Category Archives: Microbiology Investigations

Canada – Updated Food Recall Warning – Al-Rabih brand Halva / Halawa – with pistachios recalled due to Salmonella

CFIA

Al-Rabih Pistachio Halva/Halawa, 454 gram - Front

Recall details

Ottawa, July 5, 2021 – The food recall warning issued on June 25, 2021 has been updated to include additional product information. This additional information was identified during the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety investigation.

Phoenicia Group Inc. is recalling Al-Rabih brand Halva / Halawa – with pistachios from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.

Recalled product

Brand Product Size UPC Codes
Al-Rabih Halva / Halawa – with pistachios 454 g 7 70338 10057 3 Lot #184 34920
Best before 01/DE/22
Al-Rabih Halva / Halawa – with pistachios 907 g 7 70338 10056 6 Lot #98 19620
Best before 22/JN/25

What you should do

If you think you became sick from consuming a recalled product, call your doctor.

Check to see if you have the recalled product in your home. Recalled products should be thrown out or returned to the store where they were purchased.

Background

This recall was triggered by CFIA test results. The CFIA is conducting a food safety investigation, which may lead to the recall of other products. If other high-risk products are recalled, the CFIA will notify the public through updated Food Recall Warnings.

The CFIA is verifying that industry is removing the recalled product from the marketplace.

Illnesses

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

Research – A Review of Significant European Foodborne Outbreaks in the Last Decade

Journal of Food Protection

Vegetable Bacteria Danger

Foodborne diseases remain a global public health challenge worldwide. The European surveillance system on multistate foodborne outbreaks integrates elements from public and animal health, and the food chain for the early detection, assessment, and control. This review aims to describe the significant outbreaks that occurred in Europe in the last decade. Their significance and relevance in public health laid in the changes, improvements, and novelties that derived and that pushed towards the building of a safer food system in the European Union, certainly driven by the One Health approach. In 2011, a point source monoclonal outbreak of infections caused by Escherichia coli serotype O104:H4 contaminating sprouted seeds recorded hundreds of cases of haemolytic-uremic syndrome and several fatalities. In 2015, a prolonged outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes infections caused by the contamination of frozen corn affected Europe with 47 cases and nine deaths. In 2016, a persistent polyclonal outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis was linked to the consumption of eggs and was associated with hundreds of cases. These outbreaks commonly highlighted the importance of sharing data (e.g. sequencing and tracing data) with rapidity and the need for harmonizing bioinformatics outputs and computational approaches to facilitate foodborne detection and investigation. Also, they led to the setting of the legal framework for the development of a European collaboration platform to share whole genome sequences data. These outbreaks enabled the enforcement of the existing hygiene and food safety provisions and led the development of new hygiene guidelines and best practises. This paper also briefly touches upon the new trends in information technologies that are being explored in the field of food traceability and safety. Their application aims to enhance the traceability of food throughout the supply chain to redirect the conventional tracing system towards a digitized supply chain.

USA – FDA Core Investigation Table Update

FDA