Recalls and Alerts: July 26, 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

• Allergy Alert: Piccadilly Fine Foods (Santa Clara, CA) recalls Top Nosh Farmer’s Market Chicken and Yam with Coconut Curry Pies (Est #P-9216; Lot code 184-12), due to the presence of undeclared shrimp. The recalled pies were produced on June 29, 2012 and sold to a San Jose, Calif.-area distributor for further distribution.
• Allergy Alert: Spillson’s LTD recalls Texas BBQ Beef Sandwiches (4-oz; Best by date between July 20th and August 3rd, 2012), due to the presence of undeclared soy flour and wheat flour. The recaled product was sold at various convenience stores in Monroe, MI.
• Food Safety Recall: Gills Onions, LLC (Oxnard, CA) expands its earlier recall to include all diced, slivered and whole peeled onions and diced onion/celery mix with use-by-dates on or before August 3rd, due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products were shipped directly to retailers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington and Canada. US retailers impacted by this recall include KingSoopers, Fred Meyer, Ralphs, Food4Less, QFC and Albertsons, The expanded recall was initiated after FDA investigation revealed the presence of Listeria in the company’s facility.
• Food Safety Recall: Sartori Inspirations, LLC recalls Ciolo brand tapenades, goudas, cheeses and salsas (please refer to recall notice for details), because the products may contain onions from Gill Onions and may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled dips and spreads were distributed to Whole Foods Market stores in Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
• Food Safety Recall: Publix Super Markets (Lakeland, FL) recalls Sub Sandwiches With Onions, because the onions were supplied by Gill Onions LLC and may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled Sub Sandwiches were sold from the Publix Deli department between July 7, 2012 through July 26, 2012 in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Publix stores in Florida are not involved with this recall.
• Food Safety Recall: Spartan Stores recalls Spartan Stores Central Kitchen Three Bean Salad (5 lb bulk bag; Spartan code #329; All lots) and Spartan Stores Central Kitchen Broccoli Stir Fry (12 oz; Spartan code #010; All lots), because the products contain onions recalled by Gills Onions, LLC, and may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products were shipped between July 13th through July 26th, 2012 to VG’s Grocery, Spartan, Valu Land, VG’s Fresh Market, Glen’s Markets, Glen’s Fresh Market, Family Fare Supermarkets, and D&W Fresh Market stores.
• Food Safety Recall Update: USDA updates Retail Distribution List for frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products recalled by Buona Vita, Inc. due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
• Food Safety Alert (Washington): The Washington State Department of Health has closed Hood Canal to shellfish harvesting after tests detected diarrhetic shellfish poison at unsafe levels in molluscan shellfish from Hood Canal near Brinnon.
• Outbreak Alert Update: CDC reports that the outbreak of Salmonella Bareilly and Salmonella Nchanga that was associated with consumption of products containing raw scrape ground tuna is over. In all, 425 people in 28 states were infected with one of the outbreak strains, and 55 of those were hospitalized.

Canada

• Allergy Alert: Korea Food Trading recalls Lotte Choco Pie (336g; All codes) due to the presence of undeclared tree nuts. The recalled product was sold in Ontario.
• Food Safety Recall: Gills Onions LLC (Oxnard, CA) has expanded its earlier recall to include all Best before date codes up to and including 08/03/12 for the following products, because of potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination: Fresh Diced Yellow Onions (198g; UPC 6 43550 00044 3), Fresh Diced Red Onions (198g; UPC 6 43550 00045 0) and Fresh Diced Celery & Onions (198g; UPC 6 43550 00046 7). The recalled products may have been distributed nationally.
• Food Safety Alert (British Columbia): The BC Centre for Disease Control is reminding the public there’s a risk of illness associated with eating raw or undercooked bivalve shellfish such as oysters, clams, mussels, scallops, and cockles. Five cases of locally acquired Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections have been reported so far in 2012.

Europe

• Food Safety/Outbreak Alert (Ireland): Food Safety Authority of Ireland warns that one person in the UK is recovering in hospital from botulism after consuming olives from a jar of I Divini di Chicco Francesco brand Olive Bella de Cerignola (580g; Lot 161/11; Best before 10/06/2014; Product of Italy). At this time, there is no known distribution of the product in Ireland.
• Food Safety Recall (Germany): Societe Gabriel Coulet SA recalls Cosse Noire, Decasse, Castelviel, Cora and Auchan brands of Roquefort Cheese AOP (100g or  cut; Product of France; Batch #120466173 and 120466177; Best before dates from 07/28/2012 to 05/08/2012 and from 30/09/2012 to 11/19/2012), due to contamination with shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1067 & 2012.1068): Histamine in sardines from Morocco; distributed to France.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1069): Shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in chilled Roquefort cheese from France; distributed to Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1070): Listeria monocytogenes in sliced smoked salmon from Denmark; distributed to Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1071): Algae in bottled spring water from Denmark; distributed to Denmark.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1074): Glass fragments in colostrum from Germany; distributed to Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Slovakia and Switzerland.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (Hong Kong): Apotex Inc. (Canada) recalls Apo-Trifluoperazine Tablet 5mg (Batch #JW2265 and JW2266), as the indicated batches were found to be out of specification during post marketing stability study.

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.