Tag: E. coli O157:H7

Recalls and Alerts: January 28, 2013

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.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

  • Food Safety Recall: Advance Pierre Foods (Enid, OK) recalls Fast Classics Chicken Fried Chicken Breasts (22.75-oz pouches and cases containing 6 x 22.75-oz pouches; Est P-2260Y; Best by Jan 22, 2014; Lot #1522960202; UPC 75901-33100), because the product may contain small pieces of metal. The recalled product was supplied to Walmart stores  in Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.
  • Food Safety Recall: Whole Foods Market recalls Whole Catch Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon cold smoked salmon (4 oz; Lot code 7425A2298B; UPC 0 99482 40880 0), after a sample of the product tests positive for Listeria. The recalled product was sold in Whole Foods Market stores in Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and Utah.
  • Food Safety Recall: Sprouters Northwest (Kent, WA) recalls Sprouters Northwest brand Clover Sprouts (4-oz container, 5-oz container, 1-lb bag & 2-lb tray; Best by 1/26/2013), Brocco Sandwich Sprouts (4-oz container; Best by 1/26/2013), Spicy Sprouts (4-oz container; Best by 1/26/2013) and Alfalfa Sprouts (3-oz container & 4-oz container; Best by 1/31/2013), after two samples collected at retail locations by the Washington State Department of Agriculture were found to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled sprouts were supplied from 1/10/13 to 1/18/13 in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and British Columbia (Canada) through retail stores and food service distribution.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: D&S Herbals, LLC, dba Freedom Trading (Woodbridge, NJ) recalls Super Power capsules (2-count blister pack; Batch Lot #L08108; Expiration date 06/2015), after tests conducted by an independent lab detected trace amounts of sildenafil in the product.
  • Personal Care Product Withdrawal: Topco Associates expands its earlier Market Withdrawal of Top Care Foaming Antibacterial Hand Soap Complete to include all lot codes, due to the presence of white floating particles throughout the product.
  • Personal Care Product Withdrawal: Johnson & Johnson Healthcare Products Division of McNEIL-PPC, Inc. withdraws K-Y® TINGLING® Jelly, K-Y® Sensitive Jelly and K-Y® SILK-E® Vaginal Moisturizer and Personal Lubricant after a review process determined that these items may require submission of new data to support a new medical device clearance (510(k)) application.

Canada

  • Outbreak Alert Final Update: The Public Health Agency of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have concluded their investigation into an outbreak of five cases of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses (three in Ontario and two in Alberta) associated with the consumption of frozen beef burgers. The source of the outbreak was Butcher’s Choice Garlic Peppercorn frozen beef burgers, manufactured by Cardinal Meat Specialists Limited. The implicated beef was recalled in December 2012.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Belgium): Nutrition & Santé Benelux recalls Céréal Gaufrettes Choco / Chocowafels (90g; Lot 2L0755; Expiry 13.08.2013), due to the possible presence of traces of rodenticide in the milk powder ingredient.
  • Food Safety Recall (UK): The Co-operative recalls The Co-operative Breaded Chicken Nuggets (425g; Best before end October 2013; Batch codes L2288 6B and L2288 6C), because plastic has been found in some of the packets.
  • Contact Lens Safety Recall (France): Johnson & Johnson Vision Care recalls 1-Day ACUVUE MOIST Contact Lenses (Lot #2054895620) and ACUVUE ADVANCE with HYDRACLEAR Contact Lenses (Lot #B00DJPQ), because incomplete package seals may compromise the sterility of the contact lenses.
  • Pet Food Safety Notification (EU #2013.0093): Salmonella typhimurium in dog chew from Argentina; distributed to Germany.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2013.0095): Ochratoxin A in coffee from Belgium; distributed to Belgium and France.
  • Allergy Alert Notification (EU #2013.0096 & 2013.0097): Undeclared milk ingredient in frozen breaded prefried fish with improper packaging from Sweden; distributed to Sweden.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2013.0098): Glass fragments in jarred cherries from Germany; distributed to Germany.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Alert (Saudi Arabia): The Saudi Food and Drug Authority alerts the population that 250-ml, 2-liter, 1-gallon and 5-liter containers of potable water bottled by Naqa Al Shallal Factory (Makkah) exceeds the maximum concentration of bromate permitted in bottled water. The company has been instructed to withdraw the product from the market and cease manufacturing until it is in compliance.

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, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.

Adulteration – In The Eyes Of The Beholden?

“Salmonella on a raw uncooked product is not, in and of itself, a public health risk … Salmonella on a raw uncooked hamburger does not make it adulterated. It does not mean that the plant is not operating in an unsanitary way.”

– Patrick Boyle, CEO of the American Meat Institute, in a 2002 Frontline interview

E. coli O157:H7 is a human pathogen that can be found in the intestines of cattle and other ruminants. In 2009-2010, this single serotype of shigatoxin-producing E. coli (STEC) was responsible for thirteen multistate disease outbreaks. USDA recognizes E. coli O157:H7 and six other STEC serotypes as adulterants in raw beef.

Salmonella is a human pathogen that can be found in the intestines of cattle and many other animals. In 2009-2010, Salmonella was behind twenty-one multistate disease outbreaks. Yet, as far as USDA is concerned, Salmonella is NOT an adulterant in raw beef.

According to the Federal Meat Inspection Act, meat is considered “adulterated” if  “…it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health…“ A USDA training program explains that, “… E. coli O157:H7 is considered to be an added substance because it is introduced to the product during processing. For example, it is spread from the hide or digestive tract of the animals during slaughter or processing. It is injurious to health because one of the normal ways of cooking this product includes “rare” which is not sufficient to destroy the pathogen.”

In case anyone at USDA hasn’t noticed, Salmonella also is ” … spread from the hide or digestive tract of the animals during slaughter or processing.“ And Salmonella, likewise, is not destroyed by “rare” cooking of meat.

Since October 2011, the CDC has reported three multistate outbreaks of Salmonella infections that were linked to consumption of contaminated ground beef.

  • Between October 8th and December 17th, 2011, twenty persons in seven states were infected with Salmonella Typhimurium. Victims included a child less than one year of age, and a 79-year-old individual. Eight people were hospitalized. The illnesses were traced to ground beef purchased from Hannaford supermarkets.
  • Between June 6th and July 27th, 2012, forty-six persons in nine states were infected with Salmonella Enteritidis. The youngest outbreak victim was three years old; the eldest was 101. Twelve people were hospitalized. The outbreak was traced to ground beef produced on a single date at a Cargill Meat Solutions production facility.
  • On January 25, 2013, CDC announced a new outbreak. Sixteen people in five states have been infected with the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak strain so far. Seven of the outbreak victims reported eating raw ground beef kibbeh at a restaurant in Michigan. Seven of the 16 outbreak victims were hospitalized. CDC considers that ground beef produced by two companies – Jouni Meats, Inc., and Gab Halal Foods – is the likely source of the outbreak.

In 2001, a Texas-based meat processor (Supreme Beef) successfully fought USDA’s efforts to set limits on Salmonella in raw meat, after the Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling in the company’s favor. USDA chose NOT to take the battle to the US Supreme Court. The following year, an effort by the Senator Tom Harkin, the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, to introduce legislation to clarify USDA’s authority was opposed – successfully – by the American Meat Institute.

In short, more than ten years ago, USDA tucked its collective head back into its tortoise shell, even though Salmonella is, BY DEFINITION OF THE FEDERAL MEAT INSPECTION ACT, an adulterant.

Are USDA and Congress waiting for raw beef to be the source of a FATAL Salmonella outbreak before scraping together the courage to oppose the American Meat Institute lobby? Are those responsible for food safety so beholden to – or frightened of – the meat lobby that nothing else will embolden them to take action?

Someone explain this to me. Please!

Recalls and Alerts: January 18, 2013

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.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

  • Allergy Alert: King’s Delight (Gainesville, GA) recalls APPLEGATE® Naturals Gluten-Free Chicken Nuggets (8-oz cartons; Est. P-2617; Lot #210864; Best before 08/28/13; UPC 25317-00556), due to undeclared wheat. The recalled products were supplied to retail stores in Indiana, Maryland, Oregon and Washington.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: Fromagerie Bergeron Inc. recalls Fromagerie Bergeron Brins de Gouda Firm Unripened Cheese (100g, 180g, 230g, 260g, 300g, 500g & 2.5Kg sizes; Packaged 2013 JA 14; Best before 2013 JA 29; Lot 13-0065), Fromagerie Bergeron Le Populaire Unripened Firm Cheese (335g & 675g sizes; Prepared 2013JA14; Best before 2013AL14; Lot 13-65 or 13-66) and Fromagerie Bergeron Le Populaire Unripened Firm Cheese (2.2 (variable weight) Kg; Preparation date 13JA1465; 13AL14), due to the presence of metal fragments. The recalled products were supplied to retailers in Quebec, including Costco Canada.
  • Outbreak Alert Update: The Public Health Agency of Canada reports that an additional outbreak case of E. coli O157:H7 has been confirmed in New Brunswick, bringing the total number of cases to thirty, including 7 in New Brunswick, 10 in Nova Scotia and 13 in Ontario. The illnesses are most likely related to the consumption of shredded lettuce from California that was distributed to some KFC and KFC-Taco Bell restaurants by FreshPoint Inc. Thirteen of the 30 outbreak victims have been hospitalized, including one who developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Dietary Supplement Safety Alert (Hong Kong): The Department of Health warns the public not to purchase or consume Leisure 18 Slimming Coffee, as it was found to contain the undeclared and banned drug ingredients sibutramine and phenolphthalein.

Australia and New Zealand

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, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.
**Includes Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs and Pak N’ Save.