Month: July 2012

Recalls and Alerts: July 19, 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: Gills Onions, LLC (Oxnard, CA) recalls Gill’s Onions brand Diced Yellow Onions (7 oz; UPC 643550000405; Lot code 22YAA1A2184; Use by 07/20/12), Diced Red Onions (7 oz; UPC 643550000412; Lot code 22RAA1A2184; Use by 07/20/12), Slivered Yellow Sweet Onions (5 oz; UPC 643550000092; Lot code 22YAA1A2184; Use by 07/20/12), Slivered Red Onions (5 oz; UPC 643550000009; Lot code 22RAA1A2184; Use by 07/20/12), Diced Celery and Onion (7 oz; UPC 643550000429; Lot code 22YAA1A2184; Use by 07/20/12), and Diced Celery and Onion (19 oz; UPC 643550000351; Lot code 22YAA1A2184; Use by 07/20/12), because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products were shipped between July 2-4, 2012 directly to retailers – including Fred Meyer, Ralphs, Food4Less, FoodsCo, QFC, Top Food and Drug, and Albertsons  in California, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington.
  • Food Safety Recall: Wegmans recalls Cherrystone Clams (Item #64681), because they were harvested from Long Island Shellfish Area NS-2, which was temporarily closed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation due to documented Vibrio parahaemolyticus illnesses in three people who ate raw or undercooked oysters harvested from this area. The recalled clams were sold on July 15th through July 17th in Wegmans stores in Virginia (Sterling, Fairfax, Gainesville, Woodbridge), Maryland (Hunt Valley, Columbia, Bel Air, Frederick), New Jersey (Princeton), Pennsylvania (State College), and New York (Rochester area, Syracuse area, Southern Tier area, Buffalo area).

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: Gills Onions (Oxnard, CA) recalls Gill Onions Fresh Diced Yellow Onions (198g; Product of USA; UPC 6 43550 00044 3; Lot code 22YAA1A2184; Best before 07/18/12, 07/19/12, 07/20/12), Gills Onions Fresh Diced Red Onions (198g; Product of USA; UPC 6 43550 00045 0; Lot code 22RAA1A2184; Best before 07/18/12, 07/19/12, 07/20/12) and Gills Onions Fresh Diced Celery & Onions (198g; Product of USA; UPC 6 43550 00046 7; Lot code 22YAA1A2184; Best before 07/18/12, 07/19/12, 07/20/12), due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products may have been distributed nationally. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is working with importers, distributors and retailers to ensure the removal of the recalled products from the marketplace.
  • Natural Health Product Safety Recall: Health Canada announces the recall of Vine Essence, an unauthorized natural health product distributed by United Wings Enterprise Inc (Richmond Hill, ON), after testing identified the presence in the product of low levels of undeclared acetaminophen and a quantity of lead that exceeds acceptable limits.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Recall (Hong Kong): PrizeMart Limited recalls TwoBebes Growing Up Milk 3 – for children aged above 12 months (Product of The Netherlands; 900g; All batches). The manufacturer recalled this product after Dutch authorities detected Salmonella in a dietary fibre (galacto-oligosaccharide) produced in Korea that was used as an ingredient in the powdered formula.

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.

CDC Declares Diamond Pet Food Salmonella Outbreak “Over”

CDC has just released the “Final Update” covering its investigation into cases of human Salmonella Infantis illnesses caused by contaminated dry dog food.

As of today (July 18, 2012), CDC has confirmed 47 cases of Salmonella Infantis in 20 US states; two additional cases were reported in Canada, bringing the total number of known human cases to 49.

Most illnesses developed between January 4th and June 26th. Of the 24 victims for whom information was available, 10 (42%) were hospitalized. The youngest outbreak patient was less than a year old; the oldest was 82.

There is no way of knowing how many dogs and cats were infected, as no government agency in either the USA or Canada tracks reports of animal illnesses. eFoodAlert has learned of at least 54 animals who became ill after being fed a dry pet food manufactured by Diamond Pet Foods in their Gaston, SC production plant. Eight of the 54 animals died.

The 47 US illnesses were identified in Alabama (2), Arkansas (2), California (3), Connecticut (2), Georgia (2), Illinois (4), Indiana (1), Kentucky (1), Michigan (2), Minnesota (1), Missouri (3), New Jersey (2), New York (5), North Carolina (5), Ohio (3), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (3), South Carolina (2), Texas (1), and Virginia (2). The two Canadian victims were residents of Quebec and Nova Scotia.

Geographic distribution of US Salmonella Infantis cases traced to Diamond Pet Foods dry pet food products

The outbreak investigation developed an interesting twist – a second strain of Salmonella Infantis was found in a dog food sample collected from the home of an ill person in Canada. This genetically different strain of Salmonella Infantis was identical to the strain recovered from sixteen human cases of salmonellosis in the USA. Those 16 cases are included in the total of 47 confirmed US cases. Ironically, the Canadian patient was infected with a strain of Salmonella that was not associated with the pet food outbreak.

As I reported on May 15th, FDA inspected Diamond’s Gaston production plant and found a number of significant deficiencies in the company’s procedures and sanitation. The Salmonella Infantis outbreak strain was recovered from samples of finished product; however, none of the environmental or ingredient samples tested by FDA were contaminated with Salmonella. Unfortunately, we’ll never know how the finished pet food became contaminated.

This outbreak of Salmonella illnesses has implications beyond the borders of the USA and Canada. Some of the recalled pet food was shipped to other countries in Europe and Asia. Neither FDA nor Diamond has been willing to provide a list of countries to which the products were shipped, although some of this information is available from recipient countries or distributors.

Additional information on the international distribution of the recalled food is likely to seep out as FDA adds the pet food recalls to its Weekly Enforcement Reports. In today’s report, we learned that the Solid Gold products affected by this recall were supplied to Singapore (confirming information released by Singapore on May 29th), as well as to Canada and the USA.

CDC has evolved a very effective system for identifying possible human disease outbreaks, and cooperates closely with other federal, state and public health agencies in the investigation of these outbreaks. Unfortunately, there is no similar system in place to detect disease outbreaks in companion animals.

FDA “accepts” reports of pet illnesses that may be associated with pet foods, treats or medications; however, there is no mechanism in place for tracking and collating these reports. Nor is reporting of these illnesses mandatory. As a result, hundreds of dogs and cats may have become ill and dozens may have died unnecessarily before this outbreak affected enough people to become visible to CDC.

It’s bad enough when human illness is the “early warning system” for contaminated human food. Why should people also be used as the mineshaft canaries for contaminated pet foods?

Recalls and Alerts: July 18, 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 Update: USDA updates retail distribution list for various meatballs and other frozen, ready-to-eat meat and poultry products recalled by Buona Vita, Inc. due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.
  • Outbreak Alert: An outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea has struck 99 out of 1918 passengers and 12 of 836 crew members on Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess. The ship is scheduled to arrive in Manhattan, NY on July 20th and will be met by two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist. The cause of the outbreak is not yet known.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: Sobeys Quebec Inc. recalls Earth Greens brand Organic Italian Blend Salad (198g plastic clamshell package; Product of USA; UPC 8 18431 00107 3; Best Before 2012 JL 13; Lot code 2217915MI), due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled salad is a product of Misionero Vegetables (Gonzales, California) and was imported by Sobeys Quebec Inc. (Montreal, QC) for distribution in Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario and Nunavut.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Alert/Recall (Hong Kong): The Department of Health advises that Westone Laboratories, Inc. (USA) has recalled Oto-Ease® Ear Lubricant, due to potential contamination with pathogenic bacteria and mold. Some of the recalled product may have been exported to Hong Kong. Consumers should stop using this product immediately and consult their healthcare providers.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Outbreak Alert (New Zealand): NZ Herald reports that two elderly women died after contracting Listeria, found in meat supplied to the Hawkes Bay Hospital. Two other patients also diagnosed with Listeria infections. It’s unclear whether the patients had contracted the illnesses while in hospital. The meat was recalled by Bay Cuisine Ltd. on July 16th, due to potential Listeria contamination. Bay Cuisine supplied its meat products to Hawkes Bay Hospital’s kitchen and cafeteria, in addition to the Mad Butcher and Preston shop chains.

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.