Category Archives: FDA

Foot Long Subs – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on April 18, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FDA

M.E. Thompson, Inc. is expanding the recall of its Anytime Deli Turkey & Ham Footlong, to include Italian Footlong, and Classic Cuban, because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.  Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.  Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The initial date of the recall was January 24, 2012.

The following products with expiration dates from January 19th through May 2nd and lot number from 00112 through 10412 are being recalled:

Turkey & Ham Footlong  UPC 0543200194
Italian Footlong UPC 0543200196
Classic Cuban UPC 0543200156

The sub sandwiches were distributed on January 2nd through April 13th to convenience and grocery stores nationwide under the labels Anytime Deli, Sandwich Central and Dandee.  All sandwiches are packaged in white butcher wrap.  The Best Buy date and/or the Lot Number are located on the white press on circular label. The UPC Code is located on the bottom of the product beneath the Ingredient and Nutrition Facts label.

No confirmed illnesses have been reported to date.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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US Salmonella Bareilly Outbreak Source Found – Yellow Fin Tuna

Posted on April 15, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin

The months-long search for the origin of the multi-state Salmonella outbreak ended yesterday with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) announcement that frozen, raw, yellowfin tuna product from Moon Marine USA Corporation of Cupertino, Calif. is the source of the outbreak.

Food Safety News

Yellowfin tuna product is the likely source of the Salmonella Bareilly outbreak that has sickened 116 across 21 states and has been linked to sushi, health officials announced Friday evening.

Cupertino, CA based Moon Marine USA Corporation is voluntarily recalling 58,828 pounds of its “Nakaochi Scrape” – tuna backmeat scraped off the bones of the fish and sold in a frozen, ground state – after investigators pinpointed the product as a common food source among outbreak victims. 
 
The implicated food is not sold directly to consumers, but is usually served by retailers in sushi, sashimi, ceviche or similar dishes containing raw fish.
 
Of the 53 outbreak victims interviewed, 43 (81 percent) reported eating sushi in the week preceding their illnesses. Of the 43 who recalled eating sushi, 39 (91 percent) ate sushi that contained tuna, and 36 (84 percent) specifically recalled eating a product that contained “spicy tuna.”  
 

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Recall, Salmonella

US – California Company – Seafood Importer Closure – Listeria monocytogenes

Posted on April 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says a California seafood importer and processor has agreed to shut down its operations while it corrects conditions in its processing facility, which is alleged to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Technology, Foodborne Illness, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen

US Recall Uneviscerated Fish – Clostridium botulinum

Posted on April 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FDA Recall

April 10, 2012 – Import Foods Wholesale Inc. in St. Paul, MN is recalling: Smoked Croaker, Smoked Barracuda, Smoked Big Eye, and Smoked Red Snapper after it was discovered by the Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture Laboratory personnel who confirmed that the product was not properly eviscerated prior to processing.

This product may be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum spores, which can cause botulism, a serious and potentially fatal food–borne illness.

The sale of improperly eviscerated fish, 5 inches in length or greater, is prohibited because Clostridium botulinum spores are more likely to be concentrated in the viscera than any other portion of the fish. Uneviscerated fish has been linked to outbreaks of botulism poisoning which may pose a potentially life-threatening health hazard. Symptoms of botulism include blurred or double vision, general weakness, poor reflexes, difficulty swallowing and respiratory paralysis which may lead to death. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention.

The following recalled products were sold to retail stores in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa.

  • Smoked Croaker comes in a 10lb cardboard box with a code: 298/11 and is a product of Guyana
  • Smoked Barracuda comes in a 10lb cardboard box with a code: 0282/011 and is a product of Guyana.
  • Smoked Big Eye comes in a 10lb cardboard box with a code: 287L10 and is product of Guyana.
  • Smoked Red Snapper comes in a 10lb cardboard box with a code: 298-11 is a product of Guyana.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem. Consumers who have Smoked Croaker, Smoked Barracuda, Smoked Big Eye, and Smoked Red Snapper are advised not to eat it, but should return it to the place of purchase.

Import Foods Wholesale Inc. intend to provide safe quality foods. Consumer with questions may contact the company at 612-876-5412.

 

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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Washington Cheese Company – Closure – Listeria Issues

Posted on April 10, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Safety News 

 

A Washington state cheese maker plagued with Listeria problems, including a link to a case of listeriosis in 2010, has agreed to keep its products off the market until it can clean up its processing facility and prove its cheeses are safe to eat, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stated.

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Posted in Bacteria, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, Pathogen

US – Tuna Sushi – Salmonella Outbreak Expands – Virginia/Baltimore

Posted on April 7, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Food Poisoning Bulletin – Virginia 

Five Virginians are among the 100 victims of a Salmonella outbreak that is spreading through 19 states and the District of Columbia.

The case patients in Virginia are between the ages of 20 and 59 and are from the central and northwest part of the state, Michelle Stoll, a public information officer for the Virginia Department of Health, told Food Poisoning Bulletin today. None of the patients has required hospitalisation.

All 100 patients have been sickened by a rare strain of Salmonella called Salmonella Bareilly. Salmonella poisoning can be serious and sometimes life-threatening, according to the CDC. Health officials urge anyone with symptoms including abdominal cramping, fever, nausea,vomiting, and bloody diarrhoea.

Food Poisoning Bulletin – Baltimore

At least 10 Maryland residents are among the 100 people who have been sickened by a Salmonella outbreak that has swept through 19 states and the District of Columbia.

A definite source of the outbreak has still not been identified, according to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but sushi, sashimi and other raw fish dishes are among potential sources being investigated

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Posted in Bacteria, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, outbreak, Pathogen, Salmonella

Bad Bug New Release

Posted on April 6, 2012 by | Leave a comment

FDA

This book is a great source of Microbiology Information and can be downloaded as a 264 page PDF.

The second edition of the Bad Bug Book3, published by the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, provides current information about the major known agents that cause foodborne illness. The information provided in this handbook is abbreviated and general in nature, and is intended for practical use. It is not intended to be a comprehensive scientific or clinical reference. Each chapter in this book is about a pathogen – a bacterium, virus, or parasite – or a natural toxin that can contaminate food and cause illness. The book contains scientific and technical information about the major pathogens that cause these kinds of illnesses. A separate “consumer box” in each chapter provides non-technical information, in everyday language. The boxes describe plainly what can make you sick and, more important, how to prevent it.

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Posted in Bacteria, Campylobacter, Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium perfringens, Cryptosporidium, E.coli, E.coli O104, E.coli O157, E.coli O26, EHEC, Enterobacteriaceae, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Illness, Food Poisoning, Food Safety, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Legionella, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Microbiology, MRSA, Pathogen, Research, Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, STEC

Pets – Salmonella Bacterial Infection Issues – USA

Posted on March 31, 2012 by | 1 comment

FDA – Tropical Fish Food Flakes – Salmonella

The Hartz Mountain Corporation, located in Secaucus, N.J. is voluntarily recalling product from four specific lots of Wardley® Advanced Nutrition™ Perfect Protein™ Tropical Flake Fish Food 1 oz. size due to concerns that one or more containers within the specified lots may have been potentially contaminated with Salmonella.  Hartz is fully cooperating with the US Food and Drug Administration in this voluntary recall.

CDC – Small Pet Turtles – Salmonella – 66 Ill.

CDC is collaborating with public health officials in multiple states to investigate three overlapping, multistate outbreaks of human Salmonella infections linked to exposure to turtles or their environments (e.g., water from a turtle habitat). The first is an outbreak of human Salmonella Sandiego infections, the second is an outbreak of human Salmonella Pomona infections, and the third is an outbreak of human Salmonella Poona infections. These are rare types of Salmonella.

Portales News Tribune – Chicks For Easter Presents – Salmonella

The New Mexico Department of Health and the New Mexico Livestock Board issued a press release Thursday advising families to avoid potential exposure to salmonella by not giving baby chicks and ducklings to children as Easter gifts:

In the last six years, New Mexico has had 16 Salmonella cases related to baby chicks. Many of the cases were in young children. The Department also discourages families from buying small turtles (less than 4 inches) sold at flea markets and roadside stands because they are also known to carry salmonella that could infect people and their children.

 

 

 

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Posted in Bacteria, CDC, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Testing, Microbiology, Pathogen, Salmonella

FDA – Jalepeno Pepper Recall Salmonella

Posted on March 30, 2012 by | 1 comment

FDA 

Castellini Company LLC is recalling certain jalapeno peppers distributed from its Wilder, Kentucky facility because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

While there have been no illnesses reported to date in connection with this problem, Castellini Company is collaborating closely with the FDA and adhering to all safety regulations and standards.

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Posted in Bacteria, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Inspections, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen, Recall

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FDA – Blue Ocean Smokehouse – Botulinum

Posted on March 30, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Botulism Blog 

Fish may put consumers at risk of botulism and other food hazards

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in a complaint filed by the Department of Justice, is seeking to stop the processing and distribution of fish products at a California company because of a risk of botulism and other food hazards.

If granted, the permanent injunction against Fujino Enterprises Inc., doing business as Blue Ocean Smokehouse, of Half Moon Bay, Calif., would stop the company from processing and distributing fish and fish products. Blue Ocean’s president Erika Fujino also is named in the government’s complaint.

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Posted in Bacteria, Clostridium botulinum, Eurofins Laboratories, FDA, Food Hygiene, Food Safety, Food Technology, Foodborne Illness, Microbiology, Pathogen

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