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: Haig’s Delicacies (Hayward, CA) recalls Tzatziki (8 oz retail containers & 5-lb bulk foodservice cases) due to undeclared milk, Falafel (5 oz rectangular deli containers & 5-lb bulk foodservice cases) due to undeclared wheat, Spanakopita (bulk foodservice containers) due to undeclared wheat, milk and eggs, and Tyropita (bulk foodservice containers) due to undeclared wheat, milk and eggs. The recalled products were sold nationwide.
• FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Sales USA, Inc. (Gladewater, TX) that an August 2012 inspection of the company’s manufacturing facility revealed serious violations of the juice Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation, and the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulation for food.
• FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Seapak O.C.I. (Masset, Canada) that a June 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility found serious violations of the Seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
• FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Koon Cheong Lung (Panyu, China) that a July 2012 inspection of the company’s food manufacturing facility found serious violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) Regulation for foods and the Seafood HACCP Regulation.
• FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Ocean Pier, Inc. (Scoudouc, New Brunswick, Canada) that a June 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood processing facility found serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
• FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns All American Trading of Houston, Inc. (Houston, TX) that a September 2012 inspection of the company’s seafood distribution establishment found serious violations of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
• FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Sterling USA Neutraceutical Lab, LLC (Glendale, CA) that a May 2012 inspection of the company’s dietary supplement manufacturing facility found significant violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) in Manufacturing, Packaging, Labeling, or Holding Operations for Dietary Supplements.
• FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns GM Manufacturing, Inc. (Gardena, CA) that a January-February 2012 inspection of the company’s dietary supplement manufacturing facility found significant violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulation for dietary supplements.

Canada

• Outbreak Alert/Food Safety Recall Update: The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) announced on December 24th that it had completed its investigation into the source of E. coli O157:H7 found in burgers produced at Cardinal Meat Specialists Limited. The burgers were recalled earlier this month after being linked to five cases of E. coli O157:H7 illness in Ontario and Alberta. After assessing production, inspection and testing records, conducting additional testing on all ingredients and reviewing plant food safety procedures, CFIA was unable to determine the source of the contamination.

Europe

• Food Safety Recall (Switzerland): Coop recalls Bio Nussbrot/Organic Nut Bread (400g; Product code 7610846856667), Bio Buurebrot/Organic Buurebrot (450g; Product code 7611654685142) and St. Gallen halbweiss/St. Gallen Half white (500g; Product code 7610800647119), because the breads may contain very small aluminum particles. The affected loaves of bread were sold before 10:00 am on December 21, 2012 in affected Coop stores in Northwest Switzerland (Aargau, Basel-Land, Basel-Stadt and Solothum).

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Outbreak Alert (Taiwan): The China Post reports that health experts have recorded an unusually high number of norovirus-related diarrhea cases so far this winter. The tally of 10,108 reports of watery diarrhea at emergency departments last week was a five-year high.
• Food Safety Enforcement (Abu Dhabi): The Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority has closed down the Musaffah Electrical Bakery (License No. 1038138) due to repeated non-compliance with food safety rules and regulations.

Australia and New Zealand

• Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (Australia): GlaxoSmithKline and Alphapharm recall Ventolin Inhalers (Batch Numbers KN7170, KN7173, KN7178, and KN7179) and Asmol Inhalers (Batch Numbers KL6790, KL6795, KL6796, KL6797, KL6798, and KL6799) due to a fault in the delivery mechanism of a small number of inhalers that can lead to less than a full dose being delivered for each puff. The inhalers are used to treat asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. To find the batch number of your inhaler, remove the canister from the coloured tube and read the bottom of the canister label.

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.