Cavi brand whole papayas fingered in Salmonella outbreak

Cavi brand whole, fresh papayas imported from Mexico and distributed by Agroson’s LLC of Bronx, New York are the likely source of an outbreak of Salmonella Uganda that has sickened 71 people in eight states.

This information was contained in an investigation update released today (July 5) by FDA.

The Mexican government, which described FDA’s initial report as “premature” on July 1st has not yet responded to this update.

Agroson’s is an importer and distributor of papayas. The company was one of the distributors involved in the 2017 Salmonella outbreaks linked to contaminated papayas from Mexico.

Epidemiological and traceback evidence indicates that the Agroson’s was the exclusive distributor of the implicated papayas.

FDA has asked Agroson’s to initiate a product recall. The company has not yet complied.

Illnesses associated with this outbreak have been reported in eight states: Connecticut (14), Florida (1), Massachusetts (5), New Jersey (18), New York (27), Pennsylvania (4), Rhode Island (1), and Texas (1).

Twenty-seven people have been hospitalized. There have been no deaths.

The hospitalization rate is higher than usual in a Salmonella outbreak, according to CDC.

Among those victims for whom information is available, the rate is 60%. The usual hospitalization rate in Salmonella outbreaks is approximately 20%.

The Cavi papayas were distributed in six states, all of which have reported outbreak cases. There was no distribution in Florida or Texas.

The Florida victim reported traveling to Connecticut before becoming ill. The Texas victim reported having traveled to New York.

FDA, which is continuing its investigations, offers the following recommendations:

For Consumers, Restaurants, and Retailers:

Consumers in all states should not eat any Cavi brand whole, fresh papayas and should throw them away. If consumers are unable to determine the brand of papayas, they should be thrown away. Retailers, restaurants, and other food service providers in all states should not serve or sell whole, fresh papayas under the Cavi brand, which is distributed by Agroson’s LLC.

Consumers no longer need to avoid whole, fresh papayas, with the exception of Cavi brand papayas.

For Restaurants, Retailers, Importers, Suppliers, and Distributors in All States:

The FDA strongly advises importers, suppliers, and distributors, as well as restaurants, retailers, and other food service providers from all states to not sell or distribute whole, fresh papayas from Agroson’s LLC that are labeled under the Cavi brand.

Recalls and Alerts: August 2 – 6, 2017

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: Hahn Brothers, Inc. recalls Lou’s Garrett Valley Natural, All Natural black forest seasoned uncured ham nugget, FULLY COOKED WOOD SMOKED” (1.75-lb. of vacuum-packed mini ham packages; case code 74045; produced from Dec. 17, 2015 to July 27, 2017) due to undeclared malted barley. The recalled items were shipped to a distributor in New Jersey and further distributed to retail locations.

Allergy Alert: Fairway ‘‘Like No Other Market’’ ® of New York, NY recalls Fairway brand Cookies Blondie (10 oz.; All ‘Sell by’ dates; Item Code 268492 XXXXXX or 263413 XXXXXX) due to undeclared walnutes. The recalled product was distributed to Fairway stores in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut and also through home delivery programs provided by Fairway E-commerce, Google and Instacart.

Allergy Alert: Commonwealth Dairy, LLC recalls Friendly Farms Key Lime Crunch Tilts (Best by AUG/26/2017 04-161 (Lot #A8872 XXXX) and Best by SEP/22/2017 04-161 (Lot #A5003 XXXX); UPC 041498239091) due to undeclared almonds. The recalled product was distributed in Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Illinois, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, and California, and sold in Aldi Stores in those states.

Allergy Alert: Bateman recalls approximately 20,297 pounds of poultry products due to undeclared soy. Please refer to the recall notice for a detailed list of affected products, which were shipped to institutional locations in Arizona and California.

Food Safety Recall: Agroson’s LLC recalls Maradol Papaya Cavi Brand, grown and packed by Carica de Campeche (Master carton codes 3044, 3045 and 3050; distributed to wholesalers July 16-19, 2017), due to potential contamination with Salmonella. The recalled product, which was supplied to wholesalers in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, was grown on the same farm that produced the Salmonella-contaminated papayas identified as the likely source of a current outbreak of 109 Salmonella illnesses in 16 states.

Food Safety Recall: Amrita Health Foods recalls various flavors of Amrita Protein Bars (Best by 04/24/2018 to 05/31/2018) due to potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affecte products.

Food Safety Recall: Swede Point Creamery (Madrid, IA) recalls Goat Cheese Curd (7-oz bags; Code date 7-11), sold at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market on July 15 and 22, 2017, due to possible contamination.

Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: Rugby Laboratories recalls Diocto Liquid (50 mg/5 mL) and Diocto Syrup (60mg/15mL) stool softeners, manufactured by PharmaTech, LLC (473mL bottles; all lots with codes NDC 0536-0590-85 and NDC 0536-1001-85) due to potential contamination with Burkholderia cepacia. The recalled products were distributed nationwide to wholesale and retail facilities, including hospitals and pharmacies.

Dietary Supplement Safety Recall/Allergy Alert: AMPT Life, LLC recalls all lots of AMPT Coffee after FDA finds Sildenafil and Tadalafil in the product. The recalled AMPT Coffee also contains undeclared milk.

Canada

Food Safety Recall: Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd. recalls Gold Coast brand Broccettes – Broccoli Florettes (907g; Product code 12 AU 2017; UPC 7 35844 00033 5) due to E. coli O26 contamination. The recalled product was sold in Costco stores in British Columbia.

Food Safety Recall: Chez Robin Marché Local recalls duck rillettes, duck terrine and hummus ‘Maison’ (all lots up to and including August 1, 2017) as the products were not manufactured under conditions that ensure their safety.

Food Safety Recall: Les Entreprises Jean-Marie Gravel & fils inc. recalls Meat-based Spaghetti Sauce (500 mL and 1 Liter glass jars; all lots up to and including August 2, 2017) as the products were not manufactured under conditions that ensure their safety.

Food Safety Recall: Satonut recalls various products (all lots up to and including August 2, 2017) as the products were not manufactured under conditions that ensure their safety. Please refer to the recall notice for a complete list of affected products.

Europe

Food Safety Recall (Germany): Axvitalis GmbH recalls “Eier aus Bodenhaltung” eggs (Best before dates 4 August 2017 to 16 August 2017; Code on egg: 2-DE-0358851) due to Salmonella Enteritidis contamination.

Food Safety Recall (Luxembourg): Terbeke recalls Auchan brand Lasagne bolognaise (350g; Best by 15/08/2017) due to presence of a foreign body.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

Allergy Alert (Israel): Dean Marketing and Culinary Limited recalls Rami Levi brand Nuts (400g and 800g packages) due to undeclared peanuts.

Australia and New Zealand

Allergy Alert (New Zealand): Old Country Food (2015) Ltd. recalls Old Country Food brand BBQ Pork Buns (Best Before date between 03.05.2018 and 31.05.2018) due to undeclared peanuts. The recalled product was sold in retail outlets and ethnic grocery stores throughout the North Island and Christchurch.

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 website.

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains

**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.

Second Papaya Recall issued as Salmonella Outbreak Grows

One person dead, 35 hospitalized, 109 ill.

A second recall has been issued for Maradol papayas from Mexico as a result of the ongoing investigation into a Salmonella outbreak that has grown to 109 confirmed illnesses.

Agroson’s LLC (Bronx, NY) has recalled 2,483 boxes of Cavi brand Maradol Papayas, grown and packed by Carica de Campeche. The recalled papayas were supplied to wholesalers in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey from July 16 to 19, 2017.

The papayas were available for sale until July 31, 2017. Consumers can identify the papayas by PLU sticker, cavi MEXICO 4395.

According to the recall notice, Agroson’s has ceased importing papayas from Carica de Campeche.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported earlier today that the Salmonella outbreak linked to consumption of Maradol papayas imported from Mexico has more than doubled in size, and has spread to six additional states.

Most of the increase is due to the addition of cases from a second outbreak strain.

In addition to Salmonella Kiambu, CDC has confirmed a strain of Salmonella Thompson from a sample of papaya is genetically similar to Salmonella Thompson cultures recovered from patients. In all, Salmonella Kiambu has been found in 48 outbreak cases, and Salmonella Thompson in 61.

Confirmed outbreak cases have been reported from 16 states, including: Connecticut (4), Delaware (1), Iowa (2), Kentucky (2), Louisiana (1), Maryland (6), Massachusetts (3), Michigan (1), Minnesota (4), North Carolina (2), New Jersey (26), New York (36), Oklahoma (2), Pennsylvania (7), Virginia (11) and Wisconsin (1).

Texas, which was indicated to have reported a single outbreak cases in CDC’s initial announcement, has been removed from the list of affected states.

The first victim fell ill May 17th; the most illness developed on July 22nd. The youngest outbreak victim was less than one year old; the oldest was 95. Approximately two-thirds of the victims were female, and 68% were of Hispanic ethnicity.

The death was reported from New York City.

Initial investigtions identified Caribeña brand Maradol papayas as a source of the Salmonella Kiambu outbreak. On July 26th, Grande Produce (San Juan, Texas) issued a limited recall of papayas shipped to a Maryland distributor.

Traceback investigations carried out by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have identified the Carica de Campeche farm (Campeche, Mexico) as the likely source of the outbreak. According to FDA, papayas from Carica de Campeche tested positive for Salmonella Agona, Salmonella Senftenberg, and Salmonella Gaminara in addition to the outbreak strains of Salmonella Kiambu and Salmonella Thompson.

As a result of its findings, FDA has added Carica de Campeche to Import Alert 99-35 (Detention without physical examination of fresh produce that appears to have been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions) and has removed the farm from the Green List of entities exempt from Import Alert 21-17 (Countrywide Detention Without Physical Examination of Papaya from Mexico).

Carica de Campeche was granted an exemption from this detention notice in 2015.

FDA has stepped up testing of papayas from other farms in Mexico to determine whether they may be contaminated. If Salmonella is found in papaya from a farm, that entity will be added to the Import Alert 99-35 detention list.

What CDC wants consumers to know:

CDC recommends that consumers not eat, restaurants not serve, and retailers not sell Maradol papayas from Mexico until we learn more.

At this time, Caribeña brand papayas from Mexico have been identified as one brand linked to the outbreak.
- Consumers should not eat, restaurants should not serve, and retailers should not sell recalled papayas.
- Additional brands will be announced as the information becomes available.
Maradol papayas have a green skin that turns yellow as the fruit ripens.
A sticker on the Maradol papaya should say if the papaya is Caribeña brand and if it is from Mexico.
If you aren’t sure if the papaya you bought is a Maradol papaya from Mexico, you can ask the place of purchase. Restaurants and retailers can ask their supplier.
When in doubt, don’t eat, sell, or serve them and throw them out.
Wash and sanitize countertops as well as drawers or shelves in refrigerators where papayas were stored.

Contact a healthcare provider if you think you got sick from eating contaminated papaya.

Most people infected with Salmonella develop the following signs and symptoms 12-72 hours after being exposed to the bacteria:
- Diarrhea
- Fever
- Abdominal cramps