Author: Phyllis Entis

Recalls and Alerts: August 13, 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: Vaqueria Tres Monjitas Inc. recalls juice beverage with pineapple-guava (guava-piña) flavor (8-, 14-, 32-, 64- & 128-oz sizes; All lots), because the product may contain undeclared sodium caseinate, a milk derivative.
  • Food Safety Recall Update: Minnesota Department of Agriculture releases retail distribution list covering Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin for cilantro that was recalled by Fresco Green Farms (Winchester, CA) due to possible Salmonella contamination. The cilantro also was distributed in California, and was supplied to US Foods for redistribution; however no retail distribution list has been released for California.
  • Outbreak Alert (Washington State): King County Public Health has ordered the closure of the Bella Bottega Sushi Land restaurant after receiving complaints of foodborne illness and finding multiple food safety violations at the restaurant, according to a report in the Redmond Patch.
  • Outbreak Alert (Idaho): The Central District Health Department has logged 21 cases of Cryptosporidium illnesses in since the beginning of August (compared to an average of 10 cases per year in normal years). The Department has advised area swimming pool operators of the situation, and urges the public to take precautions to prevent spread of the disease.
  • Outbreak Alert (Cruise): CDC reports that 205 of 3652 passengers and 3 crew members on board the Carnival Cruise Line’s Carnival Glory developed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea during an August 6-11, 2012 cruise. The causative agent has not yet been determined.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Lennie Ciglen Distribution Inc. recalls Organic Pine Nuts – Repacked by individual retailers (5 kg, shipped between March 13, 2012 and July 31, 2012 inclusive; 12.5 kg, shipped between February 13, 2012 and July 17, 2012 inclusive) and Organic Pine Nuts – sold in bulk bins at retail (5 kg, shipped between February 21, 2012 and July 31, 2012 inclusive; 12.5 kg, shipped between February 2, 2012 and May 16, 2012 inclusive), due to the presence of undeclared peanuts. The recalled pine nuts were sold in Ontario.
  • Food Safety Recall: The Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food warns the public not to consume products containing basil that was recalled by Shah Trading Co. Ltd., because the basil may be contaminated with Salmonella. Please click on the Basil Recall Menu Tab for details.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Recall (Hong Kong): The Centre for Food Safety has ordered the recall of four additional Japanese infant formulae, due to low iodine content. The affected products are Meiji HP for 0 to 36 months old (850g; Manufactured by Meiji Co. Ltd, Japan; Use by date May 14, 2013 10:34/16A), Wakodo for 0 to 9 months old (13 grams x 10 packets; Manufactured by Wakodo Co. Ltd, Japan; Use by date November 16, 2013; Lot 2E17), Morinaga for 0 to 12 months old (13 grams x 10 packets; Manufactured by Morinaga & Co. Ltd, Japan; Use by date May 5, 2013; Lot 1K05/B39C) and Morinaga for 0 to 12 months old (820 g; Manufactured by Morinaga & Co. Ltd, Japan; Use by date December 25, 2012; Lot 1F25/F14). The Department of Health has been offering thyroid function tests to infants aged one to eight months who were fed the recalled formulae. Ninety-eight of the 99 infants who were tested so far displayed normal thyroid function.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Food Safety Alert (New Zealand): The Bay of Plenty Medical Officer of Health is warning the public to avoid all bi-valve shellfish, including mussels, pipi, tuatua, cockles, oysters, scallops, catseyes and kina, from the Bay of Plenty, due to detection of high levels ofparalytic shellfish poison along the coast. Paua, crayfish and crabs can still be eaten, but the gut should be removed before cooking.

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.

FDA Dumps More Jerky Data

FDA has done it again. Another chicken jerky pet treat data dump, this time listing 171 consumer complaints from January 1, 2007 through July 2, 2012.

And, with this data dump, the FDA’s Office of Regulatory Affairs has reached a new nadir.  The latest release of “information” is clearly incomplete, impossible to regroup by any criteria other than the assigned complaint number, and impossible to correlate to the lab analysis data dump issued by FDA last month.

What can we learn from this list of 171 consumer complaints? We can read about the pain and suffering – human as well as animal – that the mysterious jerky treat problem has caused.

I don’t understand the rationale behind this partial data dump, unless it’s an attempt by FDA to pander to the goal of “transparency” without actually being either informative or transparent.

The consumer complaint data were released in the form of a pdf document, rather than the original spreadsheet. Had the actual spreadsheet been provided, it would have been possible to group complaints by year, by brand of treat, or by FDA District Office that acted on the complaint – to get a small feel for the nature and scope of the problem.

At the time of the July data dump, FDA had already received more than 1,000 pet illness reports associated with feeding of chicken jerky pet treats. The 97-page pdf file released last week lists only 171 complaints received since January 1, 2007, and only 81 since last November, when FDA reissued a warning against feeding the treats to pets.

In its efforts to appear “transparent,” FDA is doing a good job of making itself look ridiculous. Who does the agency think it is fooling?

Recalls and Alerts: August 11, 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/Food Safety Recall (California): The California Department of Public Health reports three cases of Vibrio parahaemolyticus infections linked to eating shucked and in-shell raw oysters from Drakes Bay Oyster Company (Inverness, CA). Drakes Bay Oyster has recalled its shucked and in-shell raw oyster products (9 ounce, 1-pint, 1-quart and half-gallon jars or tubs; Lot No. 363 through 421; in-shell raw oyster tags marked with harvest dates from July 17, 2012 through August 8, 2012). The recalled oyster products were supplied to restaurants and to a few grocery stores in Sausalito, Berkeley, San Francisco, Novato, Oakland, Santa Rosa, Point Reyes Station, Calistoga, Cotati, Bolinas, Kentfield, Auburn, Petaluma, Sonoma, Fairfax, Inverness, San Rafael, Fulton, Windsor, Modesto, Marshall, Mill Valley, Olema, Nicasio, Tomales, San Geronimo, Healdsburg and Larkspur.
  • Food Safety Recall: Burch Equipment LLC (North Carolina) expands its earlier cantaloupe recall to include all of this growing season’s cantaloupe and honeydew melons that may remain on the market (cantaloupes identified by a red label reading Burch Farms referencing PLU # 4319; some cantaloupes may be identified with a Cottle Strawberry, Inc. sticker referencing PLU #4319; individual honeydew melons do not carry identifying stickers), after FDA’s finding of Listeria monocytogenes on a honeydew melon grown and packed by Burch. The recalled melons were sold between June 23rd and July 27th to distributors in Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia, Vermont and West Virginia. Grocery chains that were supplied with cantaloupes or honeydew melons by Burch include Hannaford, Food Lion and Reid.
  • Food Safety Recall: Fresco Green Farms Inc. (Winchester, CA) recalls Cilantro (10″ x 1 ¼” bunches held with brown rubber band), after routine USDA sampling finds that cilantro harvested from July 18th to July 27th may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled cilantro was sold in California and Minnesota beginning July 19, 2012 and was likely sold or removed from sale before August 6, 2012. Some of the recalled cilantro also was supplied to US Foods for redistribution to its customers.
  • Food Safety Recall: Missa Bay, LLC, wholly owned subsidiary of REady Pac Foods, Inc. (Swedesboro, NJ) recalls 293,488 cases and 296,224 individually distributed units of fruit, vegetable, and sandwich products containing apples (Use-by dates of July 8, 2012 through August 20, 2012), because they contain diced or sliced apples that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recall was initiated after Listeria monocytogenes was found on equipment used by Missa Bay, LLC to produced apple products. The recalled products were distributed to retailers (including Hannaford, Food City, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Ralphs, Food4Less, FoodsCo, Safeway, Giant Food, Stop & Shop, and Wegmans) and foodservice operators (McDonalds and Burger King) in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Washington D.C., Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia. Please refer to the recall notice for a detailed product list.
  • Food Safety Recall: US Nutrition recalls Pure Protein High Protein Bar, Chewy Chocolate Chip (1.76 oz; UPC 74982612644; Lot #EMO452C38 and EMO462C38; Best by Feb 14, 2012 and Feb 15, 2012 respectively) due to consumer complaints of a plastic foreign object inside some bars. The recalled protein bars were sold at Giant, Giant Eagle, Schnucks, Logli, Hilander and Kinney Drugs locations.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Marina Export & Import Inc. recalls Chichny Beef Stock (24g, Best – Bef 013/07; 576g, Best Before 2013/07 or Best – Bef 013/07), due to the presence of undeclared gluten and soy. The recalled product was sold nationwide.
  • Allergy Alert Update: Canadian Food Inspection Agency expands its August 9th Allergy Alert to include additional organic pine nuts (Product of USA), to include additional products, because the pine nuts contain undeclared peanuts. Please refer to the Allergy Alert for a list of affected products.
  • Food Safety Recall: Canadian Food Inspection Agency expands its earlier Health Hazard Alerts to include additional dried Basil products recalled by Shah Trading Co. Ltd, because the products may be contaminated with Salmonella. Please click on the menu bar (above) for a consolidated list of affected products.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): GIMA Catering A/S recalls Frozen whole barbecue chickens (1300; Production date 21/3-2012; Shelf life 12/9-2013; Product of Brazil), due to Salmonella enteritidis contamination.

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.