Month: June 2011

Recalls and Alerts: June 20, 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

  • Outbreak Alert: Two new cases have been added to the number of E. coli illnesses reported in the Tri-Cities area of Virginia and Northeast Tennessee, bringing the number of illnesses to 15 so far this year. Three different E. coli serotypes – O157:H7, O103 and O169 – have been recovered from patients in this outbreak. No common links have been uncovered.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Asian Food Centre Stores recalls Asian Ginger and Asian Dry Apricot (200g), due to the presence of undeclared sulphites. The recalled items were sold in Ontario.
  • Allergy Alert: Thrifty Foods #17 (Victoria) recalls Thrifty Foods brand Wholegrain Honey Oat Cookies (335g; Best before 24 JN, 11), due to a packaging error. The package actually contains Walnut Raisin Cookies and, therefore, contains undeclared tree nuts. The recalled item was sold in British Columbia.
  • Allergy Alert: JFC International (Canada) Inc. (Mississauga, ON) recalls Taitan brand Mixed Cereal with Five Black Paste (Product of Taiwan; 32g x 20 sachets; all expiration codes), because the product contains undeclared milk. The recalled cereal was distributed in British Columbia.

Europe

  • Outbreak Alert (Ireland): Consumption of unpasteurized milk is blamed for an incident of Salmonella gastroenteritis experienced by a 30-year-old man and his 3-year-old niece last year.
  • Outbreak Alert (Italy): Forty-six American students were hospitalized in Salerno (south of Naples) due to symptoms of fever, diarrhea and vomiting that they developed after eating meat pies.
  • Outbreak Alert Update (E. coli O104:H4): Germany has reported a total of 810 cases of HUS (27 deaths) and 2,684 cases of non-HUS EHEC (12 deaths) since the start of the sprout-related outbreak of E. coli O104:H4. In addition to the illnesses reported by Germany, other countries have recorded a combined total of 110 HUS and non-HUS EHEC illnesses, including one death.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (PRC): China’s drug authority has ordered the recall of amoxicillin and clavulanate potassium for suspension, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline Plc, because the antibiotic preparation, which is marketed as Augmentin Syrup, contains a banned plasticizer, DIDP.

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.

Hamburgers Confirmed Source of French E. coli Outbreak

It’s official.

The outbreak strain of E. coli O157 that sent eight children to hospital suffering from hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) earlier this month has been found in a sample of “Steak Country chez Lidl” frozen hamburger patties. The contaminated hamburger carried a Best If Used By date of 11 mai 2012 (May 11, 2012) – one of the three production dates recalled by La société SEB, the manufacturer.

The contaminated sample was retrieved from a patient’s house during the course of the epidemiological investigation into the outbreak, according to information released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nutrition and Fisheries.

Investigators are working to determine the origin of the contamination, to trace the distribution of the recalled meat, and to monitor the effectiveness of the recall. Italy’s Ministry of Health reported this morning that no E. coli was found in eight samples of Steak Country products seized from a Lidl distribution center in Arcole (Verona Province).

Of the eight children who were hospitalized at the CHU de Lille due to HUS, six are still in hospital – one in a coma. All are expected to survive.

E. coli O157 Outbreak In France Appears Contained

E. coli O157:H7 reclaimed the spotlight from E. coli O104:H4 in France last week when eight children were hospitalized with hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in Lille after consuming contaminated hamburgers.

The children are between 18 months and 8 years old. One child has been released from hospital; the others are described as being in stable condition and expected to improve, according to a report in this morning’s Nord éclair.

One of the eight children – a two-year old boy from l’Oise – is in a coma as a result of renal complications from his infection. He is reported to be improving slightly and, though remaining unconscious, is slightly more reactive than before. Three of the children are still undergoing kidney dialysis; one of them has begun to recover some kidney function – an encouraging sign, according to Dr. Michel Foulard of CHU de Lille. The other three children are recovering, and should be released from hospital at the beginning of next week.

A ninth child – a 7-year-old girl – was admitted to hospital in Jeanne de Flandre on Friday. She is described as suffering from moderate kidney insufficiency, but has not needed dialysis. According to the child’s mother, the girl did not eat any of the implicated hamburger. Lab tests are in progress to determine whether she is infected with the outbreak strain or with a different pathogen.

Epidemiological evidence, based on interviews of the children’s parents, implicated a specific brand of hamburger patties as the source of the infections. The frozen Steak Country chez Lidl hamburger patties were purchased from stores of the Lidl supermarket chain in the north of France. On June 15th, SEB – the manufacturer of the implicated product – recalled three date codes (Lot #10/05/11, 11/05/11, and 12/05/11)  – more than 14.7 tonnes of frozen meats. The recalled meat was shipped to centers in Steenvoord (11.6 tonnes), Rungis (1.7 tonnes) Ludres (576 kg) and Yffiniac (240 kg) for distribution to Lidl stores in the following départements of France: 22, 25, 29, 35, 45, 51, 52, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 62, 70, 72, 75, 76, 77 and 78.

According to SEB, the beef for the burgers originated in France, Germany and the Netherlands. Belgian authorities have confirmed that none of the beef came from Belgium, and none of the frozen hamburger patties were distributed to Belgium. Some of the implicated hamburgers may have been shipped to Italy. The Italian Ministry of Health ordered the seizure of five tons of Steak Country frozen hamburger patties and meatballs from the Lidl distribution center in Verona province last week.

This outbreak is small, when compared to the German E. coli O104:H4 outbreak, and of relatively short duration. The prompt initial reporting by local health authorities of a cluster of children suffering from HUS – compared to the slow reporting that apparently took place in Germany – and the swift recall announced by SEB and Lidl France, were instrumental in forestalling a larger outbreak.

With all of the attention that has been focussed on contaminated fresh produce in recent months, it’s easy to forget the ongoing risk represented by eating undercooked meat and poultry – and of cross-contamination in the kitchen or at the outdoor barbecue.

When eating out, order your hamburgers “well-done”. When cooking in or on the grill, don’t rely on subjective tests such as the color of the meat. Use a meat thermometer to verify that your beef, pork, fish, lamb or poultry has reached an internal temperature of 160ºF for ground meats or 145ºF for intact cuts.