Author: Phyllis Entis

Recalls and Alerts: June 6, 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

  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Global Wellness, LLC (Hollywood, FL) recalls VIA Xtreme Ultimate Sexual Enhancer Dietary Supplement For Men (Lots #809013 and 806030), after FDA lab analysis finds sulfoaildenafil, methanesulfonate, sulfosildenafil and dimethylsildenafil analogs of sildenafil (an active ingredient of an approved prescription drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. The recalled product was distributed throughout the USA, Puerto Rico and Canada to Internet and retail consumers.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: American Regent recalls Methyldopate HCl Injection, USP, 250 mg/5mL, 5 mL single-dose vial (Lot #0152; Expiry date March, 2012), because some of the vials contain translucent visible particles consistent with glass delamination. The recalled product was distributed to wholesalers and distributors nationwide.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Nonuttin’ Foods Inc (Duncan, BC) recalls Fruit Explosion Train Mix, Berry Delight Train Mix, Raw and Shelled Sunflower Seeds, Blueberry Maple Granola and Cranberry Apple Granola (Best before dates up to and including May 31, 2012), because these nationally distributed products may contain undeclared sesame. One adverse reaction has been reported.
  • Allergy Alert: Quality Natural Foods Ltd. recalls Haldiram’s Rajbhog, 1-kg size, because some packages of the product contain undeclared sulphites. The recalled product was sold at retail stores nationally.
  • Food Supplement Safety Recall: Simply Thick, LLC recalls Simply Thick® thickening gel products manufactured at the Thermo Pac, LLC food processing plant in Stone Mountain, Georgia, because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advised the company that Thermo Pac, LLC failed to file with the FDA a scheduled process designed to ensure that vegetative cells (harmful bacteria) of possible public health significance are destroyed during the manufacturing process. This failure was discovered during an FDA inspection of the Thermo Pac, LLC Stone Mountain plant conducted from May 23 through June 3, 2011.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Global Wellness, LLC (Hollywood, FL) recalls VIA Xtreme Ultimate Sexual Enhancer Dietary Supplement For Men (Lots #809013 and 806030), after FDA lab analysis finds sulfoaildenafil, methanesulfonate, sulfosildenafil and dimethylsildenafil analogs of sildenafil (an active ingredient of an approved prescription drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. The recalled product was distributed throughout the USA, Puerto Rico and Canada to Internet and retail consumers.

Europe

  • Dietary Supplement Safety Alert (Switzerland): Swissmedic, the Swiss Institute for Therapeutic Products advises the public that a recent sampling of 122 imported weight-loss products revealed that most of the products are associated with a hazard to health. More than one-half of the products suffered from serious quality defects; nearly 90% contained unsafe active ingredients. Some products contained dangerous concentrations of sibutramine.
  • Outbreak Alert Update (E. coli O104:H4): As of June 5th, Germany reported 630 cases of HUS (including 15 fatalities) and 1601 cases of non-HUS EHEC infections (6 deaths), for a total of 2231 outbreak-related illnesses. Twelve other European countries have reported a total of 31 cases of HUS (1 death) and 73 non-HUS EHEC cases, for a total of 104 illnesses.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Food Safety has alerted industry and the public to seven kinds of fruit juice/syrup and powder for manufacturing confections (all products of Taiwan) that may be contaminated with DEHP. The trade has been instructed to immediately stop the use and sale of the named products.
  • Food Safety Recall (Singapore): Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore has suspended the import of Tachungo brand fruit juice concentrates and instructed the importer to recall the products after DEHP was found in a sample of the products.
  • Food Safety Alert (Taiwan): Many bakeries have been found using jams and flour that can be traced back to Yu Shen Chemical Co., which has been using DEHP-contaminated clouding agents in their jams.

Australia and New Zealand

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Global Wellness, LLC (Hollywood, FL) recalls VIA Xtreme Ultimate Sexual Enhancer Dietary Supplement For Men (Lots #809013 and 806030), after FDA lab analysis finds sulfoaildenafil, methanesulfonate, sulfosildenafil and dimethylsildenafil analogs of sildenafil (an active ingredient of an approved prescription drug used to treat erectile dysfunction. The recalled product was distributed throughout the USA, Puerto Rico and Canada to Internet and retail consumers.

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.

Domestic Sprouts Behind German E. coli Outbreak?

Bean sprouts grown in Lower Saxony (that’s in Germany, not Spain) are the latest suspects in the month-long German E. coli O104:H4 outbreak.

BBC Europe reports today that the epidemiological spotlight has landed on a plant nursery in Uelzen, south of Hamburg.

The German Ministry of Health is waiting for the results of lab tests before committing to this latest theory. For now, authorities are maintaining a warning against eating tomatoes, cucumbers or lettuce.

Nevertheless, the nursery has been closed.

While the outbreak strain of E. coli O104:H4 is a novel strain, sprouts of various kinds – beans, alfalfa, broccoli, et cetera – have been the source of numerous documented outbreaks of Salmonella and E. coli in Europe, North America and Japan.

The conditions used to produce sprouts – a warm and moist environment – are ideal for the growth of bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli. In many cases, the seeds used for sprouting are already contaminated with the microbes. And washing either the seeds or the raw sprouts will not remove the pathogens.

The German outbreak ranks as the deadliest recorded outbreak of enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC)- and one of the largest. As of today (June 5th), 627 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS), and a further 1,536 cases of “simple” EHEC infections have been reported from Germany. HUS is a life-threatening complication that is associated with EHEC infections.

Fifteen HUS patients have died in Germany, as have 6 of the outbreak victims who suffered from EHEC without HUS – an overall death rate of 0.97% (21 dead out of 2163 confirmed illnesses).

The outbreak has spread beyond the borders of Germany, with 31 cases of HUS (one death) and 71 non-HUS cases of EHEC (102 cases in all) reported from eleven European countries, including:

  • Austria.- 2 EHEC
  • Czech Republic.- 1 EHEC
  • Denmark.- 7 HUS; 11 EHEC
  • France.- 10 EHEC
  • Netherlands.- 4 HUS; 4 EHEC
  • Norway.- 1 EHEC
  • Poland.- 1 HUS
  • Spain.- 1 HUS
  • Sweden.- 15 HUS (1 death); 31 EHEC
  • Switzerland.- 3 EHEC
  • United Kingdom.- 3 HUS; 8 EHEC

All but one of the victims from these eleven countries reported having traveled to or from Germany during the typical incubation period for infection.

In addition to the European cases, the US CDC reports four suspect cases in the US – three of them suffering from HUS, and two suspect cases among US military service personnel in Germany.

Finding the source of the E. coli O104:H4 – if, indeed, the source has been found – won’t prevent the case count from continuing to rise. The incubation period, combined with the lab time required to complete a diagnosis, ensures that additional new cases will be reported. But the torrent should slow to a trickle over the next several days.

Even after the outbreak is over, this incident will fertilize numerous research projects. Still unanswered, for example, is why a disproportionate number of healthy women were stricken by HUS – a complication that more typically affects children. Questions about how this strain came into being, and why it is so deadly, also beg to be investigated.

Finally, expect the German people to question – rightly or wrongly – the competence of the epidemiologists and scientists at the Robert Koch Institute and the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment.

Recalls and Alerts: June 4, 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: Walnut Cheese Company, d.b.a. Avanti Foods (Walnut, IL) recalls mozzarella cheese products manufactured on April 21, 2011 because the products may contain beta-lactam antibiotic residues. A review of the cheese plant’s drug residue screening log indicated that one load of raw milk was not tested for antibiotic residues. The recalled products were sold at grocery stores, pizzerias and convenience stores across Illinois.
  • Food Safety Recall: Simply Thick, LLC recalls SimplyThick® thickening gel products manufactured at a food processing plant in Stone Mountain Georgia since June 1, 2009. The plant is currently owned and operated by Thermo Pac, LLC. The recall was triggered after an FDA inspection of the Thermo Pac plant, which determined that the company failed to file with FDA a scheduled process designed to ensure that harmful bacteria of possibly public health significance are destroyed during the manufacturing process.  The recalled SimplyThick® products were distributed across the USA and Canada.
  • Pet Food Safety Recall: Bravo! LLC recalls Bravo! Pig Ears Chews (50-ct. bulk Oven-roasted Pig Ears; Product Code 75-121; Lot #12-06-10), because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled Bravo! Pig Ears were distributed to retailers on the East and West Coasts between January 1 and February 28, 2011.
  • Food Safety Alert: Pacific Cheese has placed a “hold” on 26 million pounds of shredded and block cheese while it conducts an investigation into possible foreign materials in the products. Hilmar Cheese Co., the original producer of the cheeses supplied to Pacific Cheese has identified the possibility that some plastic mesh may have become shredded and mixed in with the cheese from several vats. No recall has been issued as of June 3rd.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: Churchill Medical Systems (A Vygon Company) recalls certain lots of 5 hospital-use convenience kits containing Skin-Prep Wipes that were affected by an April 2011 recall initiated by Smith & Nephew. The affected kits were shipped to distributors and hospitals between September 3, 2010 and March 11, 2011.
  • FDA Enforcement Action: At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S Marshals seized elderberry juice products that have been distributed by Wyldewood Cellars Inc. (Peck, KS), because the products are unapproved and misbranded drugs.

 Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Jasmine Mediterranean Foods Ltd. (Vancouver, BC) recalls Jasmine Foods Tahini (375 ml, 500 ml and 750 ml; Best before 30 Sep 2011) because the product contains undeclared peanuts. The recalled product was distributed in British Columbia. One adverse reaction has been reported.
  • Allergy Alert: Uncle T Food (Richmond, BC) recalls North flavored Pastry brand Black Sesame flavored Pastry (480g packages; all lot codes), because the product contains undeclared peanuts. The recalled pastry was distributed in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.
  • Allergy Alert: Gagan Foods Interntional Ltd. (Delta, BC) recalls all lot codes of Haldirams Nagpur Rasgulla, Gagan Punjabi Wadi Spicy Lentil Chunks, Gagan Aam Papad Candy, and Gagan Coconut Slice, due to the presence of undeclared wheat and/or sulphites. The recalled products were distributed in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
  • Food Safety Recall: Sweet Accessories Enterprises recalls Mango, Lychee, Sweet Yoghurt, and Blueberry drink concentrates, because the products may contain DEHP. The recalled drink concentrates were distributed to hotels, restaurants and institutions  in British Columbia.
  • Food Safety Recall Update: Tree of Life Canada (Surrey, BC) recalls all lot codes and best before dates of King James Blue Stilton Cheese, 2-kg and 4-kg sizes, because the product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled product was imported from the United Kingdom and distributed across Canada.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: Taro Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc. recalls Docusate Sodium Capsules USP (100 mg; Lot #31040225) due to possible contamination with Cronobacter (Enterobacter) sakazakii – a bacterium that is a rare cause of serious or life-threatening infections, particularly in premature infants and other vulnerable individuals.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Advisory (PRC): China has suspended imports of 812 products that may be contaminated with DEHP. The list of affected products includes beverages, food and additives.
  • Food Safety Advisory (Taiwan): Bakeries in Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung, Yunlin, Tainan and Kaohsiung have been found to be using ingredients that may be contaminated with DEHP.
  • Food Safety Advisory (Taiwan): The Department of Health has barred the importation by New Zealand Beef of nearly 100 tons of U.S. beef after finding the banned drug ractopamine in samples of the beef.

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.