Recalls and Alerts: June 25, 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.

United States

• Food Safety Recall Update (Retail Distribution): On June 22, 2012, Dole Fresh Vegetables recalled Kroger Fresh Selections Leafy Romaine Salad (10-oz bag; Code N158 111B; Use by June 19), Kroger Fresh Selections Greener Supreme Salad (12-oz bag; Code N158 211B 1613 KR04; Use by June 19) and Wal Mart Marketside Leafy Romaine (Code N158 111B; Use by June 19), after a sample of the Marketside Leafy Romaine tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The Marketside salad was distributed in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, and was sold in Walmart stores (perhaps in states additional to the six states mentioned. The Kroger Fresh Selections salads were sold in Kroger stores located in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Knoxville, Tennessee, Greater Memphis, TN, Arkansas, Mississippi and Western Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, Eastern WV, Eastern Kentucky, and SE Ohio.

Europe

• Allergy Alert (Greece): EFET mandates the recall of Carrefour Chocolat Noir superieur (Product of France; 100g; Lot 2053 1 D; sold by Carrefour SA Marinopoulos), and Edelbitter – Chocolate mit Orange (Manufactured by Heilemann; 100g; Date 16/08/12; sold by Terkenlis SA), because the products contain undeclared milk protein.
• Food Safety Recall (France): La société Chevallier recalls Chevallier Neufchâtel cheese (All production lots available for sale on or after 17/05/12), due to contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled cheeses were sold in départements 27, 60, 62, 76 and 80 (see recall notice for a list of stores that carried the recalled cheese). This is a further expansion of two earlier recalls of Neufchâtel cheese by this manufacturer.
• Outbreak Alert (France): Four children and one adult have been hospitalized with E. coli infections in Bordeaux, according to France3.fr. The most severely ill child was confirmed to be infected with E. coli O157; results from other victims are expected on Tuesday. All five victims consumed contaminated hamburger. Hamburgers manufactured by la Société des Viandes Elaborées d’Estillac in Lot-et-Garonne have been identified as the source of at least three of the illnesses. The manufacturer recalled the implicated hamburgers on June 23rd.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0860): Mercury in chilled vacuum packed swordfish from Spain; distributed to Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0861): Various pesticide residues in fresh tomatoes from Macedonia; distributed to Slovenia.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0863): Listeria monocytogenes in raw milk cheese from France; distributed to France and Slovenia.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0864): Mercury in frozen slices of swordfish from Spain; distributed to Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0865): Excessive sulphite in frozen rose shrimps from Tunisia; notification from Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0866): Salmonella Newport in frozen turkey meat from Hungary, via France; distributed to Sweden.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0867): Campylobacter spp. in chilled whole chicken from Germany; distributed to Denmark.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0868): Salmonella spp. in frozen whole cleaned cuttlefish from Indonesia; distributed to Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0869): Methiocarb in fresh pea pods from Spain; distributed to Czech Republic.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0870): Deterioration of organoleptic characteristics of food in contact with roasted peanuts from Slovakia, with raw material from China; distributed to Czech Republic.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0871): Salmonella enteritidis in chilled turkey meat from Poland; distributed to Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0872): Trichinella in pork carcass from Poland; distributed to Lithuania.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Medical Device Safety Alert (Saudi Arabia): Saudi Food and Drug Authority warns healthcare practitioners and the public that Clever Chek Model TD-4232 Blood Glucose Meter (Manufactured by TaiDoc Technology, Taiwan) may not sound an alarm if insufficient blood is applied to the test strip. There is a potential for both falsely low and falsely high blood glucose results with this device. The Clever Chek Blood Glucose Meter has not obtained market authorization from the Saudi FDA.
• Outbreak Alert (Philippines): A family of four was hospitalized in Cagayan province after eating contaminated salted eggs. The eggs had been sold at a reduced price, because they had cracks.

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.