Italian mini-pastries sicken 87 in USA and Canada. CDC silent.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has traced a US outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis to consumption of frozen mini-pastries imported from Italy.

Eighteen (18) people in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania have been infected with the outbreak strain, which is identical to the strain that has infected 69 individuals in Canada.

One person in the US and 22 in Canada required hospitalization.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not posted any notice of this outbreak on its website.

The CDC website is currently undergoing modification, according to a notice featured prominently on each page of the agency website.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) first reported on this illness outbreak on January 19, 2025, and updated its report on January 29th.

Outbreak cases in Canada have been reported in British Columbia (4), Alberta (3), Ontario (24), Québec (37), and New Brunswick (1).

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) linked the Canadian illnesses to consumption of Sweet Cream brand mini pastries, imported from Italy.

The Sweet Cream brand mini pastries were recalled in Canada on January 18, 2025. On January 29, 2025, a separate recall of certain D. Effe T. brand pastries (also from Italy) was announced after one of the outbreak illnesses was believed to be associated with consumption of this brand.

According to the FDA, these same pastries were imported into the US by two distributors, both of whom were contacted by the agency. One of the distributors had no remaining product on hand; the other quarantined all remaining product on hand and informed all of their downstream customers of the recall.

In the US, the mini pastries were distributed in Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania to food service locations such as hotel cafes, bakeries, institutions, and restaurants. The mini pastries were also served at catered events.

According to the FDA, the recalled products should no longer be available for sale.

Recommendations from the FDA

Food service customers who received the recalled product should follow FDA’s safe handling and cleaning recommendations and use extra care in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces and containers that may have come in contact with recalled products to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
Contact your healthcare provider if you think you may have developed symptoms of a Salmonella infection.

Recommendations from the PHAC

The following advice applies to individuals, as well as retailers, distributors and food service establishments such as grocery stores, bakeries, hotels, restaurants, cafeterias as well as facilities such as hospitals and retirement residences across Canada:

Check to see if you have the recalled products in your home or establishment by looking for the specific product name and size, UPC and codes in the recall alert.
Do not consume, serve, use, sell or distribute recalled products.
Throw out or return recalled products to the location where they were purchased. Consumers or establishments who are unsure if they have purchased the recalled products are advised to contact their retailer or supplier where the products were purchased.
Do not cook food for other people if you’ve been diagnosed with a Salmonella infection or any other gastrointestinal illness.
Contact your health care provider if you think you’re experiencing symptoms of Salmonella infection.

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FDA finds Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes in ANSWERS raw dog foods. Issues Advisory

September 23, 2024

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued an Advisory to pet owners, recommending that they not feed certain ANSWERS raw dog foods to their pets.

The FDA collected and analyzed unopened retail samples of these products following receipt of three consumer complaints about sick dogs.

Two of the following products were found to be contaminated with Salmonella, one with Listeria monocytogenes, and one with both Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. All four products were packaged in 4-lb. (half-gallon) cartons.

Answers Pet Food Raw Beef Detailed Formula for Dogs
- UPC/bar code number: 856554002102
- BUBD: May 06 2026
Answers Pet Food Raw Beef Straight Formula for Dogs
- UPC/bar code number: 856554002072
- BUBD: Jan 31 2026
Answers Pet Food Straight Chicken Formula for Dogs
- UPC/bar code number: 856554002065
- BUBD: Jan 02 2026
Answers Pet Food Straight Chicken Formula for Dogs
- UPC/bar code number: 856554002065
- BUBD: Mar 11 2026

ANSWERS raw pet foods are manufactured by Lystn LLC. The products are sold on-line and in retail stores across the United States.

Company voluntarily withdraws products

Lystn, LLC, dba ANSWERS Pet Food announced a voluntary withdrawal of the four contaminated product batches, but stopped short of initiating a full recall. In announcing the product withdrawal, the company took pains to state that, “No illnesses associated with these lots have been confirmed.“

The FDA has not revealed whether one or more of the BUBD dates of the products in which it found Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes corresponds to products consumed by the sick dogs. (Note: ANSWERS does not use lot codes. Instead, a “Best If Used By” date (BUBD) is stamped on each package.)

Why did the FDA issue an Advisory?

As is usual in this type of situation, the FDA requests/recommends that a manufacturer initiate a voluntary product recall. This action triggers a standard oversight and follow-up by the agency to ensure that all of the contaminated product has been removed from the marketplace. The FDA also oversees the safe disposal of recalled product that has been recovered by the manufacturer.

In this instance, the company has declined to initiate a formal recall.

Due to concerns that a product withdrawal might not be adequate to ensure the safety of pets and their human companions, the FDA has reached out directly to consumers, explaining that, “To date, the firm has not initiated an adequate recall of the affected products.“

What the FDA wants consumers to know

If you have any of the Answers Pet Food products listed above, stop feeding it to your pets and throw it away in a secure container where other animals, including wildlife, cannot access it. Do not donate the food.

The Best Used By Date can be found on a sticker on the carton. If you no longer have the packaging or can’t read the Best Used By Date, throw the food away.

Consumers who have had these products in their homes should clean and disinfect all pet supplies, including all storage containers, bowls, utensils, food prep surfaces, pet bedding, litter boxes, toys, floors, and any other surfaces that the food or pet may have had contact with, including your refrigerator or freezer. Clean up the pet’s feces in places where people or other animals may become exposed. Consumers should thoroughly wash their hands after handling the product or cleaning up potentially contaminated items and surfaces.

How to report a pet illness to the FDA

People who think their pets have become ill after consuming contaminated pet food should first contact their veterinarians. Veterinarians who wish to have pets tested for Salmonella and L. mono may do so through the Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN Network) if the pet is from a household with a person infected with Salmonella or L. mono.

The FDA encourages consumers to report complaints about pet food products electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal. Additionally, consumers can visit the SmartHub – Safety Intake Portal – Report a Product Problem (fda.gov) to obtain electronic assistance with submitting a report.

“A complete and compelling account of the hidden and not-so-hidden ways the food we give our beloved pets can be contaminated.” – JoNel Aleccia, Health Reporter, Food & Nutrition, The Associated Press.

“An invaluable resource for busy pet owners” – Food Safety News

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FDA releases report on Purina complaints investigation

Between November 22, 2023, and April 15, 2024, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received approximately 1,300 adverse event reports for a variety of Purina pet foods.

Today (July 31, 2024) after more than half a year of follow-up work, including pet owner interviews, lab analyses, and a plant inspection, the agency released the results of its investigation.

Initial triage of complaints

Following an initial review of the ~1300 Adverse Event Reports (ie., complaints), agency veterinarians established a set of criteria to select complaints for more detailed follow-up. The criteria were:

Owner’s willingness to be contacted for additional information
Type of symptoms reported (primarily gastrointestinal, hepatic and neurologic cases were selected)
Time between the illness and submission of report (prioritizing recent illness)
Availability of veterinary medical records
Availability of product with lot number and best-by date

Out of the 1300 complaints received, 107 met all of the established criteria.

The follow-up

The FDA pursued one or more of the following avenues for each of the 107 complaints flagged for follow-up.

Review of veterinary medical records
Interview of pet owners about their pets’ medical and diet histories and other potential exposures
Lab testing of pet food samples still in the pet owners’ possession, including tests for
- Mycotoxins (aflatoxin, fumonisin, deoxynivalenol)
- Excess vitamin D
- Bacteria (including Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, Staphylococcus aureus)
- Pesticides
- Phosphine (a fumigant used to control insects on grain and other commodities)
- Rancid fat
- Metals

In addition to tests carried out on samples obtained from pet owners, FDA collected 20 sealed product samples from retail settings, representing four brands of Purina pet food. These samples were subjected to the same battery of tests as listed above.

Finally, the FDA conducted a comprehensive Preventive Controls Surveillance Inspection at the Purina manufacturing facility in Clinton, Iowa, the manufacturing site of the most frequently mentioned products in the complaints.

The lab findings

Lab tests did not reveal the presence of mycotoxins, pesticides, phosphine, rancid fat, excess vitamin D, pathogenic bacteria, or excessive heavy metals in any of the samples obtained from pet owners or from retail settings.

Bacillus cereus was found in 17 samples obtained from open packages of pet food collected from pet owners’ homes. Bacillus cereus is a common environmental contaminant, and genetic analysis of the 17 strains showed that they were unrelated to each other. None of the sealed packages of pet food contained Bacillus cereus.

Lab tests were conducted for the following metals and micronutrients: arsenic, cadmium, calcium, chromium, cobalt, copper, iron, lead, magnesium, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, sulfur, thallium and zinc. Findings for metals, including micronutrients, were not of clinical concern, meaning levels were likely too low to trigger animal illness in otherwise healthy pets, according to the FDA report.

The inspection

A team consisting of two FDA investigators and one inspector from the Iowa Department of Agriculture conducted a three-day inspection that began on April 30, 2024.

During the course of the inspection, the team reviewed the firm’s food safety plan, hazard analysis, GMPs, employee training, complaints, pest control, management interviews, and associated records.

The visit did not include a physical inspection of the production plant. No environmental, in-process, or finished product samples were collected during the inspection.

At the end of the inspection, the FDA issued a Form 483, citing the company for not conducting a reanalysis of its food safety plan after having been notified by a representative of the FDA regarding complaints associated with a new potential hazard in pet food.

The plant manager claimed to have been unaware of the complaints/new potential hazard in the pet food they were manufacturing. He explained that complaints were handled at the corporate level. The corporate Director of Quality Assurance acknowledged having been made aware of the complaints. He stated that they had been working on the potential issue at the corporate level with their microbiologists and currently did not see it as a hazard.

The FDA’s conclusion (quoted verbatim)

After thoroughly analyzing pet food adverse event reports, testing opened products from pet owners and sealed products from retail settings, and conducting a facility inspection, the FDA has determined the existing evidence does not identify a public health concern that could explain the symptoms detailed in these adverse event reports about Purina pet foods.

The agency followed standard processes in evaluating the adverse event reports and identifying those most likely to yield additional information. However, this situation did present unique challenges in that there was a large volume of reports describing a wide array of reported symptoms, but relatively few met the criteria for follow up. The agency is aware of various media outlets and bloggers that have reported a high number of adverse events. Unfortunately, the FDA did not receive data to fully evaluate or substantiate most of these cases. As a science-based regulatory and public health agency, the FDA relies on data to be able to analyze adverse events and identify causes of illness.

Throughout its analysis, the FDA had a conscious commitment to notify the public if it uncovered information, such as laboratory results indicating contamination or a specific illness in pets that ate a particular lot, that could translate into actionable advice for veterinarians or pet owners. The agency has previously issued safety advisories in situations when there was a common link between the reports, such as findings of a pathogen, vitamin overdose, or disease agent that connected the food to the illnesses. In the recent situation regarding the adverse event reports mentioning Purina pet food, there was no direct or consistent connection between the wide range of adverse events submitted to the FDA, and evidence does not conclusively link the reported adverse events to Purina pet food.

The FDA continues to monitor and evaluate pet food adverse event reports to identify potential follow-up actions. The agency encourages consumers and veterinarians to submit reports about issues with pet food electronically through the Safety Reporting Portal or by calling an FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator. For additional support with using the online Safety Reporting Portal, the FDA now offers the SmartHub – Safety Intake Portal, where an electronic assistant helps walk individuals through the process of submitting their report. For an explanation of the information and level of detail that would be helpful to include in a report to the FDA, please see How to Report a Pet Food Complaint.