The Good Food Chain, a UK manufacturer of products for the foodservice channel, confirmed it has gone into liquidation despite being cleared by an investigation into a recent Listeria outbreak at a number of local hospitals.
Some 125 full-time employees have lost their jobs as a result.
The company, based in Stone, Staffordshire, in the English Midlands, has ceased trading, it confirmed in a statement on its website.
This is despite the UK regulator, The Food Standards Agency, stating that the company was not the source of the outbreak and could now resume production. It said that “the business has been verified as meeting food safety legislation and as following best practice for manufacturing, cleaning and environmental standards”.
More than 300 people have been hospitalized due to suspected food poisoning during the 90th birthday celebration of Imelda R. Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, according to Philippines news sources.
According to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, 306 are still admitted in the hospital. He went on to say that 149 have been discharged while the rest are still under observation or admitted in the hospital.
The patients “suffered from vomiting and dizziness,” said Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross, which deployed emergency teams to the Ynares Sports Complex east of Manila where the party was held.
Mr. Gordon, who is also a Philippine senator, said hundreds of the estimated 2,000 people at the event apparently became ill after eating chicken adobo, rice and eggs.
The Brazilian government confirmed that Britain has sent back to Brazil 16 containers of poultry due to the presence of salmonella in the shipments. According to Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina Dias, the shipments totaled 1,400 tons of poultry, which were returned over a 15-month period. The confirmation was made after a local website Reporter Brasil ran a story on the incident. According to the site, some of the shipments belonged to the leading meatpackers in the country, JBS and BRF Foods. In addition, the site reported that, after being refused by Britain, the poultry was sold in the Brazilian market. Brazil has a higher maximum limit for traces of salmonella than the European Union nations. Dias did not deny the information.
Possible hepatitis A exposure has occurred at the Genghis Grill restaurant in Tempe Marketplace at 2000 East Rio Salado Parkway in Tempe, Arizona, according to the Maricopa County Health Department. Anyone who ate there on May 30, June 1, June 5, June 6, June 7, June 8, June 13, June 14, June 15, and June 18, 2019 may have been exposed to the virus. If you ate there on any day not listed, you were not exposed.
Possible hepatitis A exposure has occurred at the Huddle House at 1029 West Dekalb Street in Camden, South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. Anyone who ate there between June 14 and June 28, 2019 may have been exposed to the virus.
Belgian officials have issued a warning because of incidents of hepatitis infections being linked to dietary supplements containing curcumin.
The Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) cited a notification in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) detailing cases of acute cholestatic hepatitis following consumption of various dietary supplements containing curcumin.
This alert is not public and the agency has not yet responded to a request for more information from Food Safety News.
Food supplement recalled in Italy
FASFC reported the exact source of contamination was not yet clearly established but was probably due to the presence of curcumin. Curcumin is a substance in turmeric.
The curcumin was used in lot 1810224 of the food supplement “Curcuma Liposomal and poivre noir.” The company Plastimea SA decided to withdraw the product branded Nutrimea from sale. It has an expiration date of October 2021 and was sold between Oct. 23, 2018, and May 24 this year on Amazon France.
Italian authorities first raised the alert in May with two reports of hepatitis. The National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanità) in the country reported 21 cases as of June 20.
The number of products affected has grown from two to more than 20 involving firms such as Frama SRL, Scharper S.p.A, Vanatari International GmbH, Ekappa Laboratori S.r.l., and Fidia Farmaceutici S.p.A.
Meanwhile, the number of people with hepatitis A connected with a school in Ripon, a city in North Yorkshire County in England, has increased by two to 19. Reports of new infections connected to Outwood Academy have slowed down during the past week.
Public Health England (PHE) is reviewing data on food eaten in the school canteen to find the source of the outbreak.
Ottawa, July 2, 2019 – Les Dépendances is recalling Dongé brand Coulommiers raw milk cheese from the marketplace due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.
This product may have been sold cut in half or in quarters. Consumers who are unsure if they have purchased the affected product are advised to contact their retailer.
P & B Foods Ltd is extending its recall of Heera Chilli Powder Extra Hot to include an additional pack size, because salmonella has been found in the product.
Product details
Heera Chilli Powder Extra Hot
Pack size
6 x 1kg
Batch code
PB9446M/4
Best before
end: April 2021
Heera Chilli Powder Extra Hot
Pack size
10 x 400g
Batch code
PB9446M/4
Best before
end: April 2021
No other P & B Foods Ltd products are known to be affected.
Risk statement
The presence of salmonella in the product listed above. Symptoms caused by salmonella usually include fever, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps.
Action taken by the company
P & B Foods Ltd is recalling the above products. Point-of-sale notices will be displayed in all retail stores that are selling these products. These notices explain to customers why the products are being recalled and tell them what to do if they have bought the product. Please see the attached notice.
