Author: Phyllis Entis

Recalls and Alerts: October 15, 2011

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: E-Z Shop Kitchens, Inc. (Fremont, OH) recalls E-Z Shop Kitchen Seasoned Beef, E-Z Shop Kitchen Shredded Pork with BBQ Sauce, and E-Z Shop Kitchen Shredded Beef with BBQ Sauce, because they were produced without federal inspection. The recalled ready-to-eat products were packaged in undated 16-oz and 4-lb tub containers bearing establishment number P-19665, and were distributed to retail and institutional customers in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia between July 1 and Oct 6.
  • Food Safety Recall: River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC (Salinas, CA) recalls various Farmers Market and Hy-Vee brand bagged salad products (Best by 14OCT 2011 A106A and A106B; Produced on September 27, 2011), because the salad products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products were distributed in Iowa, Ohio and Pennsylvania and sold in Hy-Vee and Giant Eagle (Farmers Market brand) supermarkets.
  • Food Safety Enforcement Action: The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has ordered the destruction of vacuum packed chicken and ground pork products from Reis Meat Processing in Jackson, MO after lab tests revealed abnormally high bacterial levels.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: Les Fromages du Petit Mont Ham (Saint-Adrien, QC) recalls Caprinail, Caprirose and Caprimande goat cheeses (all packages bearing a Sell By date between October 6 and October 2011, inclusive), because the milk from which the cheeses were manufactured may have been inadequately pasteurized.

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.

CooperVision Avaira® Toric Recall Goes Public

October 14, 2011.- Today – almost two months after issuing a “recall notification letter” to its US and Canadian distributors and health care practitioners, CooperVision’s recall notice finally appeared on FDA’s website.

The essential details of the formal recall notice are as follows:

  • Recall Class: Class I (Class 1 recalls are the most serious type of recall and involve situations in which there is a reasonable probability that use of these products will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.)
  • Date Recall Initiated: August 19, 2011
  • Product(s): AVAIRA Toric (enfilcon A) TORIC soft (Hydrophilic) Contact Lenses, 6 Soft Contact Lenses for Astigmatism. The lenses were manufactured from November 1, 2010 through August 3, 2011. Consumers wanting to determine whether their lot code was recalled can use the search box on the CooperVision recall web page at http://www.coopervision.com/recall or call the toll-free consumer hotline at 1-855-526-6737.
  • Reason for Recall: The unintended presence of a silicone oil residue on lenses from certain lots of Avaira Toric contact lenses. Symptoms may range from hazy, blurry vision, discomfort to eye injuries requiring medical treatment.

Please refer to the Recall Notice for additional information and instructions.

As I reported yesterday, FDA has received a total of 42 “adverse reaction” reports from contact lens wearers. Only 15 of those 42 reports were associated with Avaira® Toric contact lenses. According to FDA spokeswoman Morgan Liscinsky, several other brands manufactured by CooperVision have been the subject of consumer complaints, including Frequency 55 Toric, Proclear, Sofmed, and Enfilcon A contact lenses.

Several eFoodAlert readers also have reported eye discomfort and injuries associated with wearing Frequency 55 and Proclear contact lenses, in addition to many others who experienced corneal abrasions after wearing Avaira Toric lenses.

While I am pleased and relieved to see that CooperVision finally has consented to issue a Class I Recall Notice, I can’t help wondering whether this would have happened without the story published by JoNel Aleccia of msnbc.com on October 11th.

I also wonder how much more time must pass before CooperVision acknowledges that their problem extends beyond the Avaira Toric brand.

Recalls and Alerts: October 14, 2011

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: Phil’s Fresh Foods, Inc. (Boulder, CO) recalls EVOL. Burritos Fire Grilled Chicken Fajitas (7-oz cartons; Produced between Feb. 2, 2011 and Feb. 3, 2011), and EVOL. Burritos Fire Grilled Steak Fajitas (7-oz cartons; Produced between Feb. 2, 2011 and Feb. 3, 2011), as the chicken fajita packages may contain steak, and the steak fajita packages may contain chicken. The recalled fajitas were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.
  • Food Safety Recall: Osamu Corporation (Gardena, CA) recalls frozen ground tuna (Lot #7013), because FDA found decomposition in several samples of the product and also found elevated histamine levels in samples taken from one retail location. The recalled tuna was shipped to three distributors – AFC Corporation, Red Shell Foods, and Pacific Fresh Fish Company – from 08/18/11 to 09/08/11. Pacific Fresh Fish Company is a Los Angeles cash and carry establishment; the other two distributors have sushi franchises located in grocery stores. Please refer to the recall notice for information on where these sushi franchises are located.
  • Public Health Alert: The Ohio Department of Agriculture has issued a public health alert for all meat and poultry wraps and salads produced by the Columbus Sandwich Company (Pickerington, OH) that were produced without the benefit of inspection.  The affected sandwiches and salads were produced from July 2011 through the present, and distributed to various retail and restaurant locations throughout Columbus (Ohio), including Global Gallery, Kafe Kerouac, Hagerty Hall at OSU (“Java Master”), Java Central, Underground Café, Java’s Cyber Espresso Bar (Convention Center), and Java’s Cyber Espresso Bar (Columbus Public Library).
  • Food Safety Recall: River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC (Salinas, CA) recalls 4 varieties of Hy-Vee bagged salads (Best by 14OCT2011), and 4 varieties of Giant Eagle’s Farmers Market brand bagged salads (Best by October 14, 2011), due to possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): WIOS Food ApS recalls all lots and dates of Tarte à la creme de cacao and Brownies, due to an excessive amount propylene glycol.
  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): System Fruit A/S recalls Fresh Estragon (20g; Lot #273, 274, 275, 276 and 277), because Salmonella was found in a sample of the product.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1427): Listeria monocytogenes in chilled gorgonzola cheese from Italy; distributed to Austria.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1430): Listeria monocytogenes in frozen smoked salmon from Denmark; distributed to Italy.
  • Allergy Alert Notification (EU #2011.1432): Undeclared milk ingredient in orange and grenadine flavoured ice stick from Belgium; distributed to Greece.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1433): Listeria monocytogenes in chilled sliced smoked salmon from Denmark; distributed to Italy.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Alert (Israel): The Israeli Health Ministry has warned the public not to consume the following smoked salmon products, because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes: Fish World EXTRA PRODUCT brand Smoked Salmon (150g pkg; Sell by 21:10:11 and 26.10.11) and Dlapis Ltd cold smoked salmon (200g; Dates 02:10:11 and 02:11:11).
  • Outbreak Alert (Afghanistan): More than 200 NATO soldiers who ate at a Germany army canteen in northern Afghanistan developed food poisoning. The 138 Germans and 68 military from other countries have recovered from their symptoms.

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.