, have been revealed. Beyond Meat will be the first of the new-wave vegetarian startups to hold an IPO.

And in other food news ...

• The New York Times reveals how George Motz, Emmy award-winning filmmaker and “America’s hamburger expert,” spends his Sundays.
• Since President Donald Trump has decided to wage trade war against China, American pork farmers have been collateral damage. The Chinese are looking less toward the United States and more toward Europe and South America for their pig products, reports the Wall Street Journal.
• A brilliant Canadian girl set up a cookie operation outside of a marijuana dispensary on the day weed became legal in the country. No doubt this clever kid took inspiration from a San Diego Girl Scout who pulled the same move earlier this year.
• Pork giant Smithfield recently destroyed 50,000 pounds of food after an employee was seen urinating near a a plant’s processing line, per the Takeout. The employee has been suspended pending an investigation, which hopefully will reveal whether this incident was the result of one foolish decision or a lack of time off during the work shift.
• Finally, the Great American Baking Show, ABC’s American cousin to the beloved British series, is coming back, according to Grub Street. The most recent season was pulled from the air last year after allegations of sexual misconduct against judge Johnny Iuzzini surfaced, but ABC has found a new cast. When Baking Show returns on December 6, veteran judge Paul Hollywood and host Anthony “Spice” Adams will be joined by Emma Bunton (better known as Baby Spice from the Spice Girls) as co-host and reality-television chef Sherry Yard as a new judge.