Category: Campylobacter

Recalls and Alerts: February 8, 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

  • Food Safety Recall: Grand Strand Sandwich Company (Longs, SC) recalls Grand Strand Sandwich (4.5 oz; Sell by 02/24/12 and 02/29/12), Country Harvest Chicken Salad Sandwich (5 oz; Sell by 02/23/12), and Lunchbox Chicken Salad Sandwich (4.5 oz; Sell by 02/24/12), because the sandwiches may contain eggs that were recalled by Michael Foods due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled sandwiches were sold in convenience stores in the southeastern USA.
  • Outbreak Alert: An outbreak of vomiting and diarrhea has struck attendees of a cheerleading competition in Everett, WA. Onset of symptoms began on February 5th and 6th; the total number of outbreak victims and the cause and source of the illnesses are unknown. Sample testing and epidemiological investigations are in progress.
  • Outbreak Alert Update: The outbreak of Campylobacter infections linked to consumption of raw milk from The Family Cow dairy farm in Chambersburg, PA has grown to 43 cases in four states: Pennsylvania (36), Maryland (4), West Virginia (2) and New Jersey (1). The farm has been cleared to resume production and bottling of raw milk after passing a final inspection earlier this week.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency warns people who are allergic to egg, milk and wheat not to consume Bin Bin brand Spicy Snow Rice Crackers (145g; All lot/date codes; UPC 8 852098 703163), because the crackers contain undeclared egg, milk and wheat. The recalled product was distributed nationally, and is being recalled by its Canadian importers.

Europe

  • Allergy Alert (UK): Virani Food Products withdraws Virani Gram Flour, labelled as gluten free (2kg; Best before July 2013; Batch code BBE July 2013 010), because the product contains levels of gluten above the limits for foods labelled as gluten free.
  • Food Safety Recall (Belgium): Delhaize Belgique recalls Delhaize Ground Nutmeg (40g; Lot P017269; Expiration date 11/2014), due to the presence of aflatoxin B1 that is slightly in excess of legal limits.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (France): Laboratoire MSD France recalls Diprostene injectable suspension in pre-filled syringe (Lot 1011 and 1016; Expiry 12/2012 and 04/2013, respectively), due to impurities originating from the piston in a syringe in one of the recalled production lots.
  • Outbreak Alert (UK): Europe’s cold snap is blamed for a spike in the incidence of norovirus outbreaks in the UK. Outbreaks of gastroenteritis have been reported in 34 hospitals – confirmed to be norovirus in 19 outbreaks – and wards have closed in 23 hospitals due to the outbreaks.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0192): Mercury in smoked swordfish carpaccio from Italy; distributed to Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Switzerland.
  • Animal Feed Safety Notification (EU #2012.0198): Salmonella in bone and meat meal from Sweden; distributed to Italy.
  • Allergy Alert Safety Notification (EU #2012.0199): Undeclared hazelnut in hot chocolate mix with marshmallows from Hungary, with raw material from the Netherlands; distributed to Germany, Hungary and Malta.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0200): Oxamyl in courgettes from Spain; distributed to the United Kingdom.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0202): Foreign body in parboiled long grain rice from Thailand; distributed to Malta.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0203): Listeria monocytogenes in paté from Belgium; distributed to Belgium and the Netherlands.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (Hong Kong): Universal Pharmaceutical Laboratories Limited recalls Uni-Betasone 0.1% Cream (All batches) after Department of Health lab analysis found the cream to contain 1.2mg/g of betamethasone instead of just 1.0 mg/g.

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Outbreak Alert (Chile): An outbreak of listeriosis has affected at least 24 people so far during 2012 in the region of Valparaiso. Health authorities are inspecting restaurants in the area and examining food served in those restaurants for the presence of Listeria.

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.

Recalls and Alerts: February 3, 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

  • Food Safety Recall: Greencore USA (Cincinnati, OH) recalls Thornton’s Quick Café Chef Salad (5.6-oz plastic containers; Enjoy By date through 2/4/2012; Est. P-38518), because the salads were prepared using eggs that have been recalled due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled Chef Salad was sold at Thorntons stores in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee.
  • Food Safety Recall: Allison’s Gourmet Kitchens (Moore, OK) recalls various prepared salads containing cooked eggs that were recalled by Michael Foods, Inc. due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled prepared salads were sold to retail stores and food service customers in Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida, Tennessee and Missouri. Please see the recall notice for a detailed list of affected items, which were sold under the brand names Deli Fresh, Hill Country Fare, Brookshire’s, Allison’s Gourmet Kitchens, Food Lion, Bakers Kitchens, Dot Foods, Produce House, Hannaford Brothers, and Chef Prepared.
  • Food Safety Recall: GH Foods SW (Houston, TX) recalls Fresh Garden Highway Cobb Salad (7.5-oz plastic containers; Sell By dates through 2/6/2012), because the salads were prepared using eggs that have been recalled due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled Cobb Salads were sold at Kroger Stores in Texas.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: Bedford Laboratories (Bedford, OH) recalls Acetylcysteine Solution, USP (Manufactured for Roxane Laboratories, Inc.) 20% (30mL/vial; Lot 1877093; Exp. June 2013), after a glass particle was found in a single vial.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Alert: Pedinol Pharmacal Inc. announces health advisory for Gris-PEG (griseofulvin ultramicrosize) 125mg and 250mg, which was packaged for Pedinol by Novartis Consumer Health in Lincoln, Nebraska. Pedinol advises healthcare professionals, pharmacists and patients that, due to problems occurring when the Gris-PEG was packaged and labeled, tablets from one product type may have carried over into packaging of another product. This could result in a stray pill of one medicine ending up in the bottle of another product. Please navigate to the Pedinol site for  detailed information on how to correctly identify Gris-PEG 125mg and 250mg tablets.
  • Outbreak Alert Update: The number of people sickened by Campylobacter after drinking raw milk from The Family Cow dairy farm has risen to 35 confirmed cases in Pennsylvania (28), Maryland (4) and New Jersey (1), according to a report released by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Maryland has found the pathogen in two bottles of raw milk produced at the farm. The Family Cow dairy farm voluntarily suspended sale of milk on January 31st, and health departments are advising consumers to discard any raw milk purchased from the dairy since January 1, 2012.
  • Outbreak Alert: The South Dakota Department of Health is investigating an outbreak of diarrhea – suspected to be food-related – linked to a Tuesday evening boys’ high school basketball game in Pierre.
  • Outbreak Alert: South Carolina health officials are investigating a suspected norovirus outbreak at the Lila Doyle Rehabilitation and Nursing Care Facility in Oconee County. The nursing home, which has been closed to new admissions until the outbreak has been contained, is owned and operated by the Oconee Medical Center.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. recalls Kirkland Signature Banana Loaves, Red Velvet Cupcakes, and Mix and Match Muffins (Best before February 4th, 2012), because the products may contain pieces of white plastic. The recalled baked goods were produced in the East Winnipeg Costco warehouse between January 31st and February 1st, 2012 inclusive. Baked goods produced at other Costco locations are not affected by this recall.
  • Food Safety Recall: New Horizon Co-Operative Ltd. recalls Co-op Lean Ground Beef Ground from Canadian Trim (various weight packages; Packed JA 11, 12) due to contamination with unspecified extraneous matter. The recalled ground beef was distributed in Alberta.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Outbreak Alert (Myanmar): More than 30 children at the Pajau Refugee Camp in Kachin have contracted cholera and one child has died., according to workers with the Relief Action Network for IDP and Refugees. Children and the elderly in other camps along the Sino-Burmese border also have been affected. The refugee camps lack both adequate safe drinking water and toilet facilities. The total number of people suffering from cholera is not known.
  • Outbreak Alert (Angola): The municipality of Massangano Cambambe has been hit with an outbreak of cholera-like diarrheal illness. Thirteen people were hospitalized.

Australia and New Zealand

Latin America and the Caribbean

  • Food Safety Enforcement Action (Argentina): The Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria ordered the seizure and destruction of 1,340 kilograms of ham in San Fernando (Buenos Aires Province), after determining that the package labels were counterfeit, rendering the products unfit for human consumption.
  • Outbreak Alert (Mexico): Health authorities have quarantined two schools in Altamira (Tamaulipas), after two cases of hepatitis A were confirmed. Additional cases are under investigation.

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.

Recalls and Alerts: February 2, 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: S&M USA Enterprise recalls ZHANG ZHOU BRAND TREMELLA (150g plastic bag; Product of China), due to the presence of undeclared sulfites. The recalled product was sold in New York and New Jersey.
  • Food Safety Recall: W & C International Import Inc. recalls Rely Sardine Anchovies (7-oz plastic packages; Product of China) and Rely Dried Yellow Croaker (bulk cartons; Product of China), because the products were not properly eviscerated prior to processing and represent a heightened risk of Clostridium botulinum contamination.
  • Food Safety Recall: Wegmans Foods Markets, Inc. recalls Hard-Cooked Eggs, and several prepared foods that contain hard-cooked eggs (sold at Wegmans’ Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Canandaigua, Newark, Geneva, Corning, Elmira, Geneseo, and Hornell stores between January 23 and February 1, 2012), because the eggs may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and were recalled by Michael Foods, Inc. The following items are included in this recall notice: Hard-Cooked Eggs (sold by the pound in prepared foods or as a choice on the Fresh Foods Bar), Eggs (special-order deli tray or 6-pack, 12 pack), Cobb Salad (10 oz, 43 oz, and 6.5 lb), Garden Salad (10 oz, 20 oz, 2 lb, and 5 lb), Baby Spinach Salad (9 oz, 1.8 lb, and 3.9 lb), Chef Salad (9 oz. and 18 oz.), Egg Salad (sold by the pound in prepared foods), Egg Salad Sub (Sub Shop), Kosher Macaroni Salad (sold by the pound in kosher deli), and Kosher Pickled Eggs (sold by the pound in kosher deli).
  • Food Safety Recall Update: ShopRite reminds consumers that ShopRite of Stanton (1600 West Newport Pike, Wilmington, DE) recalled store-made ground beef (80/20 and 85/15; various packages sizes; Sell by January 22, 2012), because the product may pieces of blue glove. Customers are asked to check their freezers and return any of the recalled meat to the store.
  • Pet Food Safety Recall Update: Advanced Animal Nutrition updates its December 13, 2011 notice alerting consumers to the recall of Dog Power Dog Foods to correct the affected lot numbers. The affected products were manufactured between Jan 4, 2011 and Nov. 18, 2011 and can be identified by lot numbers 4K1004 through 4K1322. The recalled products were distributed in Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana.
  • Outbreak Alert Update: The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has confirmed the presence of Campylobacter jejuni in two unopened samples of raw milk purchased from The Family Cow farm. Maryland has reported 4 confirmed cases of Campylobacter illnesses linked to the consumption of raw milk from this Pennsylvania farm, and Pennsylvania has confirmed 19 cases.
  • Outbreak Alert: CDC and the Pennsylvania State Health Department are cooperating in an ongoing investigation of human Salmonella enterica serotype Paratyphi B var. L (+) tartrate + infections associated with pet turtle exposures.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: JB’s Sausage Making Supplies Ltd. recalls various flavors of marinades due to the presence of undeclared soy or wheat. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products. The recalled items were distributed in Saskatchewan.
  • Food Safety Recall Update: Phoenicia Group (St-Laurent, QC) updates its earlier recall notice to correct the lot codes. The company has recalled Alkanater brand Tahini (454g containers; UPC 6 92551 00002 0; Prod: 5/7/2011; Exp: 5/7/2013), due to possible contamination with Salmonella. The recalled product was distributed across Canada.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Denmark): Fredsted The A/S recalls Xtra brand Chamomile Tea (Boxes of 20 bags; Lot #889 and 1327; Best before 31/12-2012 and 30/4-2013, respectively), due to pesticide residues in excess of the permitted limit.
  • Outbreak Alert (France): Consumption of dried pork sausage was linked to a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella enterica serotype 4,[5],12:I:- in November and December 2011. In all, 337 outbreak cases were identified.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0163): Insect infestation in dried figs from Turkey; distributed to Italy.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0164): Dead insects in frozen spinach leaves from Belgium; distributed to Greece.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Notification (EU# 2012.0165): Unauthorized tadalafil in food supplement from Norway; distributed to Andorra, France, Portugal and Spain.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0166): Ethephon in seedless grapes from South Africa, via Belgium; distributed to Germany.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0167): Metal fragments in chocolate pralines from Italy; distributed to Italy and Switzerland.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0168): Listeria monocytogenes in crab bread from France; distributed to France and Spain.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (Hong Kong): Allways (Germany) Medicine Ltd. recalls the pharmaceutical products Centiplex-B Tab and Abacod Cod Liver Oil Cap, as the products bear unapproved labels.
  • Food Safety Alert (Philippines): The Department of Health has announced a shellfish ban in the waters of Wawa, Bani in Pangasinan, in addition to already announced bans in Dumanquillas Bay, Murcielagos Bay, Masinloc Bay, Matarino Bay, and in Bataan costal waters of Mariveles, Limay, Orlon, Pilar, Balanga, Orani, Abucay and Samal. The ban were triggered by the finding of paralytic shellfish poison in excess of the regulatory limit.

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.