Recalls and Alerts: May 15 – 17, 2019

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

OUTBREAK ALERT / FOOD SAFETY RECALL: FDA, CDC, and state and local partners, are investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Concord illnesses linked to “Karawan Tahini and Halva” brand tahini imported from Israel. Brodt Zenatti Holding LLC has recalled all products, including those imported prior to December 2018 and until the final shipment April 2019.

OUTBREAK ALERT: CDC is investigating a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Braenderup and Salmonella Montevideo infections linked to contact with backyard poultry. As of May 16, 52 cases have been reported from 21 states. Five outbreak victims required hospitalization.

Allergy Alert: Caito Foods LLC recalls approximately 1,767 pounds of salad with chicken products due to undeclared soy. Pleae refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Allergy Alert: Coolhaus recalls Dairy Free Horchata Frozen Dessert Sandwich (5.8 oz single serve package; Best by dates 06182020, 08012020, 08252020, 10082020 or 10262020; UPC 0085191600365) due to undeclared milk.

Allergy Alert: US TRADING COMPANY recalls GLOBAL PRIDE RATTAN SHOOT IN BRINE (24 oz; Lot code/Expiry date 18/09/20; UPC 8855273023148) due to undeclared sulphites.

Allergy Alert: GHSW, LLC recalls select salads, wraps and salad bar trays sold at two Whole Foods Markets 365 in Texas and at Whole Foods Markets in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas due to undeclared soy. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Canada

Food Safety Recall (Update): DOM International Limited recalls Dom Reserve brand Atlantic Salmon Strips (Hot Smoked) Cracked Black Pepper (150g; Product codes 001996, 002176, 002325, 002371, 02533; All Best Before dates; UPC 7 72945 11150 8) due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Food Safety Recall: City Bread Co. Ltd. recalls City Bread brand Rye Breads – Original Cut and Thick Cut (various sizes; Best Before: MA 14 or MA 15) due to foreign matter (pieces of plastic) contamination. The recalled products were sold in Manitoba.

Europe

Allergy Alert (Belgium): PEDON S.p.A recalls More Than Pasta brand Yellow Lentil spaghetti (250g; Lot 0587; Best before 23/03/2020) and More Than Pasta brand Yellow Lentil Lasagna (250g; Lot 0587; Best before 23/03/2020) due to undeclared gluten.

Allergy Alert (Ireland): Tony’s Kitchen recalls eight seasoning products due to various undeclared allergens. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Allergy Alert (UK): Tony’s Kitchen recalls eight seasoning products due to various undeclared allergens. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Allergy Alert (UK): The Jordans & Ryvita Company recalls Dorset Cereals Simply Oat Granola (550g; Batch code 24 02 2020 GCP9116; Best before 24 February 2020) due to undeclared almonds, cashew nuts and hazelnuts.

Food Safety Recall (Belgium): Delhaize recalls Filet de canard cuit fumé (90g; Lot #912001; Best before 09/06/2019) due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Food Safety Recall (Ireland): Industry recalls Holland & Barrett good stuff lucky liquorice root (100g; Batch code 130567; Best before end January 2020) due to Ochratoxin A contamination.

Food and Pet Food Safety Recall (UK – England specific): Birmingham Halal Abattoir (UK 4496) recalls sheep and lamb meat and pet food products because they may contain meat that is unfit for human and pet consumption. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Hill’s quietly adds to pet food recall list

Nearly two months after its last update, Hill’s Pet Nutrition has added another lot code to the list of products recalled due to elevated levels of vitamin D.

The company has expanded its recall of Hill’s® Prescription Diet® i/d® Canine Chicken & Vegetable Stew 12.5oz (SKU 3389) to include Batch code 102020T21.

The item was sold in the USA and Canada.

The series of recalls was triggered by reports of pet deaths and pet illnesses due to toxic levels of vitamin D in the pet foods. The first recall was announced on January 31, 2019. An expansion of the recall was announced on March 20, 2019.

The recalled products were distributed around the world. A breakdown of recalled products by country was posted on eFoodAlert on March 21st, and has since been updated.

The Hill’s recalls have triggered more than 20 class action lawsuits across the USA. A motion for a multidistrict litigation has been submitted, which would transfer all the actions related to the Hill’s recall to U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The hearing date for the motion is set for May 30, 2019.

According to information obtained in response to a Freedom of Information Act request, the source of the excessive vitamin D was an error in the formulation of the vitamin pre-mix by a Hill’s supplier.

The identity of the pre-mix supplier has not been revealed.

JBS knowingly distributed pentobarbital-adulterated products

This story by Phyllis Entis first appeared in Food Safety News and is reposted here with permission.

JBS Souderton Inc. continued to distribute pentobarbital-adulterated products to customers even after receiving formal notification of pentobarbital contamination, according to a warning letter issued on April 23 by the Food and Drug Administration.

The warning letter to JBS Souderton Inc., which does business as MOPAC, was sent more than one year after pentobarbital was first discovered in beef tallow from the company’s Souderton, PA, facility.

Pentobarbital is a barbiturate used by veterinarians to euthanize animals, including companion animals, horses and cattle. According to the FDA, pet foods containing even a trace amount of pentobarbital are considered adulterated. It is against federal law to release “adulterated” products into the stream of commerce.

JBS was the supplier of beef tallow to Big Heart Pet Brands Inc. and to Champion PetFoods, among others.

Big Heart is a wholly owned subsidiary of The J.M. Smucker Company Inc. Champion is a Canadian pet food company whose U.S. production facility is in Auburn, KY. It manufactures Acana and Orijen brands of dry dog food.

In February 2018, a media outlet reported having found pentobarbital in several samples of Gravy Train canned, wet dog food. Smucker initiated a product withdrawal of the implicated products pending the outcome of its internal investigation.

Concurrently, FDA alerted pet owners about the possible presence of pentobarbital in the several dog food brands, including Gravy Train, Kibbles ’N Bits, Ol’ Roy and Skippy.

Smucker converted its withdrawal into a full-blown recall once company officials had confirmation of the presence of pentobarbital in its finished product and in samples of beef tallow supplied by JBS.

As part of its investigation into the Big Heart, FDA and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture conducted a joint inspection of JBS beginning March 13, 2018.

According to the warning letter, FDA found pentobarbital in four out of nine samples collected at the JBS facility. Upon further analysis, three of the samples were found to contain pentobarbital at levels ranging from 61.8 +/-19 to 277 +/-70 nanograms per gram (ng/g), well above the minimum detection concentration of 4 ng/g.

The four pentobarbital-contaminated products were delivered to customers from November 2017 through March 2018.

Samples collected from JBS and from its customers’ facilities and analyzed by Pennsylvania officials found levels of pentobarbital as high as 680 ng/g.

The list of Inspectional “Observations” in the FDA’s Form 483, provided to JBS management on Oct. 17, 2018, contained two items:

JBS did not visually verify loads of raw materials with what the hauler stated that they brought in. This led to tallow, manufactured at [the JBS] facility, to be adulterated with pentobarbital.
JBS did not have an effective system for evaluating incoming raw materials to ensure that these ingredients are suitable for use in human products and animal feeds.

JBS officials informed the FDA on April 17, 2018, that the company had completed cleaning all of its conveyances, conduits, cookers and centrifuges, and some of its storage tanks to remove any pentobarbital-contaminated product. In a May 30, 2018, letter, JBS management indicated the company would complete the cleaning process within an additional 30 days.

The company officials also reported having identified and talked with all of its suppliers that may have presented a risk for entry of euthanized animals into the rendering plant, and obtained a guarantee from each supplier that they would not provide euthanized animals. JBS also indicated it would continue to conduct random tests of tallow products for pentobarbital.

On July 27, 2018, the FDA took a follow-up sample from one of the JBS storage tanks. Upon analysis, the sample was found to contain trace amounts of pentobarbital.

On Aug. 8, 2018, the FDA inquired what actions JBS planned to take in response to the pentobarbital finding.

The company declined to recall the product. Instead, JBS offered to ask animal food producing customers that received animal food products to remove any products deemed positive for pentobarbital and to have their tanks cleaned.

JBS described its product withdrawals and attempted withdrawals of pentobarbital-contaminated product from its customers in a Nov. 26, 2018, letter to the FDA.

In its warning letter, the FDA noted that it was unable to asses the effectiveness of the corrective actions in the absence of a voluntary recall or other documentation demonstrating all contaminated products were removed from the marketplace.

As reported by Food Safety News in November 2018, Champion PetFoods retrieved pet foods the contaminated tallow from its third-party distributors. The company declined to initiate a retail-level recall, even though some of the product had reached the store/consumer level. The refusal was based on laboratory test results on retained samples of those finished products that did not reveal pentobarbital.

JBS was given fifteen working days to notify the FDA in writing of the specific steps it has taken to correct the violations listed in the warning letter, or to provide a time frame within which the corrections will be completed.