aflatoxins (B1 = 10; Tot. = 23 µg/kg – ppb) in almonds from the United States in Spain
aflatoxins (B1 = 15.6; Tot. = 22 µg/kg – ppb) in dried figs from Turkey in Denmark
aflatoxins (B1 = 110; Tot. = 120 µg/kg – ppb) in organic pistachio kernels from Turkey in the Netherlands
aflatoxins (B1 = 30; Tot. = 33 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels from Argentina in the Netherlands
Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Toxin
In the Hazard Map database, we have updated all the sheets corresponding to the mycotoxins of the chemical hazards block:
Mycotoxins are products of fungal metabolism and their ingestion, inhalation or skin absorption can cause disease or death in animals and people. The most important mycotoxins are produced by molds of the genera Aspergillus , Penicillium and Fusarium .
Among the most common mycotoxins are aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, patulin, fumonisins, zearanelone, deoxynivalenol, and T-2 and HT-2 toxins.
Posted in Aflatoxin, Aspergillus, deoxynivalenol, Food Hazard, Food Hazrd, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Research, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Toxin, Fumonsins, Fusarium Toxin, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Ochratoxin, Patulin, Penicillium brevicompactum, Trichothecenes, Zearalenone
Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc., of Evansville, IN is expanding its December 30, 2020 voluntary recall of certain dog and cat food products produced in our Chickasha Operations Facility to include all dog and cat pet food products made with corn products because those products may contain aflatoxin levels which exceed acceptable limits. Products were distributed nationally to online distributors and retail stores nationwide. Midwestern Pet Foods is expanding its voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution to help protect the health and safety of pets. The products recalled cover all that expire on or before July 9, 2022, depicted as “07/09/22” in the date code on the product, as discussed below. Products with expiration dates after 07/09/22 are not included in the recall.
Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by the mold Aspergillus flavus, which can grow on corn and other grains used as ingredients in pet food. At high levels, aflatoxin can cause illness and death in pets.
There have been reports of illnesses and deaths in dogs associated with certain lots of products. No human illnesses have been reported. Out of an abundance of caution, we have expanded this recall to cover all corn products containing pet foods with expiration dates prior to 07/09/22.
If your pet shows signs of aflatoxin poisoning including sluggishness, loss of appetite, vomiting jaundice (yellowish tint to the eyes, gums, or skin due to liver damage), and/or diarrhea, contact a veterinarian immediately. Provide a full diet history to your veterinarian. It may be helpful to take a picture of the pet food label, including the lot number and best buy date.
Lot code information may be found on the back of bag and will appear in a three‐line code, with the top line in format “EXP 03/03/22/05/L#/B###/HH:MM”.
As explained above, this recall covers ONLY product manufactured at Midwestern Pet Food’s Chickasha, Oklahoma facility. Note that the unique Chickasha Facility identifier is located in the date code as a
“05” and “REG. OK‐PFO‐0005” at the end of the date code.
In addition, the only Midwestern Pet Foods facility that produces product bearing a three‐line date code is our Chickasha Facility (See first image below).
Retailers and distributors should immediately pull recalled lots from their inventory and shelves. Do not sell or donate the recalled products. Retailers are encouraged to contact consumers who have purchased the recalled products, if you have the means to do so (frequent buyer cards, etc.).
Pet parents: do not feed the recalled products to your pets or any other animals. Destroy the food in a way that children, pets and wildlife cannot access them. Wash and sanitize pet food bowls, cups, and storage containers. Always ensure you wash and sanitize hands after handling recalled food or any utensils which have contacted recalled food. Contact Midwestern Pet Foods Consumer Affairs at 800‐474‐4163, ext. 455 from 7AM to 4PM Central Time, Monday through Friday, or by email at info@midwesternpetfoods.com for additional information.
This voluntary recall is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. All other Midwestern Pet Foods products are unaffected by this recall action.
Recalled products are as follows, with lot codes found in Expanded Recall Lot Numbers:
As of January 11, FDA has been made aware of more than 70 dogs that have died and more than 80 that are sick after eating Sportmix pet food. Not all of these cases have been officially confirmed as aflatoxin poisoning through laboratory testing or veterinary record review.
On December 30, 2020, Midwestern Pet Foods, Inc. announced a recall of certain lots of Sportmix pet food products after FDA was alerted about reports of at least 28 dogs that died and eight that were ill after consuming the recalled Sportmix pet food. Multiple product samples were tested by the Missouri Department of Agriculture and found to contain very high levels of aflatoxins. Aflatoxins are toxins produced by the mold Aspergillus flavus and, at high levels, can cause illness and death in pets. The toxins can be present even if there is no visible mold.
Following a notification via the RASFF system (European Food and Feed rapid alert system), the AFSCA withdraws from sale and recalls the following product to consumers: watermelon seeds “watermelon seeds, roasted & salted” of the brand Ciloglu due to a too high content of aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A.
The AFSCA asks not to consume this product and to bring it back to the point of sale where it was purchased.
Product Description:
• Product Category: Watermelon Seeds
• Product Name: watermelon seeds, roasted & salted
• Brand: Ciloglu
• Date of Minimum Durability (DDM)
: 09/28/2021
• Lot: NTX591477 • Weight: 200g
Ce product was sold through several points of sale in Belgium.
For any further information , you can contact the AFSCA contact point for consumers: 0800 / 13.550 or pointdecontact@afsca.be .
Posted in Aflatoxin, afsca, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Food Toxin, microbial contamination, Microbiology, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, Ochratoxin
aflatoxins (B1 = 6.3; Tot. = 7.4) in peanut butter from India in Poland
aflatoxins (B1 = 3.0 / B1 = 3.1 / B1 = 2.2 µg/kg – ppb) in white rice from Pakistan in Spain
aflatoxins (B1 = 12; Tot. = 14 / B1 = 100; Tot. = 120 µg/kg – ppb) in organic groundnut kernels from Egypt in the Netherlands
aflatoxins (B1 = 6.4 µg/kg – ppb) in organic groundnut kernels from Egypt in the Netherlands
aflatoxins (B1 = 99; Tot. = 110 µg/kg – ppb) in organic groundnut kernels from Egypt in the Netherlands
aflatoxins (B1 = 23; Tot. = 27 / B1 = 73; Tot. = 85 µg/kg – ppb) in organic groundnut kernels from Egypt in the Netherlands
Posted in Aflatoxin, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Poisoning, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Temperature Abuse, Food Testing, Food Toxin, Mold Toxin, Mould Toxin, Mycotoxin, RASFF, Toxin
Recalled Foods , Published: January 6, 2021
Which feed
Rema 1000 Wild Birds Nuts ( see picture )
Net Contents: 1 kg
Best before date: 07/31/2022
Lot Number: 9018373
EAN bar code: 5705830009418
Sold with
Rema 1000 stores across the country. However, the product has been removed from stores before the New Year.
Company recalling
DK International Care A / S, Niels Bohr Vej 45, 8660 Skanderborg
Cause
A sample taken by the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration found an excessively high content of aflatoxin B1 in the product.
Risk
Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by molds. It can be harmful for birds to eat the food.
Advice for consumers
Consumers are advised to discard the product or return it to the store where it was purchased.
| Summary | |
|---|---|
| Category 2: | For Information |
| Alert Notification: | 2021.01 |
| Product: | Dried Figs – Imported by Carpios Foods Ltd. Pack Size 200g |
| Batch Code: | Best Before 04/21 |
| Country Of Origin: | Spain |
A batch of Dried Figs imported from Spain by Carpios Foods Ltd is being withdrawn due to Aflatoxin above the legal limit.
Aflatoxin is one of a group of a naturally occurring chemicals (mycotoxins) produced by certain moulds. They can grow on a variety of different crops and foodstuffs often under warm and humid conditions.
Mycotoxins can cause a variety of adverse health effects in humans including cancer (some are genotoxic), kidney and liver damage, gastrointestinal disturbances, reproductive disorders or suppression of the immune system. Mycotoxins are naturally occurring, so their presence in foods cannot be completely avoided.
Image CDC
Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus are the main causes of aflatoxin contamination in various foods, particularly grains, as they can thrive in environments with lower water activity and higher temperatures. The growth of Aspergillus and the formation of the mycotoxins aflatoxin and cyclopiazonic acid are strongly influenced by environmental stimuli and can be reduced by modulating parameters such as water activity, pH, temperature and light during the storage. This study has two objectives—on the one hand, to assess how global warming and an increase in exposure to sunlight affect growth and mycotoxin formation, and on the other hand, how the findings from these experiments can be used to reduce fungal growth and mycotoxin formation in stored foods. Using growth substrates with two different water activities (aw 0.95, aw 0.98), together with a light incubation device consisting of different chambers equipped with diodes emitting visible light of five different wavelengths (455 nm, 470 nm, 530 nm, 590 nm, 627 nm) plus white light, we analyzed the growth and mycotoxin formation of selected Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus isolates. It was shown that light with a wavelength of 455/470 nm alone, but especially in combination with a lower water activity of aw 0.95, leads to a significant reduction in growth and mycotoxin formation, which was accompanied by reduced transcriptional activity of the responsible mycotoxin biosynthetic genes. Therefore, these results can be used to significantly reduce the growth and the mycotoxin formation of the analyzed fungi during storage and to estimate the trend of fungal infestation by Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus in water activity- and light exposure-equivalent climate change scenarios. Mycotoxin-producing aspergilli can be effective and sustainably inhibited using a combination of short-wave light and lowered water activity in the substrate. A higher annual mean temperature accompanying climate change may lead to an increased spread of aflatoxin-producing fungi in areas that were previously too cold for them. On the other hand, there will be regions in the world where contamination with aflatoxin-producing fungi will be reduced due to increased drought and sun exposure.
