It was
test no. 874 – titled Centenary test at
Bombay – England were tottering at 58/5
– Gooch, Larkins, Gower, Boycott, Brearly were all back – a few runs after Bob
Taylor was given out caught behind……………………….
the rest is history. Indian
Captain Gundappa Vishwanath recalled the batsman though Umpire had given him
out – caught behind. At Trentbridge on the 3rd day of play (31st
July 2011) it was close to tea and the ground was filled with English
supporters. It was the last ball of
the 65th over, Ishant was bowling faster
– Morgan flicked the delivery to deep square – Praveenkumar made an ungainly
attempt at saving the ball – he did succeed in preventing it from touching the
rope. The batsmen assumed it was four –
still hesitantly Bell attempted another run – Morgan was not interested. Throw homed in, found Bell yards away –
Abhinav Mukund collected the throw, off came the bails – Indians went on appeal
and the Umpires gave Bell out. There were replays and the board flashed Bell
out. The famous English crowd which
repeatedly had been hailed by their own press as knowledgeable but always
displays partisan attitude jeered at the Indians. We have been told all along that the decision
of the Umpire is to be accepted !! Bell went to the fourth Umpire Tim Robinson
stating that he had heard the Umpires calling ‘over’. There are also reports that Strauss and
Flower went to Indian dressing room at tea asking Dhoni whether he would
withdraw his appeal. - eventually, the suave Dhoni allowed the
‘recall’!!!
Away
from Cricket – there are ‘recalls’ of products – of cars and many other
products.
Recently,
IKEA recalled pressure-mounted safety gates due to fall hazard. A product recall is a request to return a
product after the discovery of safety issues or product defects that might
endanger the consumer or put the maker/seller at risk of legal action. In Western World, there is liability arising
out of such mistakes and obviously the manufacturers would like to take
remedial action sooner and avoid any possible liability. The recall is an effort to limit liability
for corporate negligence which can cause significant legal costs and limit
ruination of the corporate image. It can be difficult, if not impossible, to
determine how costly can be releasing to the consumer a product that could
endanger someone's life and the economic loss resulting from unwanted
publicity. Recalls are costly having to handle the recalled product, replacing
it and possibly being held financially responsible for the consequences of the
recalled product.
This
post is something on ‘ice-cream recall’- while peanut butter and cantaloupe made big news in
recent years, ice cream is now the latest item to be pulled off grocery store
shelves due to food-borne-illness concerns. Tasting of ice-cream spelled trouble, as this
month's massive recalls of food that may have been contaminated with the deadly
bacteria ‘Listeria monocytogenes’ suggest that it could imperil people.
First,
Virginia-based Sabra Dipping Company recalled 30,000 cases of its Classic
Hummus after samples tested positive for the bacteria. Then, Texas-based Blue
Bell Creamery, the third largest maker of ice cream in the United States,
recalled all of its products from more than 20 states after reports of three
deaths and several illnesses in Kansas, Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma were linked
to listeria in its popular frozen confections. Most recently, Jeni's Splendid
Ice Creams of Ohio recalled all of its products and closed its scoop shops when
Listeria was detected in samples.
Listeria
is a genus of bacteria that contains 10 species, each containing two
subspecies. Named after the English pioneer of sterile surgery Joseph Lister,
the genus received its current name in 1940. Listeria species are facultatively
anaerobic, non-spore formingbacilli. The major human
pathogen in the Listeria genus is L. monocytogenes. It is usually the causative
agent of the relatively rare bacterial disease, listeriosis, a serious
infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacteria. The disease
affects primarily pregnant women, newborns, adults with weakened immune
systems, and the elderly. Listeria can
cause bacterial meningitis, an infection of the covering of the brain and
spinal cord that causes headaches, confusion and convulsions. It kills about
one in six of those infected.
The recalls could
be seen as more evidence of the dysfunction of the food safety system prevalent in US. The recalls are
uncommon: Listeria isn't usually found in ice cream, since the bacteria can't
grow at freezing temperatures. A spokesman for the Food and Drug Administration
said the agency has no evidence, for now, that the listeria found in Jeni's ice
cream and the listeria found in Blue Bell ice cream are connected.
According to US
FDA, as of Apr 2015, a total of ten
patients infected with several strains of Listeria monocytogenes were reported
from four states: Arizona (1), Kansas (5), Oklahoma (1), and Texas (3). Illness
onset dates ranged from January 2010 through January 2015. All ten patients
were hospitalized. Three deaths were reported from Kansas. The CDC and the
Kansas Department of Health and Environment report that there are five patients
who were treated in a single hospital in Kansas and who were infected with one
of four rare strains of Listeria monocytogenes. Three of these strains, which
are highly similar, have also been found in products manufactured one production facility in Brenham, Texas. The Texas Department of State Health Services
subsequently collected product samples from that facility. These samples
yielded Listeria monocytogenes from the same products tested by South Carolina. According to the Kansas Department of Health
and Environment, hospital records available for four patients show that all
were served ice cream from one company’s
prepackaged, single-serving products and
milkshakes made from these products.
Then in Mar 2015
came the product recall, whereby the affected ice cream products from the
market were recalled by picking it up directly from the retailers and hospital
settings it serves. The company has also shut down the production line where
the products were made.
The ice-cream
manufacturer hasn’t released estimates
on what the recall will cost the company but another Company, which also found
listeria linked to its product, has stated that it planned to recall retail
products and close ice cream shops in six states. The company announced plans
to destroy 265 tons of ice cream valued at more than $2.5 million. Typically
the company on the hook financially for a recall is the company that
manufactured the product, it is stated.
~and
the icing is that most of these liabilities are picked-up by their Insurers !!
With regards – S. Sampathkumar 13th May 2015. News collated from various sources including : www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies
