Category: botulism

Recalls and Alerts: September 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.

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United States

  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns GIB, LLC dba Brazilian Blowout (North Hollywood, CA) that Brazilian Blowout Acai Professional Smoothing Solution is an adulterated cosmetic, because it contains a deleterious substance, methylene glycol, that may render it injurious to users under conditions of use prescribed in the labelling.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns River Valley Ranch Ltd. (Burlington, WI) that an April/May 2011 inspection of the company’s facility revealed that the firms failure to fulfill the mandatory requirements for acidified foods renders the following products adulterated: River Valley Ranch brand Key Lime Mango Salsa, Spinach Artichoke Dip, Portabella Salsa with Key Lime Juice, Shroomschetta Mushroom Bruschetta, Portabella Pasta and Dipping Sauce, Spicy Shrooms, Dill and Garlic Pickled Mushrooms, and Wild Mushroom Burgundy Pasta and Dipping Sauce.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns King Juice Company, Inc. (Milwaukee, WI) that an April 2011 inspection of the company’s juice processing facility revealed serious violations of the juice Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Farm and Wild Fresh Paradise Gourmet Foods (Portland, OR) that an April 2011 inspection of the company’s produce repacking operation revealed serious violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulation in manufacturing, packing, or holding human food.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Kimriv Restaurant Group, LLC (San Diego, CA) that an April 2011 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility revealed serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation, and the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Hickory Smokehouse Miami, Inc. (Hialeah, FL) that an April 2011 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility revealed serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation, and the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for foods.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns National Bakery, Inc. (Scranton, PA) that a February 2011 inspection of the company’s food manufacturing facility revealed violations that cause several of your products to be misbranded within the meaning of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Guenther’s Bakery Ltd. recalls Guenther’s Multigrain Cookies (425g; Best before up to and including Tue, 20 September 2011), due to the presence of undeclared milk. The recalled product was sold in Ontario.
  • Food Safety Recall: Marchese Import Co. Ltd. recalls Cutolo Rionero Limoni in Acqua Minerale Lemonade (1.5L) and Cutolo Rionero Kinotto in Acqua Minerale (350 mL and 1.5L), due to the presence of unspecified chemical additives. The recalled products were sold in Ontario.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall/Outbreak Alert (France): La Ruche (Cavaillon, Vaucluse) recalls all Les Délices de Marie Claire preserves and has suspended operations after a production batch of its Tapenade verte aux amandes was linked to eight cases of botulism. L’Institut Pasteur reports finding botulinum toxin type A in a sample of the implicated batch of tapenade.
  • Food Safety Alert (Belgium): Consumers are advised that Les Délices de Marie Claire brand Tapenade aux amandes (Lot #112005; Best before 16-12-2012) has been recalled by the manufacturer because it has been implicated in an outbreak of botulism in France. A trace-forward investigation is in progress in France; it is possible that the product may have been introduced into Belgium by summer tourists.
  • Food Safety Alert (Denmark): Consumers are advised that Les Délices de Marie Claire brand Tapenade aux amandes (Lot #112005; Best before 16-12-2012) has been recalled by the manufacturer because it has been implicated in an outbreak of botulism in France. A trace-forward investigation is in progress in France; it is possible that the product may have been introduced into Denmark by summer tourists.
  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): DB OKS, A/S  recalls Minced Beef, 10% (Item #2251; Production date 30-08-2011), after Listeria monocytogenes is found in the product.
  • Food Recall (Denmark): Beauvais Foods A/S recalls Beauvais Organic Oatmeal with spelt, banana and strawberries (200g) and Beauvais Organic 7-Grain porridge (200g), because micro-holes have been found in the foil pouches in some packages.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1186): Insect larvae in wheat flour from Malta; distributed to Malta.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1188): Unauthorized formic acid in sour cabbage from Poland; distributed to the Czech Republic.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1189): Listeria monocytogenes in salmon from Latvia; distributed to Austria.
  • Animal Feed Safety Notification (EU #2011.1190): Dioxins in copper sulphite from Israel; distributed to Belgium.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1191): Listeria monocytogenes in smoked salmon from Poland; distributed to Italy.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1192): Mold in various nut and fruit bars from the Czech Republic; distributed to Denmark.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1193): Excess cyclamate in lemon-flavored drink from Turkey, via the Czech Republic and via Slovakia; distributed to Slovakia.
  • Allergy Alert Notification (EU #2011.1194): Undeclared gluten, milk ingredient and wheat in roast potatoes from the United Kingdom; distributed to Ireland and the United Kingdom.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1195): Insect infestation in jasmine flavored rice from Thailand; distributed to Greece and Italy.
  • Animal Feed Safety Notification (EU #2011.1197): Salmonella Senftenberg in soybean meal pellets from Brazil; distributed to Sweden.
  • Animal Feed Safety Notification (EU #2011.1198): Salmonella Senftenberg in rape seed meal from Germany; distributed to Sweden.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1199): Glass fragments in frozen blueberries from Romania; distributed to Germany.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1200): Excessive benzoic acid in guarana soft drink from Portugal; distributed to Italy.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Notification (EU #2011.1201): Unauthorized sildenafil thiono analogue in food supplement from Portugal; distributed to Spain.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (Hong Kong): Global Medical Solutions Hong Kong Ltd recalls Neurolite for Inj with Buffer Vial (Lot No. 0200U and 0200U1), as the drug’s US manufacturer (Ben Venue Laboratories Inc) has initiated an international recall after finding particulate matter – likely stainless steel – in the product.
  • Outbreak Alert (India): Thirty-six children were hospitalized in Hyderabad with food poisoning symptoms after consuming food purchased from a roadside vendor in Miyapur.
  • Outbreak Alert (India): More than 100 people – most of them students – were hospitalized in Balasore and Mayurbhanj districts with food poisoning symptoms.
  • Outbreak Alert (Thailand): One woman is dead and 42 others in Sa Kaew’s Khao Chakan district have been hospitalized with food poisoning after consuming improperly cooked pork at a funeral.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Food Safety Alert (New Zealand): High levels of norovirus have been found in shellfish in Canterbury river mouths, according to a report published in the New Zealand Herald online.

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.

Tainted Tapenade Sends Eight to Hospital in France

Eight people are in hospital today – 5 in Vaucluse and 3 in Somme – after consuming a commercial tapinade tainted with Clostridium botulinum type A toxin. Three of the eight are on life-support.

Botulinum toxin is a potent neurotoxin that may be produced during the growth of Clostridium botulinum. Even a small amount of the toxin, when ingested, causes a potentially deadly paralysis. Most instances of botulism are traced to consumption of home-canned foods. But this case is different.

All eight victims reported having consumed a commercially prepared “artisanal” tapenade of green olives and almonds, identified as follows:

“les délices de Marie Claire” Conserve de tapenade d’olive verte aux amandes, pot de 180g. Lot #112005; DLC 16/12/2012. Produced by “La ruche”, 84300 Cavallion.

The Institut Pasteur reports finding botulinum toxin in a sample of this product. The tapenade, which was sold in grocery stores in Bouches du Rhône, Drôme, Var, and Vaucluse, has been recalled, and consumers are alerted not to consume the offending tapenade.

La Ruche, the producer of the toxin-tainted tapenade, never registered with the Prefecture. The couple who own and operate La Ruche did not carry out appropriate control procedures, did not seek technical assistance, and did not have the proper equipment in place to sterilize their product effectively, according to Mme. Martine Clavel, Secretary General of Vaucluse Prefecture.

Because the company was unknown to Prefecture food safety authorities, its production facility – in operation since 2000 – was never inspected. Even a cursory inspection of La Ruche’s operations would have uncovered the egregious errors of omission and commission described by Ms. Clavel.

While the offending batch of tapenade is small – approximately 60 jars – the risk to the public is large. Prefecture authorities have ordered the suspension of all production activities at La Ruche in addition to the recall of all outstanding product currently in circulation.

Please check your pantry for any Les Délices de Marie Claire brand of preserves, and discard them safely or return them to the grocery store. DO NOT TASTE THESE PRODUCTS. Even a tiny amount may contain enough botulinum toxin to cause serious illness.

As always, “when in doubt, throw it out” is the safest policy.

Botulism Bites!

From time to time, my daily Recalls and Alerts post includes a warning from the Québec (Canada) Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that a “preserved” food – typically a sauce or soup – should not be consumed, because it was improperly processed or stored, and could present a risk of botulism.

This risk is not far-fetched. CDC has just released the following short report on two recent cases of botulism in the USA. Please navigate to the full report for a list of the authors and the background literature.

Notes from the Field: Botulism Caused by Consumption of Commercially Produced Potato Soups Stored Improperly — Ohio and Georgia, 2011

In January and April 2011, CDC provided antitoxin for treatment of two persons with toxin type A botulism associated with consumption of potato soup produced by two companies. On January 28, 2011, an Ohio resident, aged 29 years, was hospitalized after 5 days of progressive dizziness, blurred vision, dysphagia, and difficulty breathing. The patient required mechanical ventilation and botulism antitoxin. On January 18, he had tasted potato soup from a bulging plastic container, noted a bad taste, and discarded the remainder. The soup had been purchased on December 7, 2010, from the refrigerated section of a local grocer, but it had been kept unrefrigerated for 42 days. He was hospitalized for 57 days and then was transferred with residual weakness to a rehabilitation facility.

On April 8, 2011, a Georgia resident, aged 41 years, was hospitalized after 4 days of progressive dizziness and dysphagia. The patient developed respiratory distress, required mechanical ventilation, and was treated with botulism antitoxin. On April 3, she had tasted potato soup purchased from a local grocer, noted a sour taste, and discarded the remainder. The soup, stored in a plastic container labeled “keep refrigerated” in letters 1/8 inch tall, had been purchased on March 16, but had been left unrefrigerated for 18 days. She was hospitalized for 16 days and then was transferred with residual weakness to a rehabilitation facility.

Botulism is caused by a paralyzing toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria. C. botulinum spores are present in soil and can be found on raw produce, especially potatoes and other root vegetables (1). If a low-acid food such as potato soup is stored unrefrigerated in an anaerobic environment (e.g., a sealed container), without a barrier to bacterial growth, spores can germinate, resulting in bacterial growth and botulinum toxin production (2). Because heating food to a temperature of 185°F (85°C) for 5 minutes inactivates the toxin, proper preparation also is an important safeguard (3).

Improper storage has been documented in previous botulism outbreaks associated with commercially produced, chilled foods. Since 1975, 19 U.S. botulism cases were linked to six such products. Demand for prepared, chilled foods is increasing (4). Labels advising refrigeration might be ignored or not noticed, and do not warn about the danger of consuming unrefrigerated food. The Food and Drug Administration is reexamining labeling requirements. Storage at an improper temperature also can occur before products reach consumers (5). To inhibit the growth of C. botulinum and other microbes, an acidifying agent or other microbial inhibitor, such as citric or phosphoric acid, can be added to prepared, chilled foods before they are sealed in a package. This procedure was used successfully to reduce the danger of botulism from commercial garlic-in-oil products after two outbreaks (6).

Most people think of botulism as a home-canning risk. It’s rare that a commercial “preserved” product is the source of a case of botulism.

In the two cases just published by CDC, the foods – even though displayed in a refrigerated case and/or labeled “keep refrigerated” – the consumer stored their containers of potato soup unrefrigerated for weeks. Both consumers compounded their storage error by tasting the cold soup, even though the container was bulging in one instance.

This is one incident that can be chalked up strictly to the carelessness of a couple of complacent consumers.