Category Archives: Moulds

RASFF Alerts – Moulds – Food Supplement – Burger Buns – Organic Plant Based Spreadable

European Food Alerts

RASFF

food supplement from Switzerland, via Spain infested with moulds in Portugal

RASFF

burger buns from Poland infested with moulds (on the underside) in Denmark

RASFF

organic plant based spreadable from Denmark infested with moulds in Denmark

RASFF Alerts – Aflatoxin – Groundnuts – Roasted Pistachios – Peanut Butter – Red Rice – Black Pepper – Flavour Coated Groundnuts – Peanuts – Spice Mix – Pistachios – Basmati Rice

As I have been on annual leave I have covered the last two weeks RASFF Alerts.

European Food Alerts

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 29; Tot. = 51 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from Argentina in the Netherlands

RASFF

aflatoxins (Tot. = 16.12 µg/kg – ppb) in roasted and salted pistachio kernels from Turkey in Germany

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 8.3; Tot. = 9.6 µg/kg – ppb) in peanut butter from the United Kingdom in Ireland

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 8.9; Tot. = 11 µg/kg – ppb) and ochratoxin A (10.3 µg/kg – ppb) in red rice from Sri Lanka in Switzerland

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 14.7; Tot. = 20.1 µg/kg – ppb) in black pepper from Nigeria in Belgium

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 5.6 µg/kg – ppb) in blanched groundnuts from India in the Netherlands

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 3.8; Tot. = 4 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels from Argentina in the Netherlands

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 5.7; Tot. = 22 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels from Argentina in the Netherlands

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 3.4; Tot. = 3.8 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels from Argentina in the Netherlands

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 26.3; Tot. = 29.8 µg/kg – ppb) in flavoured coated groundnuts from Germany in Finland

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 5.4 µg/kg – ppb) in flavoured groundnuts from Germany in Finland

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 3.1; Tot. = 3.9 µg/kg – ppb) in peanuts with shell from India in Spain

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 5; Tot. = 5 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnuts from China, via Germany in the Netherlands

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 8.6; Tot. = 10.0 µg/kg – ppb) in dry roasted cocktail peanuts from Nigeria in the UK

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 6.6; Tot. = 6.6 µg/kg – ppb) in spice mix from Pakistan in Ireland

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 9.8; Tot. = 11.1 µg/kg – ppb) in spice mix from Pakistan in Ireland

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 15.8; Tot. = 17.4 µg/kg – ppb) in inshell pistachios from Iran in Greece

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 4.6; Tot. = 4.6 µg/kg – ppb) in basmati rice from Pakistan in Greece

RASFF

aflatoxins (B1 = 94; Tot. = 101 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios from Iran in Spain

USA – Sunshine Mills, Inc. Issues Voluntary Recall of Certain Dog Food Products Due to Potentially Elevated Levels of Aflatoxin

FDA

Sunshine Mills, Inc. is issuing a voluntary recall of certain dog food products due to levels of Aflatoxin that are potentially above the acceptable limit.  Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring mold by-product from the growth of Aspergillus flavus and can be harmful to pets if consumed in significant quantities.

The potential for aflatoxin levels above the acceptable limit in these products was discovered by routine sampling performed by the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry showing that a sample of a single 4-pound bag of one lot of the product contained elevated levels of aflatoxin.  No illnesses have been reported in association with these products to date, and no other Sunshine Mills, Inc. pet food products are affected by this announcement.

While no adverse health effects related to these products have been reported, Sunshine Mills, Inc. has chosen to issue a voluntary recall of these products as a precautionary measure in furtherance of its commitment to the safety and quality of its products.  Pets that have consumed any of the recalled products and exhibit symptoms of illness including sluggishness or lethargy combined with a reluctance to eat, vomiting, yellowish tint to the eyes or gums, or diarrhea should be seen by a veterinarian.

The affected products were distributed in retail stores nationally.  Retailers who received the recalled lots have been contacted and asked to pull these lots from their inventory and shelves.  There are no other Family Pet®, Heartland Farms®, or Paws Happy Life® products or other lot codes of these products affected by this precautionary recall.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled products should discontinue use of the product and may return the unused portion to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers may contact Sunshine Mills, Inc. Customer Service at (800) 705-2111 from 7AM to 4PM Central Time, Monday through Friday, or by email at customer.service@sunshinemills.com for additional information.

This is a voluntary recall being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Products affected by this announcement:

Product Name

Size

Lot Codes

UPC Code

FAMILY PET® MEATY CUTS BEEF CHICKEN & CHEESE FLAVORS PREMIUM DOG FOOD 4 lb. TD3 4/APRIL/2020
TD1 5/APRIL/2020
3225120694
14 lb. TB1 4/APRIL/2020
TB2 4/APRIL/2020
TB3 3/APRIL/2020
3225118078
28 lb. TB3 3/APRIL/2020 3225120694
HEARTLAND FARMS® GRILLED FAVORITES
BEEF CHICKEN & CHEESE FLAVOR
14 lb. TB1 4/APRIL/2020
TB2 4/APRIL/2020
7015514299
31 lb. TA2 4/APRIL/2020
TA3 4/APRIL/2020
7015514301
PAWS HAPPY LIFE® BUTCHER’S CHOICE DOG FOOD 16 lb. TA1 4/APRIL/2020
TA2 4/APRIL/2020
3680035763

 


Company Contact Information

Consumers:
Sunshine Mills, Inc. Customer Service
 (800) 705-2111
 customer.service@sunshinemills.com

Product Photos

Iceland – Mold in vegan butter

MAST

Natural organic vegan butter

Matvælastofnun warns against consuming two batches of vegan butter from Naturli due to the risk of mold growth. Kjarnavörur hf. who import the product are recalling it from the market, in consultation with the Health Inspectorate of the Hafnarfjörður and Kópavogur areas.

Matvælastofnun received information about the product through the RASFF European warning system on dangerous foods and feed on the market and alerted the health inspectorate.

The recall only applies to the following batches:

  • Product name: Natural organic vegan butter
  • Weight: 225 g
  • BBD: 22.09.2020 and 23.09.2020
  • Manufacturer: Grönvang Food Aps, Vejen, Denmark
  • Bar code: 5701977062118
  • Distribution: Hagkaup, Bónus, Krónan, Nettó, Kjörbúðin, Iceland, Fjarðarkaup, Melabúðin and Veganbúðin

 

Netherlands – Important safety warning roasted almonds salted 200 grams Aldi – Aflatoxin

NVWA

Aldi warns against roasted almonds, salted 200 grams with barcode 23046832 and best before date 03-2021. A check has shown that this product may contain too high a level of aflatoxin. Eating too much aflatoxin can be harmful to your health. Customers are therefore urged not to consume the product and to return it to an Aldi store.

See also website Aldi

bag of salted roasted almonds from Aldi

© Aldi

USA – Hostess Brands, LLC Expands Voluntary Recall of Certain Hostess® Raspberry Zingers® Due to the Potential for Mold

FDA

Company Announcement

Hostess Brands, LLC (“Hostess Brands”) is expanding its voluntary recall of certain Hostess® Raspberry Zingers® because the product may develop mold prior to the best by date.

The expanded recall applies to the following Raspberry Zinger® products:

Product Description: Item UPC: Batch: Best By Dates:
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Multi-Pack fresh) 888109110604 H062424000 H062524000 H062624000 H062724000 H070724000 H070824000 H070924000 H071024000 H071124000 H072124000 H072224000 H072324000 09/07/2020 09/08/2020 09/09/2020 09/10/2020 09/20/2020 09/21/2020 09/22/2020 09/23/2020 09/24/2020 10/04/2020 10/05/2020 10/06/2020
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Multi-Pack frozen) 888109110604 H062624000 H062724000 N/A N/A
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Single-Serve fresh) 888109010089 H062424000 H062624000 H070724000 H070824000 H072224000 H072324000 09/07/2020 09/09/2020 09/20/2020 09/21/2020 10/05/2020 10/06/2020
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Single-Serve frozen) 888109010089 H062424000 H062524000 H062624000 H070824000 H070924000 H072124000 H072224000 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Single-Serve 3 count case) 888109010089 H062424000 H062624000 H071124000 H072324000 09/07/2020 09/09/2020 09/24/2020 10/06/2020

The following Raspberry Zinger® products were part of the original voluntary recall:

Product Item UPC Batch Best By Date
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Multi-Pack fresh) 888109110604 H061224000 08/26/2020
H061324000 08/27/2020
H061424000 08/28/2020
H061524000 08/29/2020
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Multi-Pack frozen) 888109110604 H061524000
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Single-Serve fresh) 888109010089 H061224000 08/26/2020
H061324000 08/27/2020
H061424000 08/28/2020
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Single-Serve frozen) 888109010089 H061424000
H061524000
Hostess Raspberry Zingers (Single-Serve grocery 3 count) 888109010089 H061224000 8/26/2020

The products were sold to mass merchandisers, grocery stores, distributors, dollar and discount stores, and convenience stores throughout the United States.

Consumers who have purchased the affected product are urged to discontinue consumption and contact the place of purchase about returning them for a full refund.

This recall does not affect any other Hostess Brands products.

Consumers with questions may contact 1-800-483-7253 Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Central Time.

Hostess Brands, LLC

Hostess Brands, LLC is headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas and operates bakeries in Emporia, Kansas, Chicago, Illinois, Columbus, Georgia, Indianapolis, Indiana and through its Voortman Cookies Limited subsidiary, Burlington, Ontario.

For more information about Hostess products and Hostess Brands, please visit hostesscakes.com. Follow Hostess on Twitter: @Hostess_Snacks; on Facebook: facebook.com/Hostess; on Instagram: Hostess_Snacks; and on Pinterest: pinterest.com/hostesscakes.

Contacts

LAK Public Relations, Inc.
Marie Espinel, Katie Lewis or Hannah Arnold, 212-575-4545 mespinel@lakpr.comklewis@lakpr.com or harnold@lakpr.com

Original Press Release

Research – Comparative study of microbiological transfer from four materials used in direct contact with apples

Science Direct

Several materials such as plastic, wood, cardboard or stainless steel are used as working surfaces or packaging in direct contact with foodstuffs. In food industries, the hygienic surface status is one of the criteria to product conform packaging as described in the European regulation ECR 1935/2004. Today in European Union, it exists one harmonized regulation specific for Food Contact material made of plastic called EU N°10/2011 (Anonymous 2011a). This regulation specifies that materials intended for safe foodstuff contact must not modify food characteristics in terms of chemical, microbiological and sensorial properties.

This study aims to compare the survival and transfer of Penicillium expansum conidia and Escherichia coli cells from several materials to apples. Poplar, cardboards, newly manufactured plastic and reusable plastic specimens were artificially inoculated with both microorganisms, subsequently put in contact with apples and stored under realistic storage conditions. After incubation for up to 1 week, apples and specimens were analysed to assess the survival of the microorganisms and their transfer from materials to apples.

While P. expansum survived and did not grow on any of the materials, E. coli mortality was observed after 1 h on wood and cardboard and after 1 week on both plastics. The proportion of microorganisms transferred was different according to the considered material. This transfer was lower than 1% for wood.

Research – Quantitative microbial spoilage risk assessment (QMSRA) of pasteurized strawberry purees by Aspergillus fischeri (teleomorph Neosartorya fischeri)

Science Direct

Aspergillus fischeri ascospores are known as potential spoilage microorganisms of pasteurized fruit products due to their high incidence in fruits, the ability to survive pasteurization and to grow in acidic conditions. This study aimed to develop a quantitative microbial spoilage risk assessment (QMSRA) model approach to estimate the spoilage risk of packaged strawberry purees due to A. fischeri under various scenarios regarding product formulation, processing and storage conditions. The development of the risk assessment comprised three steps: (1) initial contamination level of raw material by ascospores (N0), (2) inactivation of ascospores during thermal processing (Np) and (3) determination of the number of ascospores which are able to survive thermal processing and develop visible mycelia (D = 2 mm) during storage (Nf). Data of visible growth (tv, days) comprised distributions previously obtained as function of water activity (aw) (0.860–0.985), oxygen (0–21%), temperature (8–30 °C) and pasteurization (95–105 °C/15 s). The simulations were performed in triplicate with 100,000 iterations using the software R. The outcome “spoilage risk” was defined as the probability of having at least one ascospore (Nf) capable of forming visible colonies in 100 g-pack strawberry puree within the typical use-by dates. Overall, high probabilities of spoilage were estimated for purees pasteurized at milder treatments at 85 °C/15–60 s (67%) and 90 °C/15–60 s (≥40%) stored at ambient temperature (22 °C). The spoilage risk was only effectively reduced (0.02%) by increasing pasteurization conditions to 95 °C for at least 45 s. Moreover, the microbial stability of such purees, i.e., spoilage risk <0.001% (=less than 1 spoilage pack out of 105 produced units) was predicted to occur for purees treated at 100 °C/15 s or stored at chilled conditions (≤8 °C) or at strict anaerobic conditions or produced as concentrates (aw ≤ 0.860). Based on the outcomes obtained, a set of specifications for Heat-Resistant Moulds (HRMs) in raw material and pasteurized purees aimed to be used as an ingredient was suggested. Furthermore, the results can be used to support risk management decisions in identifying and quantifying the impact of possible interventions during formulation, processing and storage conditions of fruit purees to effectively reduce this risk.

RASFF Alerts – Aflatoxin – Dried Figs – Chakki Atta Wheat Flour

European Food Alerts

RASFF

Aflatoxins (B1 = 10.5; Tot. = 25.1 µg/kg – ppb) in dried figs from Turkey in Belgium

RASFF

Aflatoxins (B1 = 7.5; Tot. = 8.2 µg/kg – ppb) in chakki atta wheat flour from Nepal, via India in the UK

RASFF Alert – Mycotxin – Fumonsins – Corn Flour

RASFF-Logo

RASFF – fumonisins (18255 µg/kg – ppb) in corn flour from Peru in Spain