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.

United States

• Allergy Alert: Mattern Sausage (Orange, CA) recalls Mattern Sausage Tongue and Blood Sausage (4-lb to 8-lb chugs; Produced September 6, 2011), due to the presence of undeclared hydrolyzed soy protein. The recalled sausage products were shipped to sandwich shops near Orange, CA.
• Allergy Alert: Prolab Nutrition Inc. (Chatsworth, CA) recalls certain protein items, because they contain undeclared wheat and gluten. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.
• Food Safety Recall: Pepperidge Farm, Incorporated (Norwalk, CT) recalls Baked Naturals Sesame Sticks (10.2-oz boxes; WO7*1781 Sell by 11/20/2011, WO7*1891 Sell by 11/27/2011, WO7*1921 Sell by 12/4/2011, WO7*2041 Sell by 12/11/2011, WO7*2061 Sell by 12/13/2011, and WO7*2221 Sell by 1/1/2012), because the products may contain small, thin pieces of wire.
• Food Safety Recall: World Wide Fish Products, Inc. (Bronx, NY) recalls Smoked Split Herring, because the product was found to be uneviscerated and represents a risk for Clostridium botulinum. The product was distributed in New York City on 08/17/2011 to Food Plaza Supermarket, NSA Supermarket (Bravo), Brooklyn # 1 Meat Market, P&P Distributors, and Flaming Meat Distributors.
• Food Safety Recall: Palo Duro Meat (Amarillo, TX) recalls fine ground beef (40-lb boxes containing four 10-lb chubs; Production code 19110; Est. 7282), because the ground beef may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The frozen product was produced on Sept. 9, 2011, and shipped to two warehouses in Georgia for further distribution to institutions. The institutions include six school districts in Georgia associated with the National School Lunch Program.
• Food Safety Recall/Outbreak Alert: Distributors, retailers, restaurants, and consumers have been advised not to eat, sell, or ship oysters harvested between August 30 and September 19 from Washington’s Hood Canal growing area #4. The state Department of Health made the recommendations, including contacting people who bought the oysters over the Internet, as part of a recall of oysters in the shell harvested in that growing area between those dates. Oyster harvesting in the area was closed after five people who ate raw oysters containing Vibrio parahaemolyticus became ill.
• Outbreak Alert: More than 40 people have become ill with gastrointestinal symptoms after eating food purchased at the Grace Covenant Church fundraiser in York, South Carolina on September 16th and 17th. The state Department of Health and Environmental Control is advising people who purchased food at the fundraiser to throw it away.

Canada

• Allergy Alert: Solo Fruit Inc. recalls Solo Fruit brand Dark Chocolate Sorbet (500ml packages; Lot codes 1111116 or 1111165), because the product may contain undeclared milk. The recalled sorbet was distributed only in Quebec.
• Food Safety Recall: Phoenicia Products Inc. recalls Alkanater brand Tahini (908g containers; Prod. 5/1/2011; Exp. 5/1/2013), because the product may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled tahini was distributed nationally.
• Food Safety Recall: Au Gout d’autrefois (Sainte-Famille, QC) recalls certain products sold in 500ml and 250ml glass jars, because the products were not produced in a way that ensures their microbiological safety. Please refer to the recall notice for a detailed list of affected products.

Europe

• Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (Spain): Novartis Farmacéutica, SA recalls Pulmeno 200 mg 40 capsules and Pulmeno 350 mg 40 capsules (Lot B5017, B5043, 5044, 5045 and B5048), due to incorrect expiration dates.
• Outbreak Alert (UK): A suspected norovirus outbreak has resulted in the temporary closure of Stamshaw Junior School and Stamshaw Infant School in Portsmouth. The schools each have about 200 pupils.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1295): Metal pieces in low fat fruit yoghurt from Germany; distributed to the United Kingdom.
• Dietary Supplement Safety Notification (EU #2011.1297): Vanadium in food supplement from the United States; distributed to Sweden.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1298): Foreign body in strawberry yoghurt from Germany; distributed to Ireland.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1299): Mercury in chilled swordfish from Malta; distributed to Malta.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.1300): Listeria monocytogenes in mini-peppers filled with cream cheese from Germany; distributed to Germany.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Food Safety Alert (Hong Kong): The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ordered the temporary closure of a cooked food market stall in Yuen Long for thorough disinfection after Vibrio cholerae was detected in a water sample collected from its fish tank.

Australia and New Zealand

• Outbreak Alert (Australia): South Australia Health has received reports of an additional four cases of shiga-toxin producing E. coli infections, all among people who reported visiting the Royal Adelaide Show, bringing the total number of infections to seven. Two of the seven patients have developed HUS. While most of the infections are among children, one of the HUS victims is a 27-year old man, who is receiving treatment in hospital and is reported to be in serious but stable condition.

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.