One Rotten Egg Spoils The Salads

On January 26th, Michael Foods alerted its customers in the food service sector to a Class I recall of three lot codes of Papetti’s Brand hard-cooked eggs (sold in 25-lb tubs; Lot codes 1362W, 1363W, and 1364W; Use by dates of February 11th, 12th and 13th), after product testing revealed possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

The recalled eggs were supplied to foodservice distributors such as US Foods and Sysco. Even though the recall bore the highest risk classification (Class I) – and even though Michael Foods’ facility is under FDA jurisdiction – notice of the recall did not appear on the FDA Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts web page. The public became aware of this recall on January 27th, when 18th Street Deli Inc recalled 118 pounds of Julienne salad products containing eggs that were included in the Michael Foods recall.

As has happened so often in recent years, the initial recall soon was expanded to include additional lot codes. On February 1st, Michael Foods announced the recall of hard-cooked eggs sold under six brand names (Columbia Valley Farms, GFS, Glenview Farms, Papetti’s, Silverbrook, and Wholesome Farms). The recall covered all 10- and 25-pound pails of hard-cooked eggs packed in brine bearing lot codes 1 LOT 1350W through 1 LOT 2025W (“1” refers to the production line impacted by the recall; “W” identifies the eggs as coming from the Wakefield, NE production plant), and expiration dates ranging from 1/30/201 to 3/10/2012.

The eggs covered in the expanded recall, according to Michael Foods, were supplied to food distributors and manufacturers located in 34 states (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, and WV); none of the eggs were sold directly to retailers or consumers.

The company explained that the recall was expanded after “…a thorough investigation which indicated a specific repair project that took place in the packaging room as the likely source of the contamination.” In other words, once again, a company manufactured and has shipped a ready-to-eat product before ensuring that the production environment was microbiologically secure.

As a result of this “wing and a prayer” approach to food safety, several companies have been faced with initiating precautionary recalls. I certainly hope that Michael Foods’ liability insurer has deep enough pockets to cover the cost of all of these secondary recalls.

Most of the retail-level recalls triggered by the distribution of contaminated hard-cooked eggs affect ready-to-eat salads and sandwiches. I have posted a separate page listing the recalled items announced so far, including information on their retail distribution. I shall be updating the recall list as I learn of additional items.

If you have purchased a salad or sandwich mentioned in any of these recalls, please discard it or return it to the place of purchase for a refund. Listeria monocytogenes can be a deadly illness, especially for the elderly, the very young, people with reduced immunity and pregnant women. Do not take a chance with your health or with the health of your family members.

FDA Finds Salmonella Enteritidis in Sparboe Farms Poultry House

FDA detected Salmonella Enteritidis in the environment of more than one poultry house at Sparboe Farms’ Litchfield, MN egg producing operation during the agency’s inspection of the farm.

After being informed of the Salmonella-positive results, the company initiated testing of eggs from those poultry houses. None of the eggs were positive for Salmonella.

Sparboe Farms – according to the company’s website – is the fifth largest producer and marketer of shell eggs in the USA, serving retail, wholesale and foodservice customers in 26 states.

The company maintains seven egg production and grading facilities in three states – Minnesota, Iowa and Colorado.

Late last week (November 17th and 18th), FDA posted the results of its inspections of the seven facilities. The inspections, which were carried out between April and July, 2011 revealed a number of deficiencies at one or more of the locations, including:

Inaccuracies and inadequacies in the company’s written Salmonella Enteritidis Prevention Plan,
Failure to conduct required environmental testing for Salmonella Enteritidis,
Failure to use approved methods for conducting environmental sampling and Salmonella testing,
Inadequate procedures for preventing cross-contamination between poultry houses,
Failure to prevent stray animals – including stray poultry from entering the poultry houses; and
Deficiencies in rodent control and/or insect control.

FDA issued a comprehensive Warning Letter to Sparboe Farms Owner Beth Sparboe Schnell on November 16th, detailing all of the “serious violations” observed during inspection of the various egg facilities. It was in the Warning Letter that FDA revealed the Salmonella-positive findings.

Last Friday evening (November 18th), ABC’s 20/20 aired a report on Sparboe, including an undercover video from Mercy for Animals, alleging animal cruelty and insanitary conditions in the company’s poultry houses.

Shortly after the ABC report aired, two major Sparboe customers – McDonald’s and Target – announced that they would no longer purchase eggs from Sparboe, and Target removed Sparboe eggs from its stores.

Although Sparboe Farms was relatively unaffected by last year’s massive Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak and egg recall, eFoodAlert received a number of reports from consumers who believed that they had become ill after consuming Target’s Market Pantry eggs – supplied to Target by Sparboe Farms. Consumers identified eggs from several Sparboe facilities, including the Litchfield, Minnesota location. At the time, there was never enough evidence to convince FDA or CDC to identify Sparboe-produced eggs as part of the problem.

Sparboe has acknowledged finding Salmonella in environmental samples, stating:

Salmonella is found everywhere from chicken barns and hog farms to your own kitchen counter and even on vegetables we buy from the store so naturally we expect to test positive for Salmonella on occasion in the environment. As part of the Egg Safety Rule, and Sparboe’s Salmonella Prevention Program, swabs are taken in the barn environment and tested for Salmonella. Since July 2010, when the rule went into effect, Sparboe has taken more than 3000 swabs and have found some environmental positives.

The rule states that when we find an environmental positive, we are to do additional testing inside the eggs. During testing, eggs from positive barns are not sold unless pasteurized. To date, Sparboe has never found Salmonella inside a hen or an egg.

The company adds that it was doing Salmonella testing long before the Egg Safety Rule was enacted in July of last year, and that it remains in compliance with the rule. “The warning letter,” Sparboe explains, “contained 34 corrective actions. Many cannot be resolved until FDA audits our farm again. The remaining open objections include 5 paperwork items, 7 relating to how we count and record mice, and 7 relating to our testing protocol, which was changed immediately upon notification.”

Strange definition of compliance!

Organic Eggs Spread Salmonella

Free-range Organic table eggs from Larry Schultz Organic Farm (Owatonna, MN) are believed to be the source of six cases of Salmonella Enteritidis infections in residents of the seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, according to a joint news statement released today by the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

All six patients were infected with the same strain of Salmonella Enteritidis. They became ill between August 12th and September 24th. Three of the patients were hospitalized, but have since recovered. A seventh case is under investigation, according to Trisha Robinson, Senior Epidemiologist with the Minnesota Department of Health.

Five of the six confirmed outbreak patients reported eating eggs from the Larry Schultz farm. Environmental testing carried out by the Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of Salmonella Enteritidis at the farm. Genetic profiling (PFGE) results for the Salmonella recovered from the farm environment are pending.

The Larry Schultz Organic Farm is a small producer, with fewer than 3,000 laying hens, according to FDA’s Sebastian Cianci. As a small producer, it is not subject to the FDA’s Egg Safety Rule and, therefore, was not on the FDA’s inspection schedule (the Egg Assignment List).

The eggs, which are sold under the three different brand labels – Larry Schultz Organic Farm, Lunds & Byerly’s, and Kowalski’s Organic Egg – have been recalled by the producer. The recalled eggs were packed in bulk and in 6-, 12-, and 18-egg cartons, and were distributed to restaurants, grocery stores, food wholesalers and foodservice companies in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

All eggs bearing the statements “On or Before Julian date 286 EXP NOV 12” or “286 NOV12” are included in the recall. Egg cartons bearing Plant Number 0630 or a “Sell by” date are not affected. The Department of Agriculture has provided a list of all grocery stores where the recalled eggs were sold.

There are some lessons to be drawn from this incident.

Just because laying hens are free-range, this doesn’t mean that the environment, the hens and the eggs are Salmonella-free.
Just because the conditions are organic, this doesn’t mean that the environment, the hens and the eggs are Salmonella-free.
Just because a producing farm has fewer than 3,000 laying hens, this doesn’t mean that the environment, the hens and the eggs are Salmonella-free.

Finally, just because FDA has in place an Egg Safety Rule and a Food Safety Modernization Act, this doesn’t mean that US consumers can assume that their food supply is free from Salmonella and other pathogens.