Category Archives: Uncategorized

USDA

Grill cooks do whatever they can to improve the dining experience of their guests – adding herbs and spices, using special techniques and secret recipes. However, few cooks are aware that their beef and pork is being coated with a special “marinade” before it even arrives at the store.

This new special ingredient brings nothing to the dining experience, but may actually be the highlight of the meal. That’s because the marinade, applied at the meat processing plant, may help prevent countless people from suffering the gastrointestinal aftereffects of consuming meat tainted with bacteria, such as E. coli or Salmonella.

At the ARS Meat Safety and Quality Research Unit in Clay Center, NE, microbiologists Mick Bosilevac and Nor Kalchayanand, along with supervisory research food technologist Tommy Wheeler, teamed up to examine a relatively new food safety process: spraying beef and pork carcasses with an ozone solution to kill common pathogens.

“This project was part of a large farm-to-fork project that focused on cattle and swine, following them through harvest and concluding with finished beef and pork products ready for consumers,” Bosilevac said. “During harvest we improved on many processes to help reduce contamination.”

FSIS USDA

WASHINGTON, February 3, 2023 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for ready-to-eat (RTE) stuffed chicken product because the product may not be fully cooked due to underprocessing. FSIS is issuing this public health alert to ensure that consumers are aware that this product should not be consumed. A recall was not requested because the product is no longer available for consumers to purchase.

The RTE broccoli stuffed chicken breast product was produced by Vanguard Culinary Group, LTD, a Fayetteville, N.C. establishment, on December 3, 2022. The following product is subject to the public health alert [view labels]:

• 16 oz (1 lb.) vacuum sealed trays containing “PARK STREET DELI Broccoli Stuffed Chicken BONELESS SKINLESS CHICKEN BREAST HAND STUFFED WITH BROCCOLI & CHEDDAR AU GRATIN” with a use by date of 1/30/2023.

The product subject to this public health alert bears establishment number “P-8334” inside the USDA mark of inspection. This item was shipped to retail locations in Alabama, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

The problem was discovered when consumers reported to FSIS that the product labeled as fully cooked appeared to be raw.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider.

Manilla Bulletin

The oyster bar reassures the public of its commitment to safe and healthy cuisine

In a statement released on social media yesterday, Jan. 25, Wantusawa Oyster Bar addressed accusations of several diners who got food poisoning after eating in their establishment.

The oyster bar disclosed that laboratory tests on samples from the days they received complaints contained “a negative result from bacteria and thus clearing the possibility of any food poisoning.”

Wantusawa also assured the public that “any complaints made will be taken seriously, investigated thoroughly, and dealt with fairly in a timely manner.”

STA

Ljubljana, 25 January – Health authorities have identified beef tartare by a Slovenian producer as the cause of a salmonella outbreak in late November and early December that made 138 people sick.

MDPI

Abstract

Quebec

QUEBEC CITY , Jan. 17, 2023 /CNW Telbec/ – The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ), in collaboration with the Food Inspection Division of the City of Montreal and the company Rela marché africaine, located at 925 boulevard Décarie, in Montreal, is warning the public not to consume the product indicated in the table below, because it has not been prepared and packaged in such a way as to ensure its safety.

The product that is the subject of this warning was offered for sale until January 17, 2023, at the establishment designated above and possibly in other establishments in the region. The product was packaged in a glass jar and was sold chilled. The product label included, in addition to its name, the list of ingredients.

The operator is voluntarily recalling the product in question. It has agreed with MAPAQ and the Food Inspection Division of the City of Montreal to distribute this warning as a precautionary measure. In addition, people who have this product in their possession are advised not to consume it. They must return it to the establishment where they bought it or throw it away. Even if the affected product shows no signs of tampering or suspicious odors, its consumption may represent a health risk.

It should be noted that no case of illness associated with the consumption of this food has been reported to MAPAQ to date.

The Ministry publishes various information documents concerning food safety. Interested persons can consult the Food section  of the Government of Quebec website. They also have the possibility of registering online to receive, by e-mail, the food recall press releases published by the Ministry. Finally, it is possible to follow “MAPAQfoods” on Twitter at the following address: www.twitter.com/MAPAQfoods .

Hazard Classification:  Class 1
Reference Number:  4671

Source:
Media relations
Direction des communications
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries
and Food
Tel. : 418 380-2100, extension 3512
www.mapaq.gouv.qc.ca

CFS

The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department today (January 13) instructed the trade to suspend the import of raw oysters harvested in area 56.09.3 Rivière de Crac’h-Les Presses in France. The trade should also stop using or selling the product concerned immediately should they possess it.

A spokesman for the CFS said, “The CFS received notifications from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed of the European Commission that ready-to-eat raw oysters harvested in area 56.09.3 Rivière de Crac’h-Les Presses in France were detected with norovirus and the area concerned was closed. Preliminary investigation by the CFS found that, a local importer, M&C Asia Limited, had imported the affected raw oysters. For the sake of prudence, the CFS has immediately suspended the import into and sale within Hong Kong of raw oysters harvested in the area concerned, and instructed the importer to stop sale and remove from shelves the affected oysters.”

The spokesman said that preliminary investigation by the CFS found that 9.5 kilograms of the affected oysters had been imported by the importer concerned. Some were distributed to a restaurant and were consumed, while the remaining oysters were destroyed. The trade should also stop selling other products from the affected area if they possess them.

The spokesman pointed out that as oysters feed by filtering a large volume of seawater, pathogens can accumulate in them if they are grown in or harvested from contaminated water. Raw or partially cooked oysters are high-risk foods. Susceptible groups, such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems or liver diseases, should avoid eating raw oysters.

The CFS will inform the French authorities and will also notify the local trade. It will continue to follow up on the incident and take appropriate action to safeguard food safety and public health. An investigation is ongoing.

January 10, 2023

Today, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the sixth in the ongoing series of webinars exploring food safety culture will take place on January 25, 2023, from 12:00 to 1:00 pm ET.  The webinar series Collaborating on Culture in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety is in partnership with Stop Foodborne Illness, a non-profit public health organization.

The upcoming webinar “Food Safety Culture Learning: It’s more than checking the boxes”, will focus on how food safety culture relates to training and education.

Guest speakers on January 25, include:

• Caitlin Hamstra, Corporate Learning and Development Specialist, Birchwood Foods
• Steve Aloi, Director of Food Safety, Wegmans Food Markets

The webinar series engages experts from the public and private sectors in a collaborative exchange of ideas and experiences related to the importance of a robust food safety culture in helping to ensure safe food production.

Food safety culture is one of the core elements in FDA’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint, which states that dramatic improvements in reducing the burden of foodborne illness cannot be made without doing more to influence the beliefs, attitudes, and, most importantly, the behaviors of people and the actions of organizations.

Register

To learn more about this webinar series and to listen to recordings, visit Collaborating on Culture in the New Era of Smarter Food Safety.

For More Information

• New Era of Smarter Food Safety