Tag: Salmonella

Mexico Denies Link To Mango Outbreak – Update

“En México, no hay evidencia de la bacteria Salmonella Braenderup detectada en EU y Canadá”

– Government of Mexico, September 14, 2012

UPDATE: September 19, 2012. Today, FDA released the following statement:

FDA will continue to collaborate with and share information with Mexican and Canadian health and agricultural officials regarding this investigation.

Several ill persons have demonstrated food histories strongly linked to mangos from Agricola Daniella. FDA worked with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the California Department of Public Health to understand the epidemiology implicating mangos. FDA testing has detected Salmonella in samples taken from mangos at three distribution centers. The presence of Salmonella in closed boxes of mangos suggests that the contamination occurred with the producer. FDA and the Canadian health officials have worked together to determine that the outbreak in Canada is linked to Agricola Daniella.

After analyzing all of 14 samples taken from the production and packaging areas of Agricola Daniella, Mexico has concluded that there is no evidence of the Salmonella Braenderup outbreak strain that has sickened 142 people in the USA and Canada. Furthermore, a review of the genetic fingerprints of Salmonella circulating in Mexico this year, has led Mexican authorities to conclude that there is no information to link the outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada with any Mexican product.

The full text of Mexico’s statement follows:

En México no hay evidencia de la bacteria Salmonella Braenderup detectada en EU y Canadá

México, D.F., 14 de septiembre de 2012

Comunicado Conjunto

El Gobierno Federal concluyó la investigación para contribuir al esclarecimiento de las alertas de importación emitidas por Canadá y los Estados Unidos de América (EUA) a la empresa empacadora Daniella Mangos, por la posible presencia de Salmonella Braenderup, y después del exhaustivo trabajo de las agencias de sanidad y epidemiología, no se encontró contaminación en las instalaciones de la empresa mexicana por la cepa causante del brote en los vecinos países del norte.

A través de la Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS), la Dirección General de Epidemiología (DGE), el Instituto de Diagnóstico y Referencia Epidemiológicos (InDRE) y el Servicio Nacional de Sanidad, Inocuidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (SENASICA), el Gobierno Federal estableció la estrategia para colaborar en la investigación diagnóstica iniciada por Canadá y EUA en torno a un brote de Salmonella Braenderup, detectado en esos países.

Con la cooperación incondicional de la empacadora Daniella se desarrolló la investigación en sus áreas de producción y empaque, a fin de identificar la presencia de la cepa de Salmonella Braenderup reportada por las autoridades de EUA y Canadá. Se tomaron 14 muestras por duplicado que analizaron el SENASICA y la COFEPRIS y en ninguna se encontró evidencia de la bacteria.

A partir de la vigilancia rutinaria que lleva a cabo el sector salud, el InDRE realizó estudios de electroforesis por campos pulsados (PFEG, por sus siglas en inglés), para la identificación de la huella genética de la bacteria en las cepas de Salmonella circulando en todo el país en el presente año. Este estudio concluyó que la cepa de Salmonella causante de los brotes en EUA y Canadá es diferente de cualquier cepa que circula en México.

En conclusión, los estudios realizados por las autoridades mexicanas demuestran que no se cuenta con información que permita asociar los brotes en USA y Canadá con ningún producto mexicano.

Las autoridades mexicanas se encuentran en espera de que sus pares de Canadá y EUA presenten la evidencia científica de sus declaraciones y se reiteran atentas para continuar colaborando en la investigación en curso.

And the English translation (by Phyllis Entis, with an assist from Google Translate):

There is no evidence in Mexico of the Salmonella Braenderup bacteria detected in the USA and Canada

Mexico, D.F., 14 September 2012

Joint Statement

The Federal Government has conducted research into the possible presence of Salmonella Braenderup at the Daniella Mango packing house to help clarify the Import Alerts issued by Canada and the United States of America. After exhaustive work carried out by health and epidemiology agencies, no contamination was found at the premises of the Mexican company by the strain causing the outbreak in neighboring northern countries.

Through the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS), the General Directorate of Epidemiology (DGE), the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE) and the National Health Service, Food Safety and Quality (SENASICA) the Federal Government established the strategy to assist in the diagnostic investigation initiated by Canada and the U.S. about a Braenderup Salmonella outbreak detected in those countries.

With the full cooperation of the packer, an investigation of their production and packaging areas was carried out to identify the presence of Salmonella strain Braenderup reported by authorities in the U.S. and Canada. Fourteen samples were analyzed in duplicate by SENASICA and COFEPRIS, and no evidence of the bacteria was found.

InDRE has reviewed the pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) data gathered during routine monitoring by the health sector to identify the genetic fingerprint of the bacteria Salmonella strains circulating in around the country this year. This study concluded that the Salmonella strain causing outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada is different from any strain circulating in Mexico.

In conclusion, the studies conducted by Mexican authorities show that there is no information to link the outbreaks in the U.S. and Canada with any Mexican product.

Mexican authorities are waiting for their peers in Canada and the U.S. to present evidence supporting their statements and have reiterated their intention to continue cooperating in the ongoing investigation.

Did anyone else hear the “SO THERE!” in that final paragraph?

In its September 13th update on the mango investigation, FDA was very careful to avoid stating what strain (or strains) of Salmonella it had found in mangos from Agricola Daniella, simply reporting that the agency had found Salmonella in “several samples of mangoes” from the producer. Chances are, this reticence is due to the time required to complete serotyping and genetic profiling on the Salmonella strains that FDA found.

Why the apparent difference between the FDA findings and the Mexican report?

There are several factors that are in play, including:

  1. Mexico was careful to restrict its protestation to the Salmonella Braenderup outbreak strain. The Mexican statement said nothing about whether or not other strains of Salmonella were found during its investigation.
  2. Mexico only examined 14 samples. We don’t know whether these were mangoes, samples from the packing house environment, or samples of water used to wash the mangos. Fourteen samples are not enough to do a thorough evaluation of the level of contamination in any production facility or packing house.
  3. The lab method used to analyze the samples can have a significant bearing on the chances of finding Salmonella.

The Mexican position does not surprise me, especially as it is very similar to the position taken by Mexico in the wake of last year’s Salmonella Agona outbreak that was linked to papayas from Mexico.

When FDA issued its Import Alert on Mexican papayas, the Mexican government issued a statement that said, in part (in translation),

“It should be noted that recent reports of outbreaks of “Salmonella” in the U.S., allegedly linked to Mexican papaya, cannot be linked with certainty to those papayas inspected [by FDA] in Mexico during the May to August 2011 investigation period.”

It would appear that very little has changed in the last year.

Recalls and Alerts: September 14, 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

  • Allergy Alert: Zatarains alerts consumers that New Orleans Style Chicken Flavored Rice Mix (UPC 7142909705; Best by dates Apr 23 14 H, Jun 10 14 H, Jul 30 14 H and Aug 31 14 H) may contain undeclared wheat. Schnucks Markets, Inc. invites customers of Schnucks, Logli and Hilander to return the product to their nearest store for a refund or exchange. Tops invites its customers to do the same.
  • Food Safety Recall: The University Creamery at Penn State recalls all ice cream and frozen yogurt made between May 16, 2012 and August 11, 2012 (Best if used by date on or between Feb 10, 2013 and Aug. 11, 2013) because of isolated incidents involving reports of small plastic foreign objects in the product. The recalled ice cream was made and sold from the Berkey Creamery on the University Park campus of Penn State and also was available for purchase on the internet from the Creamery’s website. University police have begun a criminal investigation into the rreports.
  • Food Safety Recall: Meca Foods recalls La Tia Tamales brand Home Style Tamales – Green Pork, Home Style Tamales – Red Pork and Home Style Tamales – Chicken (All items were produced between April 2011 and September 2012 and bear Est. 699 inside the Illinois mark of inspection), because the product was manufactured in a facility that is not state-inspected. The establishment number on the products does not belong to the firm. The recalled products were sold to brokers and restaurants in Chicago.
  • Food Safety Recall: Serenade Foods, Inc. (Milford, IN) recalls Milford Valley Farms Crunchy Chicken Strips (7.5-lb cases containing 30-oz cartons; Est P-2375; UPC 0-73981-32286-7; Use by Jan 17, 2014), after two consumers reported finding plastic fragments in the product. The recalled product was packaged on Jan 17, 2012 and shipped to a distributor in Lakeland, Florida for further distribution.
  • Food Safety Recall: Cut Fruit Express, Inc. (Inver Grove Heights, MN) recalls packaged fruit products containing cantaloupes (Distributed through September 5, 2012), since they contain cantaloupe recalled by DFI Marketing Inc. due to potential contamination with Salmonella. The recalled fruit products were sold in Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
  • Food Safety Recall: US Foods alerts its customer to the recall of cantaloupes by DFI Marketing (Fresno, CA), due to possible Salmonella contamination. The recall has triggered recalls from other distributors and further processors, including Castellini Brothers, Club Chef, Cut Fruit Express and McEntire Product, and will likely expand further.
  • Food Safety Recall: Kroger alerts its customers to the recall of cantaloupes by DFI Marketing due to possible Salmonella contamination. The recalled cantaloupes were sold in Kroger stores located in Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Knoxville, Tennessee, Greater Cincinnati, including Northern Kentucky, Dayton, OH and South Eastern Indiana, Indiana (except SW IN, -Evansville-), Illinois, Eastern Missouri, Greater Memphis, TN, Arkansas, Mississippi and Western Kentucky, Texas and Louisiana; Jay C, Dillons, Baker’s, Gerbes, Fry’s, Food4Less, FoodsCo and Smith’s.

Canada

  • Allergy Alert: Valley Flax Flour recalls Valley Flax Flour Wheat Free Pancake Mix (500g; Codes PC12145, PC12199 and PC12202; UPC 52203 00051 2), due to the presence of undeclared gluten. The recalled product was sold in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.

Europe

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.

FDA Places Daniella Mangos On Import Alert

FDA has placed mangos from Agricola Daniella on Import Alert after finding “strains of Salmonella“ in samples of mangos from this producer. This means that Agricola Daniella mangos will be denied entry into the USA unless the importer can prove that the mangos are not contaminated.

Daniella mangos have been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella Braenderup that – as of September 14th – infected 121 people in 15 US states and 21 Canadians (as of August 29th).

The California Department of Public Health, which took the lead in the US outbreak investigation, traced several of the outbreak illnesses back through the supply chain to Agricola Daniella, according to the FDA report. The implicated mangos were imported into the USA by Splendid Products (Burlingame, CA), which recalled the fruit on August 29th. The Canadian importer, North American Produce Sales (Vancouver, BC) announced a recall of the Daniella mangos on August 24th, and expanded the scope of its recall on August 31st.

Various consignees and retailers of the recalled mangos – and of cut fruit products containing the mangos – have issued their own recalls and/or customer alerts. For a consolidated list of recalls and other information on this outbreak, please select the Salmonella Braenderup – Mango tab at the top of this page.

Today’s FDA Press Announcement does not state whether the “strains of Salmonella” found in the Daniella mangos include the Salmonella Braenderup outbreak strain. In response to my question, FDA spokesperson Patricia Al-Hinnawy replied, “…all our information is in the release.” I would interpret this to mean that detailed serotyping and genetic profiling of the Salmonella strains is still in progress.

CDC Advice to Consumers, Retailers and Others (As of September 14, 2012)

Contaminated mangoes may make people sick.

  • CDC recommends that consumers do not eat recalled Daniella brand mangoes distributed by Splendid Products and discard any remaining recalled mangoes. This is especially important for children under the age of 5 years, elderly adults, and people with weak immune systems.
  • Persons who think they might have become ill from eating possibly contaminated mangoes should consult their health care providers.

Contaminated mangoes may still be in grocery stores and in consumers’ homes.

  • Consumers who recently purchased recalled Daniella brand mangoes distributed by Splendid Products are advised not to eat them and discard any remaining recalled mangoes.
  • Even if some of the mango has been eaten without anyone becoming ill, the rest of the mango should be disposed of immediately.
  • When in doubt, throw it out.
  • Recalled mangoes should be disposed of in a closed plastic bag placed in a sealed trash can. This will prevent people or animals from eating them.
  • Retailers and food service operators should not sell or serve recalled Daniella brand mangoes.

For general produce safety advice, visit FDA’s Produce Safety webpage.