Month: February 2012

Recalls and Alerts: February 9, 2012

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

  • Food Safety Withdrawal: Spartan Central Kitchen withdraws several prepared salads and sandwiches containing hard-cooked eggs that were recalled by Michael Foods due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
  • Food Safety Recall Update: USDA releases retail distribution list for Harold Food Co. Grand Strand Deluxe Chicken Salad, recalled by Bost Distributing Company because the product contains hard-cooked eggs that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled salads were sold in Wilco-Hess Gas Stations convenience stores in Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia.
  • Consumer Product Safety Recall: BSH Home Appliances Corp (Irvine, CA) recalls Tassimo Professional Single-Cup Brewers (Model Numbers beginning with TAS6512CUL; Date codes beginning with FD and within the range of 8905 through 9109) and Bosch® Single-Cup Brewers (Model Numbers TAS100, TAS200, TAS451, TAS46 and TAS651; Date codes beginning with FD and within the range 8806 through 9109), because the plastic disc, or T Disc, that holds the coffee or tea can burst and spray hot liquid and coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers using the brewers and onto bystanders. The recalled brewers were manufactured in Slovenia and China and were distributed throughout the USA and Canada.
  • Outbreak Alert: Ninety-five passengers and 12 crew members on board the Celebrity Cruises ship Celebrity Constellation have developed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea during a cruise that began on January 28 and is scheduled to end at Ft. Lauderdale on February 11th. The ship will be met by CDC environmental health officers on its arrival in port.
  • Outbreak Alert: One hundred and seventy-four (174) passengers and 11 crew members on board the Celebrity Cruises ship Celebrity Silhouette have developed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea during a cruise that began on January 29 and is scheduled to end at Newark, NJ on February 10th. The ship will be met by a CDC environmental health officer and an epidemiologist on its arrival in port.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Metro Marchée Verchères inc. (Waterloo, QC) recalls Pâté au poulet/chicken paté (500g; all units), Pâté au saumon/salmon paté (Frozen; 500g; all units), Pâté mexicain/Mexican paté (525g; all units) and Sous-marin trois viandes/Three-meat submarine (190g; all units), due to the presence of undeclared soy, mustard, and/or egg.
  • Food Safety Recall: Les Produits Kara-mel inc. (L’Ancienne-Lorette, QC) recalls Sauce à spaghetti Lorraine (500ml and 1 liter), Palourde Lorraine (500ml) and Moules fumées (250ml), because the perishable products were sold without refrigeration and may not be safe for human consumption.
  • Food Safety Recall: Société des Alcools du Québec recalls Vignoble Gagliano Vineyards Red Wine (750ml; 2009 vintage; UPC 8 27924 01401 8), due to the presence of process residues.
  • Consumer Product Safety Recall: BSH Home Appliances Ltd.  recalls Tassimo Professional Single-Cup Brewers (Model Numbers beginning with TAS6512CUL; Date codes beginning with FD and within the range of 8905 through 9109) and Bosch® Single-Cup Brewers (Model Numbers TAS100, TAS200, TAS451, TAS46 and TAS651; Date codes beginning with FD and within the range 8806 through 9109), because the plastic disc, or T Disc, that holds the coffee or tea can burst and spray hot liquid and coffee grounds or tea leaves onto consumers using the brewers and onto bystanders. The recalled brewers were manufactured in Slovenia and China and were distributed throughout the USA and Canada.

Europe

  • Allergy Alert (UK): Suma recalls Suma Organic Pesto Alla Genovese with Basil (190g; Best before April 2014), due to the presence of undeclared milk.
  • Allergy Alert (UK): Weetabix withdraws Oatibix Bites Sultana and Apple Breakfast Cereal (550g; Batch/date codes BB2201/2013 2022), due to the presence of undeclared wheat.
  • Allergy Alert (Ireland): Weetabix withdraws Oatibix Bites Sultana and Apple cereal (550g; Best before 22.01.2013; Batch 2022), due to the presence of undeclared wheat and gluten.
  • Allergy Alert (UK): Doves Farm withdraws Doves Farm Chocolate & Crispy Rice Bars (5 x 35g; Batch codes 1276, 2026, 1349, 1340, 1312, 1305, 1252, 2010, 1335, 1319, 1290, 1266 and 1243), because the product may contain undeclared milk.
  • Allergy Alert (UK): Waitrose recalls Waitrose LOVE Life You Count Spiced King Prawn Noodle Salad (230g; All use by dates), due to the presence of undeclared sesame seeds.
  • Food Safety Recall (UK): Marks and Spencer recalls Marks & Spencer Crispy Prawn Wonton, Marks & Spencer Crispy Vegetable Balls, Marks & Spencer Prawn Baguette Toast, and Marks & Spencer Prawn Siu Mai Selection (Use by date of 9 March 2012), because the products should have been labeled with a Use by date of 9 February 2012.
  • Food Safety Recall (Ireland): Marks and Spencer recalls Marks & Spencer Crispy Prawn Wonton, Marks & Spencer Crispy Vegetable Balls, Marks & Spencer Prawn Baguette Toast, and Marks & Spencer Prawn Siu Mai Selection (Product of Vietnam; Use by date of 9 March 2012), because the products should have been labeled with a Use by date of 9 February 2012.
  • Food Safety Recall (Greece): Carrefour recalls Mini Carrefour Kids Dutch Gouda cheese. Please see recall notice for details.
  • Outbreak Alert (UK and Netherlands): Eurosurveillance reports possible food-borne outbreaks of hepatitis A in the UK and the Netherlands that appear to be linked to consumption of semi-dried tomatoes.
  • Animal Feed Safety Notification (EU #2012.0204): Arsenic in mineral feed from France; distributed to Germany.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #0212.0205): Cadmium in frozen cuttlefish from Vietnam; distributed to Italy.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0206): Methomyl in cocktail tomatoes from Morocco, via France; distributed to Germany.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0207): Insect infestation in dried figs from Turkey via Slovakia; distributed to the Czech Republic.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0210): Salmonella in chilled minced pork from Sweden, with raw material from Germany; distributed to Sweden.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Recall (Singapore): Denis Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. recalls Ayam Brand Salmon Mayonnaise (185g; Best before 27 July 2014; Production Code MNLIAY SHIDBJN, MFG: 2011.07.27:J) after a consumer reports finding a metal fragment in one can.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Alert (Hong Kong): The Department of Health warns the public not to buy or consume the slimming product Xiu Zhi Su L-Carnitine Slimming Capsule, as it may contain the banned Western medicines sibutramine and phenolphthalein.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating a confirmed case of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection in a 46-year old male tourist from the USA. The patient left Hong Kong on January 19th.

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.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.

114 Tons Of Spinach Recalled By Stealth

Thanks to FDA’s weekly Enforcement Report summary, another stealth recall has just seen the light of day.

Leading the list of Class 1 Food recalls in the Enforcement Report for February 8, 2012 is the following item:

PRODUCT
Robert’s S 1 cut leaf spinach; “Curly” spinach. There is no specific type of labeling on the 30 lb totes, except a small sticker label identifying the “pup” container which identifies the harvest date and the field. Field: Robert’s S 1. Harvest Date City: Uvalde, Texas. Farmer: Jimmy Crawford. Pup container #s: “11-21 2011 TIRO TRES FARMS Roberts S1”, “11-22 2011 TIRO TRES FARMS Roberts S1”, “11-23 2011 TIRO TRES FARMS Roberts S1”, “11-25 2011 TIRO TRES FARMS Roberts S1”, “11-28 2011 TIRO TRES FARMS Roberts S1”, “11-29 2011 TIRO TRES FARMS Roberts S1”. Recall # F-0643-2012

CODE
a) 11/28/2011;.11-21 2011; 11-22 2011; 11-23 2011; 11-25 2011; 11-28 2011; 11-29 2011

RECALLING FIRM/MANUFACTURER
Tiro Tres Farms, Eagle Pass, TX, by letters on December 31, 2011. Firm initiated recall is ongoing.

REASON
Product tested positive for E-coli O157:H7.

VOLUME OF PRODUCT IN COMMERCE
228,360 lbs

DISTRIBUTION
CO, KY, MA, PA, and Ontario and Quebec, Canada

If this recall had been publicized – WHICH IT WAS NOT – the news release might have read, “Tiro Tres Farms (Eagle Pass, TX) voluntarily recalls 228,360 pounds of Robert’s S 1 Cut Leaf “Curly” Spinach, due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. The spinach was packed in 30-lb totes, bearing harvest dates of 11/28/2011, 11-21 2011; 11-22 2011, 11-23 2011, 11-25 2011, 11-28 2011 or 11-29 2011 and was distributed in Colorado, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania. In addition, some of the spinach was shipped to Ontario and Quebec, Canada. The recall was initiated after a sample of the product tested positive for E. coli O157:H7.”

Neither FDA nor Canada’s CFIA (Canadian Food Inspection Agency) carried a notice of this recall.

This recall was initiated by Tiro Tres Farms and announced – ONLY by letters to the company’s customers – on December 31, 2011. The recall is ongoing, and there is no indication in the Enforcement Report whether the spinach was sold by retailers, or how much of the product was actually recovered. By now, of course, the recalled spinach has expired.

As far as I can tell, there were no illnesses associated with the recalled spinach.

I realize that not all recalls are created equal, and that not all recalls require public notification. But I cannot understand the rationale behind NOT publicizing a Class I Hazard recall of a ready-to-eat item of produce that may be contaminated with a potentially lethal pathogen.

Would anyone care to explain this to me?

Recalls and Alerts: February 8, 2012

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

  • Food Safety Recall: Grand Strand Sandwich Company (Longs, SC) recalls Grand Strand Sandwich (4.5 oz; Sell by 02/24/12 and 02/29/12), Country Harvest Chicken Salad Sandwich (5 oz; Sell by 02/23/12), and Lunchbox Chicken Salad Sandwich (4.5 oz; Sell by 02/24/12), because the sandwiches may contain eggs that were recalled by Michael Foods due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled sandwiches were sold in convenience stores in the southeastern USA.
  • Outbreak Alert: An outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea has struck attendees of a cheerleading competition in Everett, WA. Onset of symptoms began on February 5th and 6th; the total number of outbreak victims and the cause and source of the illnesses are unknown. Sample testing and epidemiological investigations are in progress.
  • Outbreak Alert Update: The outbreak of Campylobacter infections linked to consumption of raw milk from The Family Cow dairy farm in Chambersburg, PA has grown to 43 cases in four states: Pennsylvania (36), Maryland (4), West Virginia (2) and New Jersey (1). The farm has been cleared to resume production and bottling of raw milk after passing a final inspection earlier this week.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency warns people who are allergic to egg, milk and wheat not to consume Bin Bin brand Spicy Snow Rice Crackers (145g; All lot/date codes; UPC 8 852098 703163), because the crackers contain undeclared egg, milk and wheat. The recalled product was distributed nationally, and is being recalled by its Canadian importers.

Europe

  • Allergy Alert (UK): Virani Food Products withdraws Virani Gram Flour, labelled as gluten free (2kg; Best before July 2013; Batch code BBE July 2013 010), because the product contains levels of gluten above the limits for foods labelled as gluten free.
  • Food Safety Recall (Belgium): Delhaize Belgique recalls Delhaize Ground Nutmeg (40g; Lot P017269; Expiration date 11/2014), due to the presence of aflatoxin B1 that is slightly in excess of legal limits.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (France): Laboratoire MSD France recalls Diprostene injectable suspension in pre-filled syringe (Lot 1011 and 1016; Expiry 12/2012 and 04/2013, respectively), due to impurities originating from the piston in a syringe in one of the recalled production lots.
  • Outbreak Alert (UK): Europe’s cold snap is blamed for a spike in the incidence of norovirus outbreaks in the UK. Outbreaks of gastroenteritis have been reported in 34 hospitals – confirmed to be norovirus in 19 outbreaks – and wards have closed in 23 hospitals due to the outbreaks.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0192): Mercury in smoked swordfish carpaccio from Italy; distributed to Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland.
  • Animal Feed Safety Notification (EU #2012.0198): Salmonella in bone and meat meal from Sweden; distributed to Italy.
  • Allergy Alert Safety Notification (EU #2012.0199): Undeclared hazelnut in hot chocolate mix with marshmallows from Hungary, with raw material from the Netherlands; distributed to Germany, Hungary and Malta.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0200): Oxamyl in courgettes from Spain; distributed to the United Kingdom.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0202): Foreign body in parboiled long grain rice from Thailand; distributed to Malta.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0203): Listeria monocytogenes in paté from Belgium; distributed to Belgium and the Netherlands.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (Hong Kong): Universal Pharmaceutical Laboratories Limited recalls Uni-Betasone 0.1% Cream (All batches) after Department of Health lab analysis found the cream to contain 1.2mg/g of betamethasone instead of just 1.0 mg/g.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Outbreak Alert (Chile): An outbreak of listeriosis has affected at least 24 people so far during 2012 in the region of Valparaiso. Health authorities are inspecting restaurants in the area and examining food served in those restaurants for the presence of Listeria.

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.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.