Month: December 2012

Recalls and Alerts: December 24, 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.

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United States

  • Allergy Alert: Stehouwer’s Frozen Foods (Grand Rapids, MI) recalls Stehouwer’s Pigs in the Blanket (12 x 18-oz pkgs per case; Produced Sept. 27, 2012, October 25, 2012 and Dec. 13, 2012; Use by date Sept 27, 2013, Oct. 25, 2013 and Dec 13, 2013) and Stehouwer’s Pigs in the Blanket “FOR INSTITUTIONAL USE ONLY” (5-lb bulk pkgs; Produced Oct 25, 2012; Use by date 102513), due to the presence of undeclared milk.
  • Allergy Alert: Wayne Farms (Decatur, AL) recalls GFS® Honey BBQ Flavored Chicken Wings (4 x 4-lb bags/case; Est P-33885; Case code 572160; Production date 11/28/12), due to the presence of undeclared egg. The recalled products were shipped to a foodservice distribution center in Kentucky for distribution at the retail level in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
  • Outbreak Alert: The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment reports widespread gastrointestinal illness due to norovirus throughout Colorado, including in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, schools and child care centers.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: Charcuterie Transilvania (Laval, QC) recalls Saucisse ardelenesc (All products sold since December 12, 2012), because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled product was sold only at Charcuterie Transilvania, 806 boulevard Curé-Labelle, Laval, QC.
  • Outbreak Alert: Maltese Grocery (Thunder Bay, ON) has shut down its catering operations temporarily after 85 people developed norovirus gastroenteritis as a result of eating food at three events catered by the company, according to a CBC report.
  • Outbreak Alert: CBC reports that health officials in southwestern Alberta are investigating an outbreak of more than 30 Salmonella infections, mostly in rural areas. Many of the infections are secondary – spread by household contact.

Europe

  • Allergy Alert (Netherlands): Unilever Benelux recalls Unox Beef Ragout (Bar code 8712566235735; Expiry date 15/09/17) because the cans may have been filled with goulash soup and thus contain undeclared mustard.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Recall (Israel): Foodlee Sauces Food Products Ltd. recalls Soy Sauce (750g bottle; sell by date 10/19/2013), Sweet Soy Sauce (720g bottle; sell by date 10/19/2013) and Teriyaki Sauce (720g bottle; sell by date 10/19/2013), due to a failure on the fill lines that could affect product safety.
  • Outbreak Alert (Japan): The Japan Times reports that six patients have died of norovirus gastroenteritis during an outbreak at Shunkokaihigashi Hospital in Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture. In all, 44 patients and staff developed symptoms of gastroenteritis. Separately, 1,184 individuals at 372 companies based in Yamanashi developed food poisoning after they ate boxed lunches bought from the Runrun Lunch catering service.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Outbreak Alert (Australia): Health officials in several states are investigating an outbreak cluster of eight confirmed cases of Listeria monocytogenes that have been linked to consumption of Jindi and Wattle Valley brand brie and camembert cheeses. An additional three suspect cases may also be linked to the contaminated cheese. Illnesses have been reported in Queensland (1), Tasmania (1), Western Australia (1), Victoria (2) and New South Wales (3). Cheeses implicated in the illnesses were recalled on December 19, 2012.

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.

Cheese Blamed For Australia Listeria Outbreak

Authorities in several Australian states are investigating an outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes that has sickened eight people in New South Wales (3), Victoria (2), Queensland (1), Tasmania (1) and Western Australia (1). Three more cases are under investigation and may also be part of the outbreak. No other details have been released.

According to health warnings posted by the New South Wales and Victoria departments of health, the outbreak is linked to a number of Jindi and Wattle Valley brand soft cheeses sold at delicatessens and supermarkets throughout Australia. On December 19th, a recall notice for the following cheeses was posted on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website:

  • Jindi Brie – 1 kg
  • Jindi Camembert – 1 kg
  • Jindi Food Service Brie – 1 kg
  • Wattle Valley Brie – 1 kg
  • Wattle Valley Camembert – 1 kg

All of the recalled cheeses carry a Best Before date of 21 December 2012. As these cheeses are commonly cut into smaller portions for sale to the public, the original identifying packaging may no longer be available.

Advice to Consumers

  • Consumers are advised to check the best before date of any Jindi or Wattle Valley soft cheeses and, if from the identified batch, they should discard it or return to the place of purchase for a full refund.
  • Consumers who have purchased a cut portion of camembert or brie from a supermarket or delicatessen who are unsure of the brand should discard it. If in doubt, THROW IT OUT.
  • Healthy people usually show only mild symptoms. However, in people at risk, early symptoms of listeriosis include fever, headache, tiredness and aches and pains. Listeria monocytogenes can cause miscarriages in pregnant women, stillbirths, and death in people with compromised immune systems. Anyone who experiences symptoms consistent with listeriosis and who consumed brie or camembert within 70 days prior to becoming ill should seek immediate medical attention.

Prompt Prose: November Morning

“The truth is that our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters — people so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons that no sane person can possibly ever comprehend them. They walk among us every day.”

– Wayne LaPierre, National Rifle Association, December 21, 2012

November Morning

The pale November sunrise insinuated itself between the slats of the venetian blinds and shone apologetically onto the bed. Gavin stirred and woke as the feeble warmth of the sun hit his face. He tumbled out of bed and took his six-foot tall lanky frame into the bathroom to wash and shave. A pair of resolute steel-grey eyes stared back at him from the mirror as he went over his plan once more. It was flawless.

Once dressed, Gavin had a light breakfast – no coffee today – then headed for the garage. It was a typical suburban garage, filled with a work bench, garden tools, and the accumulated junk of 15 or so years. At the back was a steel cabinet, secured by a combination deadbolt lock.

Gavin surveyed the garage, satisfying himself that its carefully randomized clutter was undisturbed. Only then did he spin the dials on the combination lock. He heard a click as the final tumbler fell into place. He opened the cabinet and surveyed its contents: two Glock pistols, a Bernardelli 12- gauge double-barreled shotgun, and a Remington M-24 sniper rifle with a laser-assisted telescopic sight. And plenty of ammunition.

He took the rifle out of the cabinet and set it on his work bench. Expertly, Gavin stripped down the gun, then cleaned and reassembled it. He mounted the telescopic sight onto the rifle and did some practice sightings to check the laser alignment. Satisfied, he removed the sight from the rifle, unscrewed the barrel from the gunstock, and carefully placed each component into its molded compartment in a foam-lined case.

Gavin checked his watch. He picked up the case, went back into the house, and walked out the front door to his Taurus. After gently placing the case on the floor of the car, he slid behind the wheel. He buckled his seat belt, started the car and carefully drove to his objective – this was no day to get a traffic ticket. Parking the car down the street from his intended destination, he circled the block on foot to look for any sign of trouble, then entered a ramshackle office building through the side door.

Gavin walked stealthily up three flights of stairs and let himself into the room he had scouted three weeks before. He moved the window curtain a few millimeters and surveyed the street below, then looked across the street at the window where his quarry would appear. Satisfied, Gavin retrieved an air mattress from the closet. He pumped it up until it was the correct height for him to assume a prone firing position while resting his rifle on the low window sill.

He glanced at his watch again. “Better get set,” he told himself. “The Bitch will be in my sights in about 15 minutes.” Gavin affixed the telescopic sight and settled himself and his rifle into position. He looked through the sight and satisfied himself that everything was aligned. Ten minutes to go. The hardest part was the waiting. Five minutes; now two.

Wait, there was motion inside the room across the street. Gavin took a deep breath and held it as his target loomed large in the gunsight – the laser dot centered on the President-Electʼs head. Gently, he squeezed the trigger and saw the bullet strike, spattering blood, bone and brains all over the room.

“Nice shooting!”

Gavin jumped, startled out of his reverie, as the gun club manager handed him the paper target. “You hit the bulls-eye dead center.”

©2012 Phyllis Entis. All rights reserved.

A Note of Explanation: “November Morning” was my submission to the 9th round of National Public Radio’s “Three Minute Fiction” contest. The theme of this contest was “Pick A President.” I hadn’t planned to post this story, but changed my mind after reading the transcript of the National Rifle Association’s December 21st response to the Newtown school shooting.