Month: April 2011

Recalls and Alerts: April 29, 2011

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

  • Allergy Alert/Incident Report: A & J Bakery (Cranston, RI) recalls chocolate five-ounce Easter Bunnies (unlabelled cellophane bags) sold in the store because they may contain undeclared milk. The Rhode Island Department of Health has received one complaint of an allergic reaction.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Ethos Environmental, Inc. recalls Regenerect dietary supplements (Lot #100521, blue capsule sold individually in foil packets, expiry 5/2012; Lot #112850, clear capsule sold individually in foil packets, expiry 11/2013), after FDA confirms the presence of Sulfosildenafil (an analogue of Sildenafil), making these products unapproved new drugs. The recalled products were distributed over the internet to consumers in the USA and Puerto Rico.
  • OTC Pharmaceutical Product Withdrawal: Procter & Gamble withdraws Vicks Cold Remedy Child Nyquil – Contains Dextromethorphan – 18+ Age Restriction (UPC 32390001097 and 32390000742), because the current label is missing a statement about potassium content per dose.
  • Dietary Supplement False Marketing Alert: The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) is investigating several OTC Dietary Supplement products being falsely marketed as antibiotics under names such as Amoxilina, Pentrexcilina, Ampitrexyl, Citricillin, Amoximiel and Pentreximil. The products are distributed statewide in Texas and are targeted toward Hispanic consumers. For more information, or to file a complaint, contact DSHS at 512-834-6755.
  • Outbreak Alert (Update): As of April 21, 2011, a total of 218 individuals from 41 states have been infected with a single strain of Salmonella Typhimurium since April 21, 2009. The infections are associated with African Dwarf Frogs and water from their habitats. A single water frog breeder in California has been identified as the source of the implicated frogs.
  • Outbreak Alert: As of April 20, 2011, a total of 73 individuals from 35 states have been infected with a commercial lab strain of Salmonella Typhimurium since August 20, 2011. Ten people have been hospitalized, and one has died. Most of the outbreak victims either work or study in a microbiology lab, or live in the same household as someone who does.
  • Outbreak Alert (Worcester, MA): Worcester health inspectors are investigating an outbreak of illnesses in patrons who ate Easter brunch at Luciano’s Cotton Club restaurant at Union Station. Eight people have reported their illnesses to the city’s Health Department; as many as 35 people may have been affected, according to a report in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Gagan Foods International Limited recalls Rasm The Great Indian Tradition Minced Ginger Garlic and Rasm The Great Indian Tradition Minced Ginger, due to the presence of undeclared sulphites. The recalled products were distributed to retailers in Albert, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
  • Allergy Alert: Nikolaos Fine Foods Limited recalls various Breaded Seasoned Chicken Breast Fillets, because the product contains undeclared milk. The recalled items were distributed to hotels, restaurants and institutions in Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Prince Edward Island under the Nikolaos (Codes 04051104, 02241104, 03311104), Savory Secret Gold Coast (Code 02241104), Woodward Meat Purveyors (Code 02241104), Gabriel Pizza (Code 02241104) and Evanston Farms (Code 03311104) brands.
  • Food Safety Recall/Outbreak Alert (Update): The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) continues to investigate a series of 14 E. coli O157:H7 illnesses from three provinces. There have been no new cases reported since PHAC’s initial Public Advisory, issued on April 7th. Ten of the outbreak victims have been hospitalized; three developed hemolytic uremic syndrome. One individual with an underlying medical condition died. The illnesses are thought to be linked to the consumption of certain raw, shelled walnuts that were imported from the USA. Ten of the outbreak victims are from Quebec; the other four are from Ontario and New Brunswick. The suspect walnuts were recalled by the importer earlier in April.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0557): Diarrhoeic Shellfish Poisoning toxins in razor clams from the United Kingdom; distributed to Hong Kong, Spain and the United Kingdom.
  • Outbreak Alert (Sri Lanka): At least 70 students from a Christian Boys Hostel were admitted to Mannar Base Hospital due to food poisoning. The students complained of vomiting and severe headaches after consuming their midday meal.
  • Outbreak Alert (Xinghua City, PRC): Arrangements have been made to carry out emergency vaccination against hepatitis A in the village of Longnan Shimen after an outbreak of hepatitis was identified.The village is in a remote mountainous area, and has poor sanitation facilities.
  • Outbreak Alert (Isabela, Philippines): Twenty-six children aged 3 to 12 suffered from suspected food poisoning in Barangay Rang-ayan, Ilagan, Isabela. The victims apparently fell ill after eating snacks provided in a Disaster and Calamity Preparedness seminar organized by a private sector organization. Eleven of the children are still hospitalized.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Ethos Environmental, Inc. recallsRegenerect dietary supplements (Lot #100521, blue capsule sold individually in foil packets, expiry 5/2012; Lot #112850, clear capsule sold individually in foil packets, expiry 11/2013), after FDA confirms the presence of Sulfosildenafil (an analogue of Sildenafil), making these products unapproved new drugs. The recalled products were distributed over the internet to consumers in the USA and Puerto Rico.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall web site.

Sloppy Labs = Bad Labs = Salmonella Outbreak

Since August 2010, a commercial strain of Salmonella Typhimurium has caused 73 confirmed illnesses, including one death, according to a report released on April 28th by CDC. The illnesses are spread over 35 states. Pennsylvania is hardest hit, with six confirmed illnesses.

The median age of infected individuals is 24 years; their ages range from less than 1 year to 91 years old. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of the victims are female.

Ten (14%) of the 73 outbreak victims were hospitalized. While illness onset dates range from August 20, 2010 to March 8, 2011, the number of new cases appears to have peaked in the first half of November 2010.

Investigators found that outbreak victims were significantly more likely than a control group to have been exposed to a microbiology lab environment – some of the victims worked with Salmonella – in the week before becoming ill. Several children of individuals who worked in or studied in a microbiology lab were among the outbreak victims.

The CDC Investigation Report credits the New Mexico Department of Health with the discovery that the outbreak strain “. . .was indistinguishable from a commercially available Salmonella Typhimurium strain used in laboratory settings.” According to CDC, this strain was “. . .known to be present in several teaching or clinical laboratories associated with ill students or employees. . .”

This Salmonella outbreak has nothing to do with contaminated food, poor food handling practices, dirty water, or African Dwarf Frogs. It was caused, purely and simply, by careless handling of infectious bacteria, by sloppy lab practices, and by inattention to basic biosafety procedures.

I was trained as a clinical microbiologist, a clinical mycologist and a food safety microbiologist. I have spent most of my professional life working with food-borne and water-borne pathogens, including Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7 and Clostridium botulinum. And I am here to tell you that a sloppy lab is an unreliable lab. 

The first responsibility of a teaching lab is to teach its students how to handle themselves safety in a microbiology lab. Only then can students be trusted to handle infectious bacteria with proper respect for the risks involved.

The first responsibility of a clinical lab manager is to ensure that all of the lab personnel – and any visitors to the lab – are aware of, and follow, all lab safety and bio-containment practices. Only then can the results issuing from that lab be considered reliable. Only then can lab personnel – and their families and friends – be protected from lab-acquired illnesses.

This Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak should not have happened. It would not have happened if lab managers and teaching personnel had been paying attention to their first responsibilities. 

This outbreak is inexcusable!

Recalls and Alerts: April 28, 2011

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

  • Allergy Alert: Giant Eagle alerts consumers to a recall of Pierre Smooth Churned Moose Tracks Light Ice Cream (UPC 4817833036), due to the presence of undeclared wheat.
  • FDA Enforcement Action: At the request of FDA, U.S. Marshals seized breaded seafood products repacked by Fellerson, Inc. (d.b.a. K&S Wholesale Meats), for Soderholm Wholesale Foods, both of Sun Prairie, WI, because the products are adulterated. K&S Wholesale Meats allegedly repacked breaded seafood, including shrimp, haddock fillets, pollock fillets, and ocean perch fillets, under Soderholm’s “Seaside” label without having a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan in place, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. FDA issued a Warning Letter to K&S Wholesale Meats on Jan. 13, 2010, for not having a HACCP plan in place for their breaded seafood products. Although the company responded to the Warning Letter promising corrections, subsequent inspections in September 2010 and March 2011 revealed that the firm continued to repackage breaded fish without a written HACCP plan.
  • Recreational Water Health Alert: Oregon Public Health issues health advisory due to higher-than-normal levels of bacteria in ocean waters at Cannon Beach, Clatsop County. Direct contact with the water should be avoided until the advisory has been lifted.
  • Recreational Water Health Advisory: County of San Diego closes Carlsbad State Beach access points from 1000 feet north and south of Batiquitos Lagoon Outlet, due to sewage spill into the lagoon.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert (Update): Raymond-Hadley Corp (Spencer, NY) recalls Better Batter Pancake & Biscuit Mix (20oz., UPC 896439002070, Best Before July 2012 – March 2013), Better Batter Gluten Free Pancake/Biscuit Mix (2.5lbs., UPC 896439002032, Best Before December 2011, February – August 2012 & March 2013), Better Batter Yellow Cake Mix (18.25oz., UPC 896439002100, Best Before January – March 2013), and Better Batter Chocolate Cake Mix (18.25oz., UPC 896439002094, Best Before January – March 2013), because the products may contain undeclared milk. The recalled items were imported into Canada from the USA and may have been distributed nationwide.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Finland): Inex Partners Oy recalls Rainbow Hampurilaispihvi frozen raw hamburger steak (8 x 50g hamburger patties/pkg; Product of Denmark; Best before dates 03/14/2012, 03/21/2012 and 22/03/2012), due to possible Salmonella contamination.
  • Food Safety Recall Update (Ireland): McCarren & Co. Ltd. expands its earlier recall of McCarren Cooked Ham to include Batch code 4172 (use by 05/05/2011 and 07/05/2011) and Batch cod 4178 (use by 15/05/2011). The recall was initiated due to potential processing errors which may lead to microbial contamination.
  • Food Safety Outbreak Alert (France): Health authorities alert the public that certain fresh liver sausages – consumed either raw or insufficiently cooked – recently have been linked to about 10 cases of hepatitis E infections in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur region. The alert cites pork liver sausages made using either fresh or dried pork liver, dried liver, and sausages made from dried liver. Authorities urge the public to cook these products thoroughly or to avoid them altogether.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Alert (Denmark): Denmark’s Food Administration warns consumers against using certain dietary supplements sold through the Danish language website http://www.24h7diet.com, because the products contain harmful ingredients.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Recall (France): Special Products Line SPA (Pomezia, Italy) recalls Fosfomycine 3g, powdered for oral solution, due to inadequate sealing of the packets. The products were sold in France by Actavis, Arrow Generiques, Biogaran, EG Labo, Mylan SAS, Ranbaxy Pharmacie Generiques, Ratiopharm, Sandoz, Sanofi-Aventis and Teva Santé. Please see the recall notice for a list of affected product codes and lot numbers.
  • Outbreak Alert (Russia): Fifty-two Korean factory workers at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC in St. Petersburg developed acute intestinal infections after eating in the factory canteen. Forty-seven of the workers were hospitalized. The food was supplied by the Cedar catering company.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0543): Small pieces of rubber in Nestlé Milkybar Buttons from the United Kingdom; distributed to Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0544): Cadmium in frozen blue shark steaks from Spain; distributed to Poland.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0547): E. coli O157:H7 in frozen minced beef steaks from Germany; distributed to France.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0548): Histamine in fresh tuna fish loins from Sri Lanka; distributed to Italy.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0549): Glyphosate in red lentils from Turkey; distributed to Germany and Lithuania.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0550): Aflatoxins in L.I.F.E Chestnut Flour from Italy; distributed to Hungary and Italy.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0551): Procymidone in red peppers (paprika) from China; distributed to Germany.
  • Allergy Alert Notification (EU #2011.0552): Traces of milk in oxtail soup from the United Kingdom; distributed to Cyprus.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0553): Aflatoxins in kenkey manufactured in the United Kingdom, with raw material from Ghana; distributed to the United Kingdom.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0554): Fluazifop-P-butyl in fresh broccoli from Italy; distributed to the Czech Republic.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0555): Unauthorized import of roasted hazelnuts and roasted mixed nuts from Turkey; distributed to Denmark and Sweden.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket’s recall web site.