Tag: Food

Recalls and Alerts: June 21, 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.

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: Leasa Industries Co., Inc. (Miami, FL) recalls LEASA Living Alfalfa Sprouts (6-oz containers; Use by date 7/2/12; UPC 75465-55912), after routine customer sample testing detected Salmonella in the product. The recalled product was sold at Publix stores in the Atlanta Division and Miami Division, and may also have been distributed to other grocery stores, retailers and food service clients.
  • Food Safety Recall: Square-H Brands, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA) recalls Coarse Ground Smoked Bacon Ends and Pieces (25-lb cases; Packaged April 25, 2012; Est 748; Case code 1410070), because the product may contain pieces of cardboard and plastic. The recalled product was distributed to a separate federally inspected establishment in Hawaii for further distribution and use in other products.
  • Outbreak Alert Update: CDC reports that a total of 390 persons infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella Bareilly (376 persons) or Salmonella Nchanga (14 persons) have been reported from 27 states and the District of Columbia; 47 people hospitalized. The outbreak was linked in April to the consumption of a frozen raw yellowfin tuna product known as Nakaochi Scrape, supplied by Moon Marine USA Corporation. The implicated product was recalled by the importer.

Canada

  • Food Safety Recall: Walmart Canada Corp. recalls Smithfield Pork Back Ribs (1.354 kg; Best before 2012 JN 14 and 2012 JN 15; UPC 6 28915 00804 3). No reason was given for the recalled. The product was sold in Ontario.
  • Food Recall: Pepsico Beverages Canada recalls Tropicana Essentials Orange Juice with Added Calcium & Vitamin D – No Pulp (2.63 L; Code JL 09 12; UPC 0 48500 01847 4), giving “Nutrition” as the reason for the recall. The recalled product was sold nationally.
  • Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: Health Canada reports that Natural Vigor Maximum (Manufactured in Canada by Professional Botanicals Inc.; Distributed by Magic Health Food Corporation) has been removed from sale in Ontario after testing by Health Canada identified the presence of undisclosed dimethylhomosildenafil, an ingredient that may pose serious risks to health. The product was sold at Magic Health (Toronto), Herb Vitamin (Mississauga) and Smart Natural Health Products Inc. (Markham), as well as through the Magic Health Food Corporation website, and may also have been distributed elsewhere in Canada.

Europe

  • Allergy Alert (UK): Lituanica UK Ltd. recalls Pasaka Vermisellai Pasta (400g; All date codes up to and including 16 March 2014), because the product, which was labeled as egg-free, has been found to contain traces of egg.
  • Allergy Alert (Denmark): Dr. Oetker Denmark A/S recalls Dr. Oetker Mousse au Chocolat (190g; Best before 21.05.2013 and 22.09.2013), because the product contains undeclared soy.
  • Food Safety Alert (Netherlands): Dille & Kamille warns that some bottles of Breckland Orchard Pear & Elder Flower and Breckland Orchard Blackcurrant & Raspberry soft drinks probably are excessively pressurized, which might cause the bottle cap to explode off the bottle spontaneously.
  • Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall (France): Novartis Pharma S.A.S. recalls Trileptal (oxcarbazepine), 600 mg coated tablets (Lots #T1047, T1062, T1069, T1085 and T1091) due to an error in the braille dosage imprint.
  • Outbreak Alert (Ireland): Four Longford children have been hospitalized after an outbreak of E. coli in two Co. Longford creches, according to a report in the Longford Leader.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating yet another confirmed case of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, this time in a 77-year old woman with a history of chronic illness. The patient had no recent travel history, and her home contacts were asymptomatic.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating two fatal cases of Vibrio vulnificus infections – both of them fatal. One of the two patients had consumed raw mantis shrimp. The home contacts of both victims were asymptomatic.

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.

From The Mailbag: Botulism and Vacuum-Packed Fish

I received an email a couple of weeks ago from Pamela in Canada, who asked the following question:

“I live in Canada, in Toronto, and I’ve noticed that there have been two or maybe even three separate and apparently unrelated incidents here involving botulism in vacuum-packed fish in gourmet grocery stores. I think that at least in some cases, this is fish from other suppliers that the stores have simply repackaged. From my limited knowledge I also understand that botulism can flourish in an anaerobic environment – like that of a vacuum bag?? Which leads me to wonder….. Are vacuum bags safe? What’s going on here?”

I was reminded of Pamela’s question yesterday, courtesy of the latest food safety alert from FDA. Euphoria Fancy Food Inc. (Brooklyn, NY) is recalling Dried Bream (7.5-oz vacuum packed plastic bags; Product of Russia; No batch or date codes; UPC 7 930042 250954), which was found by the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets to not have been properly eviscerated prior to processing.

Several US states – including New York – have banned the sale of uneviscerated preserved fish, because the spores of Clostridium botulinum are more likely to be concentrated in the viscera than in any other part of the fish. New York State monitors for this hazard on a routine basis and issues an alert whenever it finds that uneviscerated or incompletely eviscerated fish are offered for sale. The state has posted three such alerts so far this year.

The hazard is not just academic. In April 2012, three people in the Greater Toronto (Ontario, Canada) area developed botulism after eating a traditional uneviscerated, salted and cured fish (fesikh) at a catered event. The fesikh was supplied by Lotus Catering and Fine Food in Toronto.

Fesikh is a traditional dish served as part of Egypt’s spring celebration, according to an article in the Egypt Independent. “The best fesikh,” the owner of a fish shop in Old Cairo told the reporter, “is made of grey mullet fish from either Bardawil Lake, or from Kafr al-Sheikh Governorate, and then left out in containers until distended. When it is sufficiently putrefied, salt is added and the fish are left to pickle for at least 40 days.”

Not all dried, smoked or preserved foods are encouraged to putrefy as part of their recipe. But, allowing the contents of the intestinal tract to remain inside the fish during its drying, salting, smoking or pickling steps is not a safe practice, even without the putrefaction step.

In addition to the fesikh health hazard alert, there have been two recalls of vacuum packaged fish in Canada in 2012 – both in Toronto. McEwan Gourmet Grocery Store recalled two brands of Smoked Salmon in April, and Pusateri’s Fine Foods recalled several different products in June. Unfortunately, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency did not explain why it thought that these products were potentially contaminated with Clostridium botulinum.

Pamela is correct – Clostridium botulinum loves a vacuum. Manufacturers who use vacuum-packaging as a means of extending the shelf life of a product must pay special attention to the processing and to the ingredients used to prevent this pathogen from growing. Nevertheless, the risk of contracting botulism from a correctly preserved and processed vacuum-packaged food is extremely low. Nor must a food be vacuum-packed in order to be the source of a botulism incident.

In 1978, a Colorado restaurant wrapped potatoes in foil, baked them, and allowed them to cool – still foil-wrapped – overnight without refrigeration. The next day, the potatoes were cut up to make potato salad. Twelve people developed botulism symptoms; seven of them were hospitalized. The temperature/time combination used to bake the potatoes was not enough to kill the Clostridium botulinum spores, and the ambient temperature cooling period allowed the microbe to germinate, grow, and produce its toxin in the tightly wrapped potatoes.

The bottom line is that food must be processed, stored and handled in a safe manner regardless of whether or not it is vacuum-packed. Or, as I recently told Food Safety News

Food safety is a farm-to-table responsibility, whether the table is in a family’s kitchen, a seniors’ residence dining hall, a school cafeteria or a five-star restaurant.

Recalls and Alerts: June 19, 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.

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

  • Medical Device Safety Recall: Nidek Medical Products, Inc. recalls several models of Nidek Medical Mark5 Nuvo oxygen concentrators, due to a capacitor component inside the concentrators found in some instances to fail, which has resulted in residential and nursing home fires, and loss of supplemental oxygen supply. Please refer to the recall notice for details of the recall.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns International Specialty Supply Holding, Inc. (Cookeville, TN) that a February 2012 inspection of the company’s sprout growing facility revealed insanitary conditions and practices which cause the company’s fresh cut products to be adulterated within the meaning of Section 402(a)(4) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, because they were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Oza Compound Products, LLC (Fort Wayne, IN) that a January 2012 inspection of the company’s dietary supplement manufacturing facility revealed significant violations of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice (CGMP) regulations for dietary supplements.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Hijos De Carlos Albo S.L. (Vigo, Spain) that a December 2011 inspection of the company’s seafood manufacturing facility found serious deviations from the Seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Regulation.
  • FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Neukom Groves, Inc. (Zephyrhills, FL) that a February 2012 inspection of the company’s juice processing facility found serious deviations from the FDA’s juice processing regulation.

Europe

  • Food Safety Recall (Greece): Olympia A. Nikolaidou & Co. recalls Dried Tomatoes (Product of Belmar AS, Turkey; Lot 03/2012; Expiration date 12/2014) because of excessive levels of sulfur dioxide.
  • Food Safety Recall (UK): Sainsbury’s recalls Sainsbury’s So Organic Fruit and Nut Mix (300g; All date codes), after Salmonella was detected in one package.
  • Food Withdrawal (Denmark): Haugen Group Denmark A/S withdraws Swipper Freeze-Yourself-Er Tutti Frutti (Cola, Tutti Frutti and Strawberry; 12 x 40 mL; Best before 11th October 2012; Lot #1081011; Product of Sweden), because there is evidence of acetic acid bacteria in green Tutti-Frutti ice cream. The Cola and Strawberry flavors are unaffected.
  • Food Safety Recall (Germany): BVL, the German food safety authority, announces the recall of table eggs (Manufacturer DE-0-0356091; Best before 06/14/2012 and later), due to excessive levels of dioxin and dioxin-like PCBs.
  • Outbreak Alert (Spain): Approximately 30 patrons of the Minero de La Unión bar  developed gastroenteritis as a result of Salmonella infection. Four people were hospitalized.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.0839): Cadmium in snails from Italy; distributed to France and Italy.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Outbreak Alert Update (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigation three additional cases of bacillary dystentery caused by Shigella sonnei, bringing the outbreak total to nine, since the beginning of June. The three new patients all lived in Tuen Mun.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Allergy Alert (Australia): Valcorp Fine Foods Pty Ltd. recalls LaBella Cioccolata 1963 Drinking Chocolate (10 x 20g sachets in 200g cardboard box; Date marking 21/02/2013, 22/02/2013 and 23/02/2013) due to the presence of undeclared milk. The product was sold at Myer, Harvey Norman and The Good Guys nationally, and has been displayed and used in demonstrations at store level where coffee-making machines are located.

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.