Month: March 2012

Recalls and Alerts: March 6, 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: Tyson Prepared Foods, Inc. (South Hutchinson, KS) recalls Arrezzio-Cooked Beef Pizza Topping Manzo Cotto Per Pizza (2 x 5-lb pkgs per 10-lb carton labeled as “Cooked Pizza Topping”; Produced Jan 12, 2012; Est. 623), due to the presence of undeclared pork. The recalled product was sold to foodservice institutions nationwide via a distributor; it was not sold in retail grocery stores.
  • Food Recall: Lowes Foods recalls Gold Peak Sweetened Black Tea (UPC8390000645; Lot code APR 1312 AM 7 G ONLY), because the product does not meet quality standards.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Blossom Enterprises LLC dba Sea Blossom Seafoods (Olympia, WA) that a November 2011 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility revealed serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation, and the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Ming’s Food, Inc. (Chamblee, GA) that a May/June 2011 inspection of the company’s food warehouse and processing facility revealed serious violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulation for foods.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Breathable Foods, Inc. (Cambridge, MA) that a February 2012 review of the company’s website (www.aeroshots.com) determined that the product AeroShot is misbranded, in that the labeling of this product is false or misleading.
  • Consumer Product Safety Alert: FDA warns consumers not to use skin creams, beauty and antiseptic soaps or lotions that may contain mercury. The products are marketed as skin lighteners and anti-aging treatments that remove age spots, freckles, blemishes and wrinkles, according to a alert issued today by FDA.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert (Update): Perestroika Products Ltd. (Burnaby, BC) recalls Red Square brand Real Deal Energy Cookies – Oatmeal, Flax & Raisin (650g pkg containing 8 bars; Lot codes 35520.11 and 36120.11), because the product contains undeclared milk. The recalled product was distributed through London Drugs stores in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
  • Food Safety Recall: T. Lauzon Ltée recalls T. Lauzon Ltée Lean Ground Veal (2.5 kg; Code 343-11), due to contamination with E. coli O157:H7. The recalled ground veal was distributed to hotels, restaurants and/or institutions in Ontario.
  • Food Safety Recall: New Food Classics recalls unbranded Beef Burger – Classic (13.8kg pkgs; Prod Date 11 OC 12; Item 55240; Est 761), due to possible contamination with E. coli O157:H7. The recalled product was distributed to hotels, restaurants and/or institutions in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
  • Food Safety Recall: Choi Kee (North Kee Trading) recalls AA Meat Honeycomb Beef Tripe (22 lb; Produced between January 11, 2011 and February 8, 2012), AA Meat Duck Feet (40 lb; Produced between April 7, 2011 and February 8, 2012), AA Meat Beef Omasum Tripe (22 lb; Produced between January 11, 2011 and February 8, 2012), AA Meat Chicken Feet (40 lb; Produced between April 7, 2011 and February 8, 2012), and AA Meat Pork Uteri (40 lb; Produced between April 7, 2011 and February 8, 2012). The recalled meats were imported from the USA, where they were recalled by AA Meat Products Corporation (Maywood, CA) due to having been processed without the benefit of federal inspection. The recalled products were distributed to retailers, hotels, restaurants and institutions in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

Australia and New Zealand

  • Allergy Alert (New Zealand): Oriental Merchant Pty Ltd. recalls Crown Pie Chocolate Pie with Marshmallow Cream Biscuits (180 g carton containing 8 biscuits; All batches; Product of Korea), because the product contains undeclared egg. The recalled biscuits were sold in all leading supermarkets, Asian stores and independent retail outlets throughout New Zealand.

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.

Recalls and Alerts: March 5, 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: R&R Importers (Montclair, CA) and Shah Distributors, Inc. (Gardena, CA) recall Chef’s Pride Rewadi Candy (7-oz semi-round clear plastic container; Imported from Pakistan) and Shah’s Deer brand Revdi Sesame Candy and Revdi (Gud) Sesame Candy (14-oz clear plastic bags; Imported from India), because the candies contain lead in excess of permitted levels.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: Au Petit Bedon inc. (Québec, QC) recalls Boeuf en conserve and Boeuf aux légumes (packed in glass Mason jars; sold on or before March 1, 2012), because these perishable products may not have been held continuously at refrigeration temperatures following their purchase. The product labels lack the direction “Garder réfrigéré” (Keep refrigerated).

Europe

  • Allergy Alert (UK): Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc recalls Morrisons Carvery Cooked Ham (250g; Use by 13.3.12), because the product contains undeclared mustard.
  • Food Safety Withdrawal (Denmark): Summerbird A/S withdraws various Summerbird chocolate Easter eggs, including gift box collections and individual Easter eggs (approx. 30g net wt; All dates), because of a high concentration of yeast in the marzipan used in the filling of the eggs.
  • Food Alert (Belgium): La société Lorre NV advises consumers that Pignons de pin Marque Bingonuts (200g and 1kg bags; Product of China; Lot 5590; Best before 15/07/2012) contains traces of the Armandii type of pine nuts, which can produce a bitter aftertaste in some people.
  • Cosmetic Product Safety Recall (France): French authorities have ordered the recall of Rio Keratin “Grape Extract” Brazilian Keratin Treatment, Step 2 (118 ml and 946 ml plastic bottles; Lot #2549031), because the product contains excessive formaldehyde.
  • Animal Feed Safety Notification (EU #2012.0323): Salmonella spp. and excessive Enterobacteriaceae in fish meal from Germany; distributed to Belgium.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0324): Dead insects in dried figs from Turkey, via Slovakia; distributed to the Czech Republic.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0325): Salmonella spp. in frozen mechanically separated chicken meat from Poland; distributed to Lithuania.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0327): Mercury in mako shark defrosted from Spain; distributed to Italy.
  • Pet Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0328): Salmonella in dog chews from Brazil; distributed to Germany.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0329): Metal fragments (threads) in hazelnuts from Azerbaijan, via Germany and via Poland; distributed to Germany.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0330): Imazalil in fresh pears from the Netherlands; distributed to Germany, the Netherlands and Poland.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0331): Carbendazim in pumpkin from France; distributed to the Netherlands.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Outbreak Alert (India): More than 150 attendees at a wedding feast in Taufapur village fell ill after partaking in the feast. Food samples have been submitted for testing by health authorities.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Outbreak Alert Update (New Zealand): At least 31 cases of hepatitis A have been confirmed in the Auckland region, according to an online report by The New Zealand Herald. Students at as many as nine Auckland schools have been infected. The youngest victim is a 1-year-old baby; the oldest is 19. The Auckland Regional Public Health Service is investigating.

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.

Profiling Clostridium perfringens

Clostridium perfringens food poisoning usually is a consequence of poor temperature control.

Some history

Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) was first recognized as a cause of food poisoning in 1945.

What is C. perfringens, and where is its natural habitat?

C. perfringens is a spore-forming bacterium that is only able to grow in the absence of molecular oxygen (anaerobic conditions). The spores are able to withstand normal cooking temperatures. Spores of C. perfringens are found in soil, dust, and the intestines of animals and humans.

How is C. perfringens transmitted? What is the incubation period of the infection?

C. perfringens food poisoning results when an individual eats food in which the microbe has germinated and grown to elevated numbers (at least 500,000 per gram of food). The bacteria produce spores – and an enterotoxin – once they are in the small intestine. The incubation period for symptoms to develop is 6 to 24 hours; most victims develop symptoms 10 to 12 hours after eating a contaminated meal.

What is C. perfringens food poisoning?

C. perfringens food poisoning symptoms are the result of the enterotoxin that is produced when the bacteria sporulates in the small intestine.

What are the symptoms of C. perfringens food poisoning?

Symptoms include profuse, watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps and nausea, usually lasting for 12 to 24 hours, but occasionally lasting as long as 48 hours.

What is the prognosis of C. perfringens food poisoning?

The disease is self-limiting; however, symptoms can be more severe and longer lasting in the elderly or in debilitated patients. Rarely, the symptoms can prove fatal to the elderly, the debilitated or the very young.

What foods carry Clostridium perfringens?

C. perfringens is most often associated with meat dishes that are cooked in advance, cooled too slowly, and then reheated inadequately and held at a temperature that promotes bacterial growth. Under these circumstances, spores that are present in the raw meat and that survive the original cooking, are able to germinate and grow while the meat cools and while it is reheated and held.

How can people protect themselves from Clostridium perfringens food poisoning?

  • Always cool cooked food promptly in the refrigerator or freezer. Do not let food stand at room temperature for extended periods of time.
  • When thawing a frozen dish, do so in the refrigerator – not at room temperature.
  • When reheating a cooked dish, bring the temperature of the food to at least 165ºF (74ºC) before serving.
  • Always pay attention to recall notices, and return any recalled item to the store, or discard it in a sealed bag.

For more information on Clostridium perfringens and other food-borne pathogens, visit the CDC website or read Food Safety: Old Habits, New Perspectives.