Tag: Salmonella Mbandaka

Recalls and Alerts: September 14–16, 2025

eFoodAlert posts links to recalls for English-language countries only. If you are interested in recall information for other countries (including EU-member countries), please click on the Recall Link menu, above.

The live links in this post 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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Outbreak/Illness Investigations

AUSTRIA (Update): Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) is investigating an outbreak of 49 cases of illnesses caused by Salmonella Kenya. Cases have been reported in all federal states of Austria. Fifteen people have been hospitalized.

CANADA: PHAC is investigating an outbreak of 27 cases of Salmonella Oranienburg illnesses linked to contact with dog food and/or dog treats. Six people have been hospitalized. A common source or supplier of the dog food or dog treats has not been identified.

CANADA (Update): PHAC continues its investigation into a Salmonella outbreak linked to pistachios and pistachio products. As of September 15, 2025, five provinces have reported a total of 79 lab-confirmed outbreak cases, including: British Columbia (5), Manitoba (1), Ontario (17), Quebec (55), and New Brunswick (1). Eleven of the outbreak victims have been hospitalized. The outbreak encompasses multiple Salmonella strains, including: Salmonella Havana, Salmonella Mbandaka, Salmonella Meleagridis, and Salmonella Tennessee. CFIA has posted a list of product recalls associated with this outbreak investigation.

DENMARK (Update): The Staten Serum Institut has traced an outbreak of five cases of Listeria monocytogenes to fish cakes produced by Tenax Sild A/S. The manufacturer has recalled several varieties of the product.

United States

Food Safety Recall: Sprout Organics recalls Sprout Organics® Sweet Potato Apple and Spinach (3.5 oz; Lot 4212; Expiration date 10/29/2025) due to elevated lead.

Food Safety Recall: PRIMO NO. 1 IN PRODUCE, INC recalls five cucumber products due to Salmonella contamination.

Food Safety Recall: Quality Poultry & Seafood, Inc. recalls approximately 98,916 pounds of catfish fillet products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection.

Canada

No Alerts

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Ireland and United Kingdom

Allergy Alert (UK): Spoon Cereals recalls Cinnamon + Pecan Granola (400g; Best before 22 May 2026 and 26 May 2026) due to undeclared oats (gluten) and peanuts.

Allergy Alert (UK): Farmfoods recalls Farmfoods Chicken & Spinach Pasta (350g; Batch codes L5192B05D, L5192C05D, L5193C05D, L5193A05D, and L5193B05D; Best before January 2027) due to undeclared crustaceans, fish and molluscs.

Hong Kong and Singapore

No Alerts

Australia and New Zealand

Allergy Alert (Australia): Kaisi Australia Holdings Pty Ltd recalls Gong Sugar Crisp/Gong Sugar Cookies (Sesame Flavour) (100g; All date markings) due to undeclared peanuts.

Food Safety Recall Update (New Zealand): Vimms Enterprise Limited recalls Deep brand Green Garlic (340g; Use by 29 NOV 2026) due to possible Salmonella contamination.

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“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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BREAKING NEWS: Backyard poultry Salmonella outbreak turns deadly

The number of confirmed Salmonella infections linked to contact with backyard poultry has increased almost 15-fold, from seven cases in 6 states as of May 5, 2025 to 104 cases in 35 states as of May 30th.

One person has died; twenty-five have been hospitalized.

The CDC has added a second outbreak strain to its investigation. The agency reports that cases linked to backyard poultry include infections with Salmonella Mbandaka and Salmonella Enteritidis.

Victims range in age from less than one year to 85 years, with a median age of 18 years. Nearly one third of the victims (32%) are less than five years old.

If history is any indicator, we could easily see another 10-fold increase in the confirmed case count. During the decade spanning 2015-2024, contact with backyard poultry accounted for more than 9300 confirmed Salmonella infections, 1,999 hospitalizations and 12 deaths.

TAINTED formats 3
“Reads like a true crime novel” – Food Safety News

Interested in learning more about food safety and the history of foodborne disease outbreaks and investigations?

Click on the link to listen to a short excerpt, then follow the buy links to add a digital, print or audio copy to your personal library.

Chapter 6. Birth of a Pathogen
Order TAINTED now from your preferred on-line retailer

Honey Smacks manufacturer pleads guilty to food safety violations

Kerry, Inc., manufacturer of the breakfast cereal that was responsible for a 2018 Salmonella outbreak that sent thirty-four victims to hospital, has pled guilty in federal court to a charge that it manufactured the cereal under insanitary conditions.

The contaminated Kellogg’s Honey Smacks breakfast cereal caused 135 confirmed illnesses in 36 states.

According to a news release from the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the company has agreed to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture amount totaling $19,228,000.

The plea agreement has not yet been accepted by the court.

According to the DOJ’s news release, if the agreement is accepted, “…the $19.228 million fine and forfeiture will constitute the largest-ever criminal penalty following a criminal conviction in a food safety case.”

The company shut down operations at its Gridley, Illinois, facility in December 2018 due to a drop in demand for the products manufactured at that location.

In October 2022, Ravi Kumar Chermala, Kerry’s former Quality Assurance Director, pled guilty to three misdemeanor counts of introducing adulterated food into Interstate Commerce.

Kerry Inc. released a statement on February 3, 2023, in which the company regretted “…the unacceptable practices and failures that occurred at Gridley.”

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On the Q-T

The FDA’s investigation into this Salmonella outbreak–and the subsequent actions taken against the manufacturer–have been surrounded by a veil of silence from the beginning.

Honey Smacks cereal was manufactured by Kerry Inc. under a third-party contract with the Kellogg Company. At the time of the initial investigation, the FDA declined to reveal the name of the manufacturer it believed to be responsible for the Salmonella outbreak.

It was only after the CDC had declared the outbreak to be over that the FDA revealed the name of the manufacturer.

The FDA also declined to identify the Salmonella serotype it had discovered during the inspection of Kerry’s manufacturing facility and declined to reveal whether the strain it found was a genetic match to the strain recovered from outbreak victims.

In July 2018, Kerry initiated a recall of 82 tons of Soy Honey Cluster. Two days later, General Mills recalled six production batches of Cheerios Protein Oats and Honey cereal. In both cases, the potential for Salmonella contamination was given as the reason for the recall. Yet, no public notice was posted on the FDA website in either case.

What next?

The next step in this process will be for the Court to decide whether or not to accept the plea agreement.

The case has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge James E. Shadid and Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley in Peoria, Illinois, and a sentencing date of March 14, 2023, has been set.

Information regarding upcoming court hearings or other significant developments in the case will be posted on the DOJ’s Information for Victims in Large Cases website.

TAINTED formats 3
“Reads like a true crime novel” – Food Safety News

Interested in learning more about food safety and the history of foodborne disease outbreaks and investigations?

Click on the link to listen to a short excerpt, then follow the buy links to add a digital, print or audio copy to your personal library.

Chapter 6. Birth of a Pathogen

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