Recalls and Alerts: September 4 – 6, 2018

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

Allergy Alert: H&C Food Inc recalls Frozen Fuzhou Fish Balls and the Fish Balls due to undeclared wheat, pork, egg and crustacean. Please refer to the recall notice for additional details on both products.

Allergy Alert: Caito Foods, LLC recalls Derby City Chicken Salad WITHOUT Walnuts (15-oz. plastic clamshell packages; Lot code GHMW 243 03; Sell by 09/04/18) due to undeclared walnuts. The recalled product was shipped to retail locations in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

Allergy Alert: New York Style Sausage Co. recalls Artesana Specialty Sausages CHORIZO SALVADORAN RECIPE ALL NATURAL (8-oz. cardboard packages; Production date June 8, 2018; no use by or sell by date) due to undeclared sesame seeds. The recalled product was sold at farmers markets in California.

Food Safety Recall: Bahar LLC. recalls Bahar MANTI Gourmet Mediterranean Brand Beef Dumplings (Various weight sealed plastic packages & 1-lb. square plastic sealed packages; Expiry dates 05/20/19 through 08/29/19), because the items were manufactured without benefit of inspection. The recalled products were shipped to distributor and retail locations in New Jersey.

Food Safety Recall: Wayne Farms, LLC recalls approximately 438,960 pounds of frozen, fully cooked chicken products (produced on various dates from July 4 through July 17, 2018) due to foreign matter (metal pieces) contamination. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products, which were shipped to distributors, restaurants and further processing locations nationwide.

Homeopathic Product Safety Recall: Beaumont Bio Med, Inc recalls its entire aqueous/alcohol-based product line for human use, within expiry, to the consumer level due to possible microbial contamination. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Canada

Allergy Alert (Update): Monco Produce Inc. recalls Fresh lychees (Sold from August 7 up to and including August 31, 2018) due to undeclared sulfites. The recalled product was sold to consumers in Alberta , British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan, and may have been distributed nationwide.

Allergy Alert: TJX Canada recalls Sugar and Spun brand Cotton Candy (various flavors) due to undeclared egg, milk, peanut and wheat. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products, which were supplied to retailers nationwide.

Food Safety Recall: Rodney’s Oyster Depot Limited Partnership recalls Rodney’s Oyster Depot LP brand SM Choice Oysters (100 count; Shipping dates 22/08/2018 and 24/08/2018) due to possible Salmonella contamination. The recalled oysters were supplied to hotels, restaurants and institutional customers in Ontario and Prince Edward Island.

Europe

Allergy Alert (France): Odyssée recalls Odyssée brand Piedmontese style tuna salad (250g; Lot codes 18/05/2021, 25/05/2021138, 25/05/2021145; Expiry 18/05/2021 & 25/05/2021) due to undeclared milk, egg and sulfites.

Allergy Alert (Germany): RAWBITE recalls RAWBITE Apricot bars (30g; all lot codes and expiration dates) due to undeclared traces of almonds and cashews.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

Food Safety Alert (Hong Kong): Centre for Food Safety advises the public that, pursuant to a consumer complaint, CFS has found excessive Bacillus cereus levels (3.8 million per gram) in a sample of Kowloon Dairy Hi-Calcium Skimmed milk drink (236mL; Use by August 23, 2018; Manufactured by The Kowloon Dairy Ltd).

Recalls and Alerts: September 1 – 3, 2018

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United States

Food Safety Recall: J.T.M. Provisions Co. recalls COOKED BEEF PATTY CRUMBLES (20-lb. cases containing four 5-lb sealed pouches; Case code 47860; Julian date 18137) due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The recalled product was shipped to distribution centers located in California.

Canada

Allergy Alert: Monco Produce Inc. recalls Fresh lychees (Sold from August 7 up to and including August 31, 2018) due to undeclared sulfites. The recalled product was distributed to consumers in Alberta , British Columbia, and Ontario.

Europe

Food Safety Recall (France): Nissin recalls Nissin brand prepared noodles due to foreign matter contamination. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Food Safety Recall (Ireland): Tesco ireland recalls Tesco Organic Almonds ((200g; Lot #L8004010; Best before February 2019; Product of UK) due to Salmonella contamination.

Food Safety Withdrawal (Ireland): Tullyard Farm withdraws Tullyard Farm Smoked Dry Cure Rashers, Tullyard Farm Dry Cure Streaky Bacon, Tullyard Farm Meat & Poultry 7oz Beef Burgers, and Tullyard Farm Meat & Poultry Mince Beef (all batch codes and best before dates) because the products were processed at an unapproved facility.

Food Safety Recall (Sweden): Kronfågel recalls certain fried chicken products due to possible Listeria contamination. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Food Safety Recall (UK): Tesco recalls Organic Almonds (200g; Lot #L8004010; Best before February 2019) due to Salmonella contamination.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

Food Safety Recall (Israel): Milotal Frozen Vegetables Ltd. recalls Frozen corn kernels (800g; expiration date 06.12.2019 or best by 10.01.2020) due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Consumers urged to check for chicken linked to deadly Salmonella outbreak

The following story by Coral Beach first appeared in Food Safety News and is reposted here with permission

One person is dead and at least 16 others have been infected by a strain of Salmonella found during routine federal testing at two raw chicken processing plants.

The implicated raw chicken was packaged under the Empire Kosher brand. It was produced from September 2017 through June this year, according to a public health alert posted by the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS).

No other brands have been named by federal officials. They also have not named the specific processing plants where contaminated chicken was found or who owns them. The FSIS did not include any information in its alert regarding when its routine testing detected the Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- in raw chicken samples.

Yesterday public health officials urged consumers to check their freezers for Empire Kosher brand chicken. Anyone who has it on hand should “properly handle, prepare, and cook these raw chicken products” to avoid cross-contamination and kill bacteria. Some consumers may prefer to discard the chicken to avoid the chance of infection. The chicken could have been packaged and sold to consumers as raw whole birds or raw chicken parts, FSIS reported.

Outbreak investigators have interviewed 14 of the 17 known victims. All 14 reported eating chicken in the days before becoming sick. Of nine victims with information available, seven reported eating Empire Kosher brand chicken before becoming ill, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC did not reveal how long it and state health departments have been investigating the outbreak. In its Aug. 29 investigation notice, the CDC reported it had matched Salmonella I 4,[5],12:i:- from patients’ lab work to the Salmonella found by the FSIS in the samples of raw chicken.

Victims range from less than a year old to 76 years old, according to the CDC. Half of them have had symptoms so severe that they had to be admitted to hospitals. New York has been hardest hit, with 11 illnesses and one death. Pennsylvania has four confirmed cases. Maryland and Virginia have one each.

The FSIS public health alert says the USDA’s sub-agency was notified June 18 about Salmonella illnesses in four states. The CDC’s notice said known illness onset dates range from Sept. 25, 2017, through June 4 this year.

In an undated statement on the corporation’s website, Empire Chicken officials said they have “no data that connects this tragic event to our products…” The statement emphasized that no recalls have been initiated in connection with the outbreak.

“CDC is not advising that people avoid eating kosher chicken or Empire Kosher brand chicken and no products are being recalled,” according to the company’s statement. “Empire Kosher, along with the USDA and CDC, want to remind consumers of safe handling practices for raw chicken. When handled and cooked properly to 165 degrees F, consumers can continue to have full confidence in chicken products, including the Empire Kosher brand.”