I recently wrote the President of the free world, Barack Obama, with this vitally important question about canned soup. Here's the letter I emailed him, and his response.
Dear Mr. President:
I have a health care question:
Specifically, how do I know if a can of soup is okay to eat? I have 50 oz can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup in my kitchen. It's pretty old, but I'm not sure how old.
Will I get food poisoning if I eat this? Botulism? Or beriberi?
Personally, I think cans should be labelled more closely. In this day and age, maybe we could have some kind of microchip on the can that tells you if it the food contained within is safe to eat by lighting up an LED or maybe making a beeping sound.
Can you help me with this?
Who else should I talk to? The Department of Agriculture? The Department of Commerce? Is there some Department that deals specifically with soup?
Thank you for your kind attention,
Henry Harvey
It took a few weeks, but I finally received a reply.
From: The White House - Presidential Correspondence
Date: December 2 4:55:29 PM EST
Subject: Thank You for Your Message
The White House, Washington
Dear Friend:
Thank you for writing. President Obama has heard from many Americans about the security and safety of our Nation's food supply, and we want to make sure you are aware of some relevant information about this important issue.
Across our country, Americans are working hard to make healthy choices for themselves and their families, and our Government has a responsibility to ensure the foods we produce and consume are safe. In March 2009, President Obama announced the creation of a new Food Safety Working Group, chaired by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, to advise him on a modernized and public health-focused approach to food safety.
To further upgrade our food safety system, on January 4, 2011, President Obama was proud to sign into law the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, giving our country critically important new tools to protect our food supply and consumers. This legislation introduces sweeping improvements to our food system by ensuring more frequent inspections of food manufacturing facilities and requiring these facilities to take preventative actions to reduce the risks of outbreaks and foodborne illness.
Thank you, again, for writing. President Obama is grateful to hear from thousands of Americans each day, and we appreciate your taking the time to contact the White House.
Sincerely,
The White House f‚, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. f‚, Washington, D.C. 20500
Nice reply, but he didn't quite speak to my particular question about soup. So I wrote him back.
Dear Mr. President:
A couple of weeks ago I sent you an email about a problem I'm having.
Specifically, I have 50 oz can of Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup in my kitchen and I don't know whether I should throw it out or not. I'm not sure if I eat it whether I will get food poisoning and die.
My wife says throw it out, she calls me a food hoarder and she even threatened once to call in to that "Hoarders" show and have them come in to make me clean things out.
But I say no. There's too much wasting of food in this country. My mom survived the Great Depression, and she made us save every scrap. So I don't want to pour it down the toilet like my work buddy Jim told me, but I also don't want my family to die.
Why aren't you responding to my question? I hate to sound like a Tea Party nut, but I don't feel like my government cares about me anymore.
I'm a Democrat, but if I don't get satisfied on this issue, I'm thinking of voting for the other guys. I just wanted to warn you.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MY CAN OF SOUP!
A few more weeks passed without a reply, so I called the White House. They just gave me the run around, and eventually sent me over to the Department of Agriculture.
Then I called a so-called "soup expert" over at Campbell's. She told me to throw it out, but I think that's just a ploy to get people to buy more soup.
So for now, I'll just eat it. But if I die, I definitely won't be voting for Obama again.
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