Recalls and Alerts: October 3, 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.

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For current information on retail distribution of peanut butter products recalled due to Salmonella Bredeney, please consult the Trader Joe’s/Sunland Peanut Butter Recalls tab.

For current information on retail distribution of beef products containing Canadian beef recalled due to E. coli O157:H7 contamination please consult the Canada/USA Beef Recall tab.

United States

  • Food Safety Recall: Whole Foods Market recalls Ricotta Salata cheese supplied by Forever Cheese Inc. (Long Island City, NY) and sold in Whole Foods Market stores in 21 states and Washington, DC, because the cheese may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The recalled Ricotta Salata Frescolina brand cheese was cut into wedges, packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with a Whole Foods Market scale label using PLU 293427. All “sell by” dates through Oct. 2 are affected. Fourteen illnesses have been reported which may be associated with the Frescolina recall. In the four stores that sold it in California and Arizona, the recalled cheese was also sold with a Whole Foods Market scale label that read “Mitica Ricotta Salada,” and with Whole Foods Market scale labels with PLU 294413. All “sell by” dates through Oct. 2 are affected. States affected by the recall include: Alabama (1 store), Arizona (2 stores), California (2 stores), Colorado(2 stores), Florida (5 stores), Georgia (4 stores), Kansas (1 store), Kentucky (1 store), Maryland (6 stores), North Carolina (7 stores), New Jersey (2 stores), New Mexico (2 stores), New York (2 stores), Ohio (2 stores), Oregon (6 stores), Pennsylvania (5 stores), South Carolina (1 store), Tennessee (3 stores), Utah (1 store), Virginia (6 stores), Washington (6 stores), and Washington, D.C. (3 stores).
  • Food Safety Recall: Gretchen’s Shoebox Express (Seattle, WA) recalls Starbucks Protein Bistro Box (6.80 oz; UPC 762111881502; Enjoy By 09/02/12-09/27/12), because the Bistro Boxes contain a recalled peanut butter pouch that may be contaminated with Salmonella. the recalled product was distributed in Washington and Oregon.
  • Food Safety Recall: Whole Foods Market recalls Chicken Spring Rolls (UPC 225757203997; Sell by 10/1 or 10/2) and Peanut Sesame Noodles (UPC 222099604192; either a sold on date of 9/27 or 9/28 or a sell by date of 10/1 or 10/2), because the products contain peanuts that may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled products were sold from the Whole Foods Market Kirby store (2955 Kirby Drive, Houston, TX) from Sept 27-28, 2012.
  • Food Safety Notification Update (EU #2012.1382): Salmonella Thompson in Foppen smoked salmon from Greece; distributed to Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the USA.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1395): Listeria monocytogenes in ricotta cheese from Italy Fattorie Chiarappa; distributed to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania and the USA.

Canada

Europe

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

  • Food Safety Withdrawal (Taiwan): Costco Wholesale has pulled from its Taiwan stores all smoked salmon processed by the Dutch company Foppen, as the products may be contaminated with Salmonella.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating a suspected food poisoning outbreak involving 16 people who developed gastroenteritis about 5 – 37 hours after dining at a restaurant in Qingdao on September 26.
  • Outbreak Alert (Hong Kong): The Centre for Health Protection is investigating an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis at a secondary school in Shatin involving 29 students between the ages of 10 and 13 years.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1395): Listeria monocytogenes in ricotta cheese from Italy Fattorie Chiarappa; distributed to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania and the USA.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1398): Salmonella Montevideo in processed animal proteins from Belgium; distributed to Belgium, Germany and Thailand.

Australia and New Zealand

  • Outbreak Alert (New Zealand): Middlemore Hospital (Auckland) has closed one ward and banned children from visiting after its norovirus outbreak expanded to affect 113 people, including 56 patients and 57 staff members.
  • Food Safety Notification (EU #2012.1395): Listeria monocytogenes in ricotta cheese from Italy Fattorie Chiarappa; distributed to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Romania and the USA.

Latin America and the Caribbean

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.

Smoked Salmon and Salmonella Thompson – Update

The following contains updated information and is current as of October 3, 2012. Updated information is indicated in red.

CDC, FDA, and USDA are cooperating in an ongoing investigation of Salmonella Thompson illnesses that may be linked to a concurrent outbreak in the Netherlands.

The US investigation began last month (September) into 85 cases of a single genetic type of Salmonella Thompson that were reported by 27 states since July 1st, according to CDC spokesperson Lola Russell. Ten people have been hospitalized; there have been no deaths.

This is a fairly common strain of Salmonella Thompson, and CDC would normally expect to see approximately 30 “background” cases during the same period.

The epidemiological investigation into the source of the 85 illnesses is being carried out by the various state health agencies in cooperation with CDC. It would not be surprising, according to CDC, if some of the 85 cases are found to be unrelated to the outbreak.

CDC is not yet ready to release a list of the affected states; however, eFoodAlert has learned that the following states are in the process of investigating one or more Salmonella Thompson illnesses:

  • Alabama: 1 case 
  • Arizona: 1 case; a child
  • Colorado: 2 cases
  • Illinois: 2 cases
  • Maryland: 10 cases; age range 5 years to 77 years; most cases in the Baltimore metropolitan area
  • Nebraska: 6 cases; age range is 3 months to 61 years; two people hospitalized; illnesses reported from the east central region of Nebraska
  • New Hampshire: 1 case; an adult resident of Rockingham County who was hospitalized, but has since recovered
  • New York: 4 cases; no geographic cluster
  • Texas: 1 case
  • Virginia: 1 case

No cases are under investigation at this time in Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah or Washington.

All of the people with whom I’ve communicated at the federal and state level have emphasized that there has not been an epidemiological link made between the illnesses under investigation in the USA and the consumption of smoked salmon. Nevertheless, the outbreak strain appears to be the same as the strain that is behind the Dutch outbreak, and CDC is recommending that the public avoid eating smoked salmon originating from the Dutch producer.

On September 28th, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority announced the recall of smoked salmon manufactured by Foppen Paling en Zalm and sold through major supermarket chains, including Aldi and Albert Heijn.

On October 1st, the Netherlands issued an alert through the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, notifying member countries that a sample of smoked salmon originating from Greece was contaminated with Salmonella Thompson. Associated Press reports that the contaminated smoked salmon was processed at Foppen’s factory in Greece.

Foppen has initiated a recall of the following products, sorted by retailer:

Albert Heijn

  • AH smoked salmon cubes. EAN: 8710400130574
  • AH smoked salmon. EAN: 8710400383932
  • AH smoked salmon. EAN: 8718265066915
  • AH salmon sandwich slices. EAN: 8710400383956
  • AH hot smoked salmon. All
  • AH salmon salad. EAN: 8718265473072
  • Euro Shopper smoked salmon. EAN: 8712224125903
  • AH Excellent Scottish salmon fillet. EAN: 8710400383970
  • AH Excellent salmon season. EAN: 8718265473164
  • AH Excellent smoked salmon fillet. All
  • AH pure & honest Sockeye salmon. EAN: 8710400628101

Aldi

  • Smoked salmon fillet. 200 grams; EAN: with number 23066250 GB-6115EG; Foppen Eel and Salmon on back of package

Hema

  • Salmon sliced. ​​100 grams; Item number 27552001
  • Salmon Slices. 100g; Item number 27552003

Makro

  • Horeca Select Graved Lachs. EAN: 8711576082247
  • Foppen Salmon. 3 x 100 grams; EAN: 8712224140005
  • Aro salmon sliced. ​​200 grams; EAN: 8711576041671
  • Catering selectable pcs salmon slices. EAN: 8711576082285
  • Catering select salmon pieces. EAN: 8711576086474
  • Catering select salmon slit. EAN: 8711576082278
  • Toast Salmon. 283 grams; Foppen EAN: 8712224129314
  • Catering select salmon slices. EAN: 8711576082261
  • Catering select sockeye salmon. EAN: 8711576084531
  • Catering select salmon toast. EAN: 8711576154890

Plus

  • Plus Salmon fillet. All
  • Plus Sockeye salmon, sliced. ​​EAN: 8710624991289
  • Plus Salmon slit. EAN: 8710624938246
  • Salmon sliced. ​​100 grams; EAN: 8710624943837

Dirk van den Broek, Bas van der Heijden and Digros

  • Salmon sliced. ​​200 grams; EAN: 8710871082907

Coop, Coop Super

  • Coop selectable long sliced ​​salmon. 125g
  • Sockeyezalm sliced. ​​125g
  • Sockeyezalm gravad lachs. 125g; EAN: 8712224129321

BONI, CoopCodis and Jan Linders

  • Smoked Salmon Salad (craft box). EAN: 8710378571645

Boni, MCD, Agri Market, Coop, Super Coop, Dane, Dekamarkt, Bas van der Heijden, Dirk van den Broek, Digros, EMTÉ Hoogvliet, Jan Linders, Nettorama, Poiesz, Plus, Vomar, Spar

  • Vismarine Scottish salmon fillet. EAN: 8710624008383
  • Vismarine 100 grams carved salmon. EAN: 8710624008369
  • Vismarine 200 grams carved salmon. EAN: 8710624008321
  • Salmon sliced. ​​200 grams; EAN: 8712224127945
  • Vismarine Sandwich Salmon. 100g; EAN: 8710624100254

The implicated product was sold in the USA through Costco, as Foppen Norwegian Smoked Salmon Slices (12 oz) and Kirkland Signature Norwegian Imported Smoked Salmon (2 x 12 oz). FDA is working to determine whether any other retailers in the USA carried the Foppen smoked salmon.

The recalled products were exported to a number of countries in addition to the USA, including Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Mexico, Switzerland and Taiwan. The China Post reported today that Costco Wholesale Corp has withdrawn all smoked salmon processed by Foppen from its Taiwan stores.

Even though CDC and state health authorities have not yet established a link between the smoked salmon and this outbreak strain, CDC recommends that the public should not consume smoked salmon products manufactured by Foppen at this time.

Smoked Salmon and Salmonella Thompson

CDC, FDA, and USDA are cooperating in an ongoing investigation of Salmonella Thompson illnesses that may be linked to a concurrent outbreak in the Netherlands.

The US investigation began last month (September) into 85 cases of a single genetic type of Salmonella Thompson that were reported by 27 states since July 1st, according to CDC spokesperson Lola Russell. Ten people have been hospitalized; there have been no deaths.

This is a fairly common strain of Salmonella Thompson, and CDC would normally expect to see approximately 30 “background” cases during the same period.

The epidemiological investigation into the source of the 85 illnesses is being carried out by the various state health agencies in cooperation with CDC. It would not be surprising, according to CDC, if some of the 85 cases are found to be unrelated to the outbreak.

CDC is not yet ready to release a list of the affected states; however, eFoodAlert has learned that the following states are in the process of investigating one or more Salmonella Thompson illnesses:

  • Arizona: 2 cases; an adult male from Maricopa County who became ill in May and did not report smoked salmon consumption, and a more recent illness in a child from Coconino County
  • Illinois: 2 cases
  • Maryland
  • Nebraska: 6 cases; age range is 3 months to 61 years; two people hospitalized; illnesses reported from the east central region of Nebraska
  • New Hampshire: 1 case; an adult resident of Rockingham County who was hospitalized, but has since recovered
  • New York: 4 cases; no geographic cluster
  • Texas: 1 case
  • Virginia

No cases are under investigation at this time in Alaska, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Oklahoma, South Dakota or Washington.

All of the people with whom I’ve communicated at the federal and state level have emphasized that there has not been an epidemiological link made between the illnesses under investigation and the consumption of smoked salmon. Nevertheless, the outbreak strain appears to be the same as the strain that is behind the Dutch outbreak, and CDC is recommending that the public avoid eating smoked salmon originating from the Dutch producer.

On September 28th, the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority announced the recall of smoked salmon manufactured by Foppen Paling en Zalm and sold through major supermarket chains, including Aldi and Albert Heijn.

On October 1st, the Netherlands issued an alert through the EU Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, notifying member countries that a sample of smoked salmon originating from Greece was contaminated with Salmonella Thompson. Associated Press reports that the contaminated smoked salmon was processed at Foppen’s factory in Greece.

The implicated product, Associated Press added, was sold in the USA through Costco, under both the Foppen and Kirkland brands.

Foppen has initiated a recall of the following products, sorted by retailer:

Albert Heijn

  • AH smoked salmon cubes. EAN: 8710400130574
  • AH smoked salmon. EAN: 8710400383932
  • AH smoked salmon. EAN: 8718265066915
  • AH salmon sandwich slices. EAN: 8710400383956
  • AH hot smoked salmon. All
  • AH salmon salad. EAN: 8718265473072
  • Euro Shopper smoked salmon. EAN: 8712224125903
  • AH Excellent Scottish salmon fillet. EAN: 8710400383970
  • AH Excellent salmon season. EAN: 8718265473164
  • AH Excellent smoked salmon fillet. All
  • AH pure & honest Sockeye salmon. EAN: 8710400628101

Aldi

  • Smoked salmon fillet. 200 grams; EAN: with number 23066250 GB-6115EG; Foppen Eel and Salmon on back of package

Hema

  • Salmon sliced. ​​100 grams; Item number 27552001
  • Salmon Slices. 100g; Item number 27552003

Makro

  • Horeca Select Graved Lachs. EAN: 8711576082247
  • Foppen Salmon. 3 x 100 grams; EAN: 8712224140005
  • Aro salmon sliced. ​​200 grams; EAN: 8711576041671
  • Catering selectable pcs salmon slices. EAN: 8711576082285
  • Catering select salmon pieces. EAN: 8711576086474
  • Catering select salmon slit. EAN: 8711576082278
  • Toast Salmon. 283 grams; Foppen EAN: 8712224129314
  • Catering select salmon slices. EAN: 8711576082261
  • Catering select sockeye salmon. EAN: 8711576084531
  • Catering select salmon toast. EAN: 8711576154890

Plus

  • Plus Salmon fillet. All
  • Plus Sockeye salmon, sliced. ​​EAN: 8710624991289
  • Plus Salmon slit. EAN: 8710624938246
  • Salmon sliced. ​​100 grams; EAN: 8710624943837

Dirk van den Broek, Bas van der Heijden and Digros

  • Salmon sliced. ​​200 grams; EAN: 8710871082907

Coop, Coop Super

  • Coop selectable long sliced ​​salmon. 125g
  • Sockeyezalm sliced. ​​125g
  • Sockeyezalm gravad lachs. 125g; EAN: 8712224129321

BONI, CoopCodis and Jan Linders

  • Smoked Salmon Salad (craft box). EAN: 8710378571645

Boni, MCD, Agri Market, Coop, Super Coop, Dane, Dekamarkt, Bas van der Heijden, Dirk van den Broek, Digros, EMTÉ Hoogvliet, Jan Linders, Nettorama, Poiesz, Plus, Vomar, Spar

  • Vismarine Scottish salmon fillet. EAN: 8710624008383
  • Vismarine 100 grams carved salmon. EAN: 8710624008369
  • Vismarine 200 grams carved salmon. EAN: 8710624008321
  • Salmon sliced. ​​200 grams; EAN: 8712224127945
  • Vismarine Sandwich Salmon. 100g; EAN: 8710624100254

Even though CDC and state health authorities have not yet established a link between the smoked salmon and this outbreak strain, CDC recommends that the public should not consume smoked salmon products manufactured by Foppen at this time.