Month: September 2012

Trader Joe’s Peanut Butter ‘Likely Source’ of Salmonella Outbreak

Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter is a “likely source” of 29 cases of Salmonella Bredeney infections in 18 states, according to CDC. Four people have been hospitalized.

The earliest reported onset date was June 11, 2012; the most recent illness emerged on September 2nd. Most of the illnesses developed during July and August.

Illnesses that occurred after August 29, 2012 might not have been reported yet, due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the cause of the illness is confirmed and reported. Three-fourths (76%) of the confirmed outbreak victims are children under 18 years of age; nearly two-thirds are male.

CDC has not released a list of affected states; however, some of the states have issued their own Alerts. These include:

The link between this outbreak and the peanut butter is based on patient interviews. Fourteen out of fourteen outbreak victims who were interviewed reported shopping at Trader Joe’s across the USA; twelve of the 14 (86%) reported eating Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with Sea Salt in the week before becoming ill.

Although the outbreak strain has not yet been found in a sample of the implicated peanut butter, Trader Joe’s has removed all Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with Sea Salt (16-oz plastic jars; SKU #97111) from sale in its stores, and has recalled all code dates of the peanut butter. The product was sold in Trader Joe’s stores nationwide and over the internet.

CDC has issued the following Advice to Consumers, Retailers and Others:

Contaminated Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter may make people sick.

  • Based on available information, CDC recommends that consumers do not eat recalled Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with Sea Salt and dispose of any remaining jars of this peanut butter product in the home or return the jars to any Trader Joe’s grocery store.
    • This is especially important for children under the age of 5 years, older adults, and people with weak immune systems.
  • Persons who think they might have become ill from eating possibly contaminated Trader Joe’s peanut butter should consult their health care providers.
    • Symptoms include:
      • Diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection.
      • The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment.
      • See Signs and Symptoms for more information.

Contaminated Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter may still be in consumers’ homes or available for sale on the internet.

  • Consumers who recently purchased recalled Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with Sea Salt are advised not to eat it and dispose of any remaining jars of this peanut butter or return the jars to the any Trader Joe’s grocery store.
  • Trader Joe’s has encouraged consumers to return the product to any Trader Joe’s grocery store for a full refund.
  • Retailers and food service operators should not sell or serve recalled Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with Sea Salt.
  • This product may still be available for sale from internet retailers.

What to do if you have Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter in your home:

  • Dispose of the product immediately or return it to any Trader Joe’s grocery store.
  • Even if some of the peanut butter has been eaten without anyone becoming ill, the rest of the peanut butter should be disposed of or returned.
  • If consumers choose to discard Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with Sea Salt, the product should be disposed of in a closed plastic bag and placed in a sealed trash can. This will prevent people or animals from eating it.

Recalls and Alerts: September 22, 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

  • Allergy Alert: Makowski’s Real Sausage Co. (Chicago, IL) recalls Real Sausage Co. Cooked White Bratwurst 4-1 and Real Sausage Co. Cooked White Bratwurst 3-1 (10 lb pkgs; Est 68744; Julian dates 17812, 18812, 25112, 25712 or 26512), because the product contains undeclared milk. The recalled sausage products were manufactured on June 25, July 5, Sept 6, Sept 12 and Sept 20, 2012 and shipped to foodservice distributors for hotel, restaurant and other institutional use throughout Illinois.
  • Food Safety Recall: Fresh Express Incorporated recalls Leafy Green Romaine Salad (9 oz pkg; Use-by date September 16; Product code I246A5BMG), after Listeria monocytogenes was found by USDA as part of a random sampling testing program. The recalled product was distributed primarily in the Midwest and Eastern states.
  • Pet Food Safety Recall: Kasel Associated Industries (Denver, CO) recalls Boots & Barkley American Beef 5-inch Bully Sticks (6 ct in clear plastic bag; UPC 647263899189; ALL LOT CODES), after the Colorado Department of Agriculture found Salmonella in the following four lots: BESTBY20APR2014DEN, BESTBY01JUN2014DEN, BESTBY23JUN2014DEN, and BESTBY23SEP2014DEN. Production and distribution has been suspended while FDA and the company investigate the source of the contamination. The recalled product was sold from April through September 2012 at Target stores across the USA.
  • Food Safety Recall: Safeway recalls Ground Beef Products (Sell by dates of 09-07-12 to 09-23-12) sold in Oregon, Washington and Montana, because the products include trimmings from beef that was the subject of XL Food Inc.’s recall and may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Please consult the Canada/USA Ground Beef Recall page for a complete list of recalled products, including retail distribution information.
  • Food Safety Recall/Outbreak Alert: Trader Joe’s recalls Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter (16 oz plastic jar; SKU 97111; All code dates), because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella. CDC reports 29 cases of Salmonella Bredeney infections in 18 states, including 4 people who were hospitalized. Fourteen out of the 14 case patients who were interviewed reported having shopped at Trader Joe’s locations; 12 of the 14 reported eating Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with Sea Salt in the week before becoming ill. The investigation is continuing. The peanut butter is sold at Trader Joe’s stores nationwide and on the internet.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall Update: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has expanded its Health Hazard Alert regarding ground beef products containing meat from XL Foods to include additional products and retailers. The ground beef products encompassed by the Alert may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. Please refer to the Canada/USA Ground Beef Recall page for a current list of recalled products, including retail distribution.

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: September 21, 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

  • Outbreak Alert: The Pennsylvania Department of Health is warning the public that Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with sea salt may be related to a multi-state Salmonella outbreak. According to the news release, there have been 29 cases of illness, including two cases reported in Pennsylvania. Trader Joe’s has removed the product fromits stores.
  • Food Safety Recall: Lunds & Byerly’s recalls Lunds & Byerly’s brand Marinated Chicken Breasts (including Tuscan Chicken Breasts, Northwoods Chicken Breasts, Lemon Herb Chicken Breasts, Applewood Chipotle Chicken Breasts, Chimichurri Chicken Breasts, and Raspberry Chicken Breasts), Kabobs (including Cajun Fireball Chicken Kabobs, Tuscan Kabobs, Northwoods Chicken Kabobs, and Raspberry Chicken Kabobs) and Great Food Fast Meal Kits (including Applewood Chicken & Maple Bean, Tuscan Chicken Risotto, Northwood Chicken & Cheddar Mac, Chimichurri Chicken & Roasted Corn Pilaf, and Raspberry Chicken & Wild Rice) sold since September 14, 2012, because the chicken used in these products may have been contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
  • Food Safety Recall Update: The California Department of Public Health releases an updated retail distribution list for cantaloupes recalled by DFI Marketing Inc due to possible contamination with Salmonella and distributed in the State of California.
  • Food Safety Alert: USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issues a Public Health Alert for imported Canadian Raw Boneless Beef Trim from XL Foods that may be contaminated by E. coli O157:H7. For more information, please refer to the consolidated recall information located at the Canada/USA Ground Beef Recall tab.
  • Outbreak Alert Update: CDC reports that a fifteenth person has been hospitalized due to infection with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes that was traced to contaminated Ricotta Salata cheese imported from Italy by Forever Cheese Inc. All fifteen people were hospitalized. Three deaths have been reported; listeriosis contributed to at least one of the three deaths.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: Watson Laboratories, Inc. recalls Hydrocodone Bitartrate and APAP Tablets, USP 10 mg/500 mg (500 count; Lot #519406A and 521759A; Expiry date April 2014), after a customer complained that some tablets were thicker and darker shade than the other tablets. Some tablets may contain higher than indicated amounts of the active ingredients Hydrocodone Bitartrate and/or Acetaminophen.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Evol Nutrition Associates, Inc./Red Dawn (Kennesaw, GA) recalls Mojo Nights (1 capsule/pkg; UPC 7 18122 11983 7) and Mojo Nights for Her (1 capsule/pkg; UPC 7 18122 12133 5) after FDA tests detected tadalafil and sildenafil in the Mojo Nights product. The recalled products were manufactured by Mojo Health (Lauderhill, FL) and distributed nationwide via retail stores and internet sales between July 2011 and July 2012.

Canada

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): Arla Foods AmbA and Vium Dairy recall Sliced Klovborg Toast Cheese (150g pkg; Best before 16.10.2012, 30.10.2012, 21.11.2012, 27.11.2012 and 02.12.2012), because leaks in the package may result in mold growth.
  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): Coop Trading A/S recalls COOP Chicken Strips (150g plastic trays; Product of Poland; Best before 22/9-2012, 27/9-2012 and 29/9-2012), due to gas production in the packages.
  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): Arla Foods AmbA recalls Puck Mediterranean Inspired Soft White Cheese 40+ (500g; Produced in Bislev Dairy; Best before 16.04.2013), due to gas formation that suggests bacterial growth in the product.
  • Food Safety Withdrawal (Denmark): Helsam A/S withdraws Holle Organic 3-Grain Baby Food – rice, maize and millet (250g cardboard box; Lot R11171; Best before 25.04.2012), due to high levels of Ochratoxin A in a sample from the lot.
  • Outbreak Alert (several EU member states): The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), in conjunction with food and veterinary authorities in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary report an investigation of 167 confirmed and 254 probable cases of Salmonella Stanley infections due to a common strain of the microbe. Epidemiological and microbiological investigations strongly suggest that the turkey production chain is the source of the outbreak; however other possible sources have not been ruled out. EFSA warns that additional human cases are likely to be reported until control measures are implemented and the source of the infections has been eliminated.
  • Outbreak Alert (Wales, UK): BBC reports that health officials are investigating an outbreak of E. coli O157 that may be linked to the Cantref Adventure Farm, a petting farm located in Brecon. Two children have been infected, but are recovering at home; two family members of one of the infected children also have tested positive for E. coli O157.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1346): Lead in cassava flour from Brazil; distributed to France.
  • Allergy Alert Notification (EU #2012.1347): Undeclared sulphite in candied ginger from Sweden; distributed to Denmark.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1348): Salmonella in sweet paprika powder from Hungary; distributed to Belgium, Iceland and the Netherlands.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Alert (Vietnam): The Plant Protection Department warns that up to 40% of bean sprout samples sold in Ha Noi’s markets are contaminated with harmful bacteria, including E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria.
  • Food Safety Alert (Philippines): The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources warn the public that shellfish collected at Dumanquillas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur, Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental, and coastal waters of Milagros in Masbate remain positive for paralytic shellfish poison beyond the regulatory limit and should not be harvested or consumed.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating another outbreak of acute gastroenteritis at a kindergarten/child care centre in Shatin involving 21 pupils between 3 and 5 years of age.

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.