Category: cholera

Recalls and Alerts: July 7, 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: Warabeya U.S.A., Inc. (Honolulu, HI) recalls 7-Eleven brand convenience meals (Produced June 28, 2011; Best eaten by 06/30/11 11:30 AM), because the meals may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products, which include 7-Eleven Fried Chicken Bento, 7-Eleven Teriyaki Chicken Bento, 7-Eleven Breakfast Scramble Bowl, 7-Eleven Big Bento and 7-Eleven Little Smokies Snack Pack, were distributed to retail stores in Hawaii.
  • Food Safety Recall: Old Home Foods (New Brighton, MA) recalls Old Home Cottage Cheese (12, 24 and 32-oz packs; Expiration date: August 1), because the cheese may spoil prior to the expiration date. The recalled cottage cheese was supplied to Rainbow stores (part of Roundy’s Supermarkets’ Inc.), and may also have been shipped elsewhere.
  • Water Safety Alert: The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality and the Grand River Dam Authority  have recently confirmed the presence of blue-green algae in at least four sections of Grand Lake. Exposure to blue-green algae may cause human illness.
  • Outbreak Alert: The Texas Department of State Health Services alerts residents of Maverick County to take precautions against shigellosis after more than 50 cases of Shigella-related diarrhea were confirmed during May and June. The number of confirmed cases is 25 times higher than the usual number reported during this time of year.
  • Outbreak Alert Update: As of July 5, 2011, CDC has confirmed reports of 25 cases of Salmonella Enteritis from 5 states: Idaho (3), Montana (10), New Jersey (1), North Dakota (1) and Washington (10). Epidemiological investigation linked the outbreak to consumption of alfalfa sprouts and spicy sprouts from Evergreen Fresh Sprouts, LLC (Moyie Springs, ID). The company has recalled certain lots of its alfalfa sprouts and spicy sprouts.

Europe

  • Allergy Alert (France): Société Auchan recalls Ravioli aux 3 fromage/3-Cheese Ravioli (250g; Best before 03.07.11), because some of the packages may contain meat ravioli instead; the meat ravioli stuffing contains celery, which is not declared on the cheese ravioli label.
  • Food Safety Recall (Finland): Siam House Ky withdraws Monika Fish Sauce (Product of Philippines; Batch code 8233; Best before 05.02.2012), because the product was found to contain excessive amounts of preservative.
  • Food Recall (Greece): EFET announces that Croissant Panini dolce (150g; Expiry 16/7/11) has been recalled. Please see the EFET web site for details, as the automatic translator is not functioning.
  • Outbreak Alert Update (France – E. coli O157): Four new patients, including a 7-month-old infant, have been hospitalized in Lille, bringing the total number of hemolytic uremic syndrome cases in the Steak Country outbreak to ten.
  • Pet Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0900): Salmonella Senftenberg in dog chew from Switzerland; distributed to Austria.
  • Animal Feed Safety Notification (EU #2011.0902): Salmonella Senftenberg in soya meal from Argentina, via the Netherlands; distributed to Belgium.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection reports a confirmed case of cholera (Vibrio cholerae O1 Ogawa) in a 25-year-old man who has no history of recent travel. The man is in stable condition in the isolation ward of Princess Margaret Hospital.

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.

Recalls and Alerts: July 3, 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

Canada

  • Beach Closure (Ontario): Lakeside Beach (Kingsville) and Seacliff Beach (Leamington) are closed to swimming due to elevated levels of E. coli int he water. Swimming is also not recommended at Sandpoint Beach (Windsor) or West Belle River Beach (Lakeshore).

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Seizure and Recall (Vietnam): The Dat Nam Co. Ltd., producer of Aquasun Mineral Water was suspended from operation after inspectors from the municipal Department of Health found Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the water. More than 1,000 bottles of water have been seized, and a recall has been ordered. More than 50 of the 500 bottled water enterprises inspected by the department produced bottled water contaminated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Dat Nam and the Ke Ba Company were reported to be repeat offenders.
  • Outbreak Alert (India): A cholera outbreak in the Wayanad district has resulted in the hospitalization of as many as 114 people. Five people are reported in critical condition.
  • Outbreak Alert (India): Forty-six cases of diarrhea have been reported in Ropar in the past week. Five people have been hospitalized, including two foreigners.
  • Outbreak Alert (Spain): Eighty-seven residents of two juvenile facilities have developed possible food poisoning, 71 of them in La Esperanza and 16 in Punta Blanca.
  • Outbreak Alert (India): The first cholera case of the monsoon season has been reported in Chandigarh. The patient was admitted to hospital for treatment, but has been discharged.
  • Outbreak Alert (Congo): An outbreak of cholera in regions fed by the Congo River has claimed 153 lives since March. In all, 2,787 cases have been reported.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0881): Salmonella Derby inmussels from Italy; distributed to Italy and Hong Kong.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Synthetic Cannabis Mandated Recall (New Zealand): Ministry of Health warns retailers to remove the herbal smoking product Juicy Puff Super Strength from sale, because it contains the prescription medicine phenazepam, which is not approved for sale in New Zealand.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0877): Fumosins in maize and buckwheat flour from Italy; distributed to Australia, Italy and the USA.

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.

Recalls and Alerts: June 30, 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

  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: McNeil Consumer Healthcare recalls Tylenol® Extra Strength Caplets, 225-count bottles (Manufactured in February 2009; Lot #ABA619) due to reports of an uncharacteristic musty, moldy odor that has been linked to the presence of trace amounts of 2,4,6-tribromanisole (TBA). TBA has been associated with temporary and “non-serious” gastrointestinal symptoms. The recalled product was distributed in the USA.
  • Consumer Product Safety Recall: Cost Plus Inc. (Oakland, CA) recalls Wooden Hexagonal Animal Drums (SKU #424857; Manufactured in China) because the paint used on the drum exceeds the maximum allowable lead level of 90ppm. The recalled toys were sold at Cost Plus World Market stores nationwide from December 2010 through May 2011.
  • FDA Enforcement Action: FDA has announced that Howard Sousa, doing business as the Artery Health Institute LLC, and DeSousa LLC, in New York, N.Y., has signed a consent decree of permanent injunction. The consent decree prohibits Sousa from distributing products with claims in the labeling to cure, treat, mitigate or prevent diseases. Prior to entry of the consent decree, Sousa distributed Advanced Formula EDTA Oral Chelation capsules on his website. Under the terms of the consent decree, Sousa will remove the drug claims from his website. He has also agreed to hire an independent expert to review the claims he makes for his product and to certify that he has omitted all violative claims. Under the decree, the FDA can order Sousa to stop making and distributing any product if he fails to comply with any provision of the consent decree, the FFDCA or other FDA regulations. Sousa is also required to pay $1,000 per violation and twice the retail value of each shipment of product in the event he fails to comply with the consent decree.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: King’s Processing Ltd. (Alberton, PEI) recalls Circle K and Sub Delicious brands of sandwiches, subs, wraps, burgers, breakfast muffins and bagels (Canada 514 legend; various sizes and Best Before dates), because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled products were distributed in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Alert (PRC): According to the Beijing Times, some supposedly edible cooking oil on store shelves in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province has been produced from gutter oil and swill-cooked oil – waste animal oil and oil that has been used several times (usually by restaurants) for frying.
  • Outbreak Alert Update (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection has received reports of seven additional case of food poisoning linked to a Jordan restaurant, bringing the total number of cases to sixteen. One person has been admitted to Tseung Kwan O Hospital.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating two clusters of suspected food poisoning cases – affecting 11 people in total – among diners at a restaurant in Kowloon City.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Medical Device Recall: IGC Dorey Pty Ltd recalls Safety 1st Complete Healthcare Kits (Item #49773; Barcode Number 8439254291), because the recalled kits contain a thermometer that displays the temperature in degrees Farenheit rather than degrees Celsius. The kits were sold through Kmart, Target, Toys R Us and independent retail stores nationwide between April 2011 and June 2011.
  • Synthetic Cannabis Recall and Alert (Australia and New Zealand): New Zealand’s Director General of Health has warned retailers to remove Kronic Pineapple Express herbal smoking product from store shelves, because it has been found to contain phenazepam, a prescription medicine that is not available for use in New Zealand. Separately, New South Wales has announced a ban – effective July 2011 – of Kronic, Northern Lights, Spice, Kaos, Voodo & Mango synthetic cannabis products after the products were found to contain the synthetic cannabinoid JWH-018.

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.