Tag: Cantaloupes

Recalls and Alerts: September 14, 2012

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: Zatarains alerts consumers that New Orleans Style Chicken Flavored Rice Mix (UPC 7142909705; Best by dates Apr 23 14 H, Jun 10 14 H, Jul 30 14 H and Aug 31 14 H) may contain undeclared wheat. Schnucks Markets, Inc. invites customers of Schnucks, Logli and Hilander to return the product to their nearest store for a refund or exchange. Tops invites its customers to do the same.
  • Food Safety Recall: The University Creamery at Penn State recalls all ice cream and frozen yogurt made between May 16, 2012 and August 11, 2012 (Best if used by date on or between Feb 10, 2013 and Aug. 11, 2013) because of isolated incidents involving reports of small plastic foreign objects in the product. The recalled ice cream was made and sold from the Berkey Creamery on the University Park campus of Penn State and also was available for purchase on the internet from the Creamery’s website. University police have begun a criminal investigation into the rreports.
  • Food Safety Recall: Meca Foods recalls La Tia Tamales brand Home Style Tamales – Green Pork, Home Style Tamales – Red Pork and Home Style Tamales – Chicken (All items were produced between April 2011 and September 2012 and bear Est. 699 inside the Illinois mark of inspection), because the product was manufactured in a facility that is not state-inspected. The establishment number on the products does not belong to the firm. The recalled products were sold to brokers and restaurants in Chicago.
  • Food Safety Recall: Serenade Foods, Inc. (Milford, IN) recalls Milford Valley Farms Crunchy Chicken Strips (7.5-lb cases containing 30-oz cartons; Est P-2375; UPC 0-73981-32286-7; Use by Jan 17, 2014), after two consumers reported finding plastic fragments in the product. The recalled product was packaged on Jan 17, 2012 and shipped to a distributor in Lakeland, Florida for further distribution.
  • Food Safety Recall: Cut Fruit Express, Inc. (Inver Grove Heights, MN) recalls packaged fruit products containing cantaloupes (Distributed through September 5, 2012), since they contain cantaloupe recalled by DFI Marketing Inc. due to potential contamination with Salmonella. The recalled fruit products were sold in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
  • Food Safety Recall: US Foods alerts its customer to the recall of cantaloupes by DFI Marketing (Fresno, CA), due to possible Salmonella contamination. The recall has triggered recalls from other distributors and further processors, including Castellini Brothers, Club Chef, Cut Fruit Express and McEntire Product, and will likely expand further.
  • Food Safety Recall: Kroger alerts its customers to the recall of cantaloupes by DFI Marketing due to possible Salmonella contamination. The recalled cantaloupes were sold in Kroger stores located in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Knoxville, Tennessee, Greater Cincinnati, including Northern Kentucky, Dayton, OH and South Eastern Indiana, Indiana (except SW IN, -Evansville-), Illinois, Eastern Missouri, Greater Memphis, TN, Arkansas, Mississippi and Western Kentucky, Texas and Louisiana; Jay C, Dillons, Baker’s, Gerbes, Fry’s, Food4Less, FoodsCo and Smith’s.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Valley Flax Flour recalls Valley Flax Flour Wheat Free Pancake Mix (500g; Codes PC12145, PC12199 and PC12202; UPC 52203 00051 2), due to the presence of undeclared gluten. The recalled product was sold in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

Europe

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.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.

Chamberlain Farms: Double – or Is It Triple – Outbreak

Cantaloupes from Chamberlain Farm Produce, Inc. are the source of 270 cases of Salmonella infections, according to the latest figures from CDC.

The illnesses were due to Salmonella Typhimurium (240 persons versus the previous tally of 204) and Salmonella Newport (30 persons) in 26 states. Three people are dead, and 101 have been hospitalized in this cantaloupe-linked outbreak.

Salmonella Typhimurium illnesses were reported from the following states: Alabama (16), Arkansas (6), California (2), Florida (1), Georgia (9), Iowa (10), Illinois (26), Indiana (24), Kentucky (70), Massachusetts (2), Maryland (1), Michigan (6), Minnesota (5), Missouri (15), Mississippi (7), Montana (1), New Jersey (2), North Carolina (7), Ohio (6), Oklahoma (1), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (5), Tennessee (8), Texas (2), and Wisconsin (6).

Salmonella Newport cases were reported in Illinois (8), Indiana (9), Michigan (1), Missouri (6), Ohio (3), Virginia (1), and Wisconsin (2).

Salmonella Typhimurium (red) and Salmonella Newport (blue) timeline (from CDC)

Cantaloupe samples analyzed by FDA have yielded both the Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Newport outbreak strains. In addition, Indiana investigators have found a genetically different Salmonella Newport strain from a sample of watermelon from a field at Chamberlain Farms. Twenty-five illnesses in 8 states are being investigated to determine whether they may be linked to the Chamberlain Farm Produce watermelons.

On August 22nd, Chamberlain Farm Produce announced a recall of its entire 2012 cantaloupe crop. Schnucks Markets reported on September 7th that Chamberlain had expanded its recall to include the farm’s 2012 watermelon crop. So far, this expanded recall announcement has not appeared on the FDA web site. Nor has the public been given any information as to where – other than Schnucks, Logli and Hilander stores – the watermelons were sold.

CDC Advice to Consumers, Retailers, and Others

Contaminated cantaloupe may still be in grocery stores and in consumers’ homes.

  • Consumers who recently purchased Chamberlain Farms cantaloupes are advised not to eat them and discard any remaining cantaloupe.
    • Based on the available information, consumers can continue to purchase and eat cantaloupes that did not originate from Chamberlain Farms Produce, Inc.
    • Many cantaloupes have the growing area identified with a sticker on the fruit. If no sticker is present, consumers should inquire about the source. When in doubt, throw it out.
    • Consumers who are buying or have recently bought cantaloupe should ask their retailer if the cantaloupe originated from Chamberlain Farms Produce, Inc.
  • Cantaloupes should be disposed of in a closed plastic bag placed in a sealed trash can. This will prevent people or animals from eating them.
  • Dispose of any cantaloupes that you think may be contaminated. Washing them will not completely eliminate the contamination. Cutting, slicing and dicing may also transfer harmful bacteria from the fruit’s surface to the fruit’s flesh.
  • Retailers and food service operators should not sell or serve Chamberlain Farms cantaloupe.
  • Persons who think they might have become ill from eating possibly contaminated cantaloupes should consult their health care providers.

I would add watermelon to that advisory statement.

Salmonella Outbreak Grows. Cantaloupes Recalled

The number of people infected with Salmonella Typhimurium in the USA’s most recent produce-related outbreak has increased to 178, according to data released this morning by CDC. Sixty-two people have been hospitalized. The death toll remains at two – both of them from Kentucky.

Twenty-one states have reported at least one illness – up from the previous total of twenty. Salmonella Typhimurium infections due to the outbreak strain were documented in Alabama (13), Arkansas (3), California (2), Georgia (3), Illinois (21), Indiana (18), Iowa (7), Kentucky (56), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (6), Minnesota (4), Mississippi (5), Missouri (12), New Jersey (2), North Carolina (3), Ohio (4), Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (6), Texas (2), and Wisconsin (4).

Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. Cases reported by state (from CDC)

Investigations by CDC, FDA and local and state agencies have concluded that cantaloupe originating from Chamberlain Farm Produce, Inc. of Owensville, Indiana is a likely source of this outbreak. Late yesterday, Chamberlain Farm Produce, Inc. announced a voluntary recall of all of its cantaloupes from the 2012 growing season that may remain in the marketplace. This follows a prior market withdrawal of cantaloupes initiated by Chamberlain on August 16th and 17th.

Chamberlain’s cantaloupes were marketed to four retail grocery stores with outlets in Vanderburgh, Warrick, Gibson, and Dubois County, Indiana, and Wabash County, Illinois during the period of June 21, 2012 to August 16, 2012; four wholesale purchasers in Owensboro, Kentucky, St. Louis, Missouri, Peru, Illinois, and Durant, Iowa also procured cantaloupes from Chamberlain during that same period. According to FDA, the cantaloupes were initially shipped to Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin, with further distribution likely.

Although the names of the retail and wholesale consignees have not been released, Wal-Mart has been named as the source of cantaloupes consumed by two outbreak victims from one family in Michigan, and by one of the Mississippi outbreak victims.

While FDA and CDC have identified “a source” of this outbreak, the investigation is continuing in order to determine whether there are other possible sources. The outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium is a common one, and is typically the source of 10 to 15 “background” cases each month across the USA. Only 75% of the outbreak victims interviewed during the initial investigation reported having consumed cantaloupe before becoming ill.

Updated CDC Advice to Consumers, Retailers, and Others

Cantaloupe

Contaminated cantaloupe may still be in grocery stores and in consumers’ homes.

  • Consumers who recently purchased Chamberlain Farms cantaloupes are advised not to eat them and discard any remaining cantaloupe.
    • Based on the available information, consumers can continue to purchase and eat cantaloupes that did not originate from Chamberlain Farms Produce, Inc.
    • Many cantaloupes have the growing area identified with a sticker on the fruit. If no sticker is present, consumers should inquire about the source. When in doubt, throw it out.
    • Consumers who are buying or have recently bought cantaloupe should ask their retailer if the cantaloupe originated from Chamberlain Farms Produce, Inc.
  • Cantaloupes should be disposed of in a closed plastic bag placed in a sealed trash can. This will prevent people or animals from eating them.
  • Dispose of any cantaloupes that you think may be contaminated. Washing them will not completely eliminate the contamination. Cutting, slicing and dicing may also transfer harmful bacteria from the fruit’s surface to the fruit’s flesh.
  • Retailers and food service operators should not sell or serve Chamberlain Farms cantaloupe.
  • Persons who think they might have become ill from eating possibly contaminated cantaloupes should consult their health care providers.