Recalls and Alerts: February 4-6, 2023

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

Public Health Alert: FSIS issues Public Health Alert for PARK STREET DELI Broccoli Stuffed Chicken BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST HAND STUFFED WITH BROCCOLI & CHEDDAR AU GRATIN (16-oz trays; Use by 1/30/2023; Produced by Vanguard Culinary Group, LTD) due to underprocessing.

Allergy Alert: FSIS issues Public Healh Alert for Wegmans Chicken Korma with Basmati Turmeric Rice (10 oz; Best by 08 NOV 2023) due to undeclared cashews.

Allergy Alert: Daiso California LLC recalls Powdered apple tea, crackers, cookies & candy prepackaged snacks due to undeclared milk and soy. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Food Safety Recall: Fresh Ideation Food Group LLC recalls Ready to Eat Sandwiches, Salads, Yogurt, Wraps and related products sold from January 24, 2023 through January 30, 2023 due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

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Canada

Allergy Alert: Nutrifresh Foods Ltd. recalls various Nutrifresh brand Falooda Drinks due to undeclared milk. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products which were sold in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and may have been distributed in other provinces and territories.

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Europe

Allergy Alert (Belgium): Biofresh Belgium recalls Autour de riz brand Sucre de fleurs de coco / Coconut blossom sugar (500g; Lot 200425; Best before 20/04/2025) due to undeclared sulphites.

Allergy Alert (Belgium): La Fée sucrée recalls La Fée sucrée brand Tiramisu Spéculoos, Cookie et Kinder Bueno (150g; Use by dates from 05/02/2023 to 16/02/2023) due to undeclared soy.

Allergy Alert (Italy): GLG srl recalls Mascherpa tiramisù brand Tiramisun vegano / Vegan tiramisu (100g; Best before 23/07/2023) due to undeclared milk protein.

Food Safety Recall (Belgium): Colruyt recalls Boni Selection brand pâté bloc / pâté loaf (150g; Use by 21/2/2023, 26/2/2023 and 28/2/2023) due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Food Safety Recall (Belgium): Ahmed Exotic BV recalls Nina brand Graines de melon moulues – Ground Egusi  / Ground melon seeds (227g; Best before 01/01/2024) due to aflatoxin and Salmonella contamination.

Food Safety Recall (Finland): SOK recalls Rainbow Kalapuikot / Rainbow fish sticks (450g; Best before 7 May 2024; Product of Poland) due to possible foreign matter contamination (metal pieces).

Food Safety Recall (France): SOCIETE LAITIERE DE VICHY recalls SOCIETE LAITIERE DE VICHY brand GAPERON DE VACHE lait pasteurisé de vache / Pasteurized cow’s milk cheese (350g; All lots) due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Food Safety Recall (France): SOCIETE LAITIERE DE VICHY recalls SOCIETE LAITIERE DE VICHY brand COMTESSE DE VICHY LAIT CRU / Raw milk cheese (180g; Lot 009; Use by 01/03/2023) due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Food Safety Recall (France): SOCIETE LAITIERE DE VICHY recalls SOCIETE LAITIERE DE VICHY brand GAPERON DU TOINE cheese (300g; Lot 009; Use by 15/03/2023) due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Food Safety Recall (Luxembourg): LDC recalls Le Gaulois brand Emincés de cuisse de poulet rôti / Sliced roast chicken thighs (Lot 024; Sold from 08/01/2023 to 03/02/2023 inclusive) due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

Allergy Alert (Israel): PLG Enterprises Ltd. recalls Kerem brand Peeled Macadamia Nuts (200g; Expiration dates 03.02.24 & 03.04.24) due to undeclared walnuts.

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Chapter 6. Birth of a Pathogen

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Sunday Supplement: Proposed new FDA food structure leaves pet food out to dry

IN MY OPINION

The proposed new US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) organization structure leaves the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) sucking on a hind teat.

Never a major player in the FDA heirarchy, the CVM has been formally excluded from the Human Foods Program, with only a dotted line connecting it to the Office of the Deputy Commissioner.

Although the CVM will report directly to the Office of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, its relatively small budget and political profile will leave this essential element of food safety and nutrition with little voice or influence at the table.

Why does this matter?

The CVM is responsible for oversight of animal feed, pet foods and veterinary medicines.

If animal feeds are not properly regulated and supervised, animal nutrition–and ultimately human nutrition–suffers.

If veterinary medicines are not properly regulated and supervised, the health of livestock and the safety of the human diet suffers.

If pet foods are not properly regulated and supervised, the health of companion animals suffers.

Pet health matters

Pets play an important role in the mental and physical health of their human companions.

Those of us who have lost a dog, cat, or other pet to illness, accidents, or simply old age, understand the grief that this loss entails.

In addition, if an animal develops a gastrointestinal illness such as salmonellosis as a result of contaminated pet food, this illness can be passed along to people in the same household.

This is not speculation.

Kibble, raw pet foods, and pet treats contaminated with Salmonella have caused several outbreaks of human illness large enough to attract the attention of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Without a strong voice at the budget table, the CVM will not have the resources to oversee the pet food industry.

We have seen what has happened in the past when a pet food manufacturer has been allowed to operate on a “voluntary compliance” basis. More often than is healthy, the emphasis is on voluntary, and compliance falls by the wayside.

Can this be fixed?

I realize that the CVM has elements both of food and of pharmaceuticals in its regulatory portfolio.

Nevertheless, every component of the CVM’s mandate–animal feed, animal medications, pet food–indirectly supports the safety and nutriton of human or animal food.

I would propose that the scope of the proposed new directorate be expanded to include the CVM, and that the word “Human” be dropped from the title of the new Deputy Commissioner.

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TAINTED formats 3
“Reads like a true crime novel” – Food Safety News

Interested in learning more about food safety and the history of foodborne disease outbreaks and investigations?

Click on the link to listen to a short excerpt, then follow the buy links to add a digital, print or audio copy to your personal library.

Chapter 6. Birth of a Pathogen

TAINTED is available in digital format from all major on-line retailers. Press the button to go directly to your preferred digital bookstore.

Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Smashwords
Chapters/Indigo

Honey Smacks manufacturer pleads guilty to food safety violations

Kerry, Inc., manufacturer of the breakfast cereal that was responsible for a 2018 Salmonella outbreak that sent thirty-four victims to hospital, has pled guilty in federal court to a charge that it manufactured the cereal under insanitary conditions.

The contaminated Kellogg’s Honey Smacks breakfast cereal caused 135 confirmed illnesses in 36 states.

According to a news release from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the company has agreed to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture amount totaling $19,228,000.

The plea agreement has not yet been accepted by the court.

According to the DOJ’s news release, if the agreement is accepted, “…the $19.228 million fine and forfeiture will constitute the largest-ever criminal penalty following a criminal conviction in a food safety case.”

The company shut down operations at its Gridley, Illinois, facility in December 2018 due to a drop in demand for the products manufactured at that location.

In October 2022, Ravi Kumar Chermala, Kerry’s former Quality Assurance Director, pled guilty to three misdemeanor counts of introducing adulterated food into Interstate Commerce.

Kerry Inc. released a statement on February 3, 2023, in which the company regretted “…the unacceptable practices and failures that occurred at Gridley.”

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On the Q-T

The FDA’s investigation into this Salmonella outbreak–and the subsequent actions taken against the manufacturer–have been surrounded by a veil of silence from the beginning.

Honey Smacks cereal was manufactured by Kerry Inc. under a third-party contract with the Kellogg Company. At the time of the initial investigation, the FDA declined to reveal the name of the manufacturer it believed to be responsible for the Salmonella outbreak.

It was only after the CDC had declared the outbreak to be over that the FDA revealed the name of the manufacturer.

The FDA also declined to identify the Salmonella serotype it had discovered during the inspection of Kerry’s manufacturing facility and declined to reveal whether the strain it found was a genetic match to the strain recovered from outbreak victims.

In July 2018, Kerry initiated a recall of 82 tons of Soy Honey Cluster. Two days later, General Mills recalled six production batches of Cheerios Protein Oats and Honey cereal. In both cases, the potential for Salmonella contamination was given as the reason for the recall. Yet, no public notice was posted on the FDA website in either case.

What next?

The next step in this process will be for the Court to decide whether or not to accept the plea agreement.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge James E. Shadid and Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley in Peoria, Illinois, and a sentencing date of March 14, 2023, has been set.

Information regarding upcoming court hearings or other significant developments in the case will be posted on the DOJ’s Information for Victims in Large Cases website.

TAINTED formats 3
“Reads like a true crime novel” – Food Safety News

Interested in learning more about food safety and the history of foodborne disease outbreaks and investigations?

Click on the link to listen to a short excerpt, then follow the buy links to add a digital, print or audio copy to your personal library.

Chapter 6. Birth of a Pathogen

TAINTED is available in digital format from all major on-line retailers. Press the button to go directly to your preferred digital bookstore.

Amazon
Apple
Barnes & Noble
Kobo
Smashwords
Chapters/Indigo