Great American Deli of Ooltewah, Tennessee is recalling GAD #114 Egg Salad Sandwich 4.8 oz. UPC: 7-41431-00114-2 due to possible contamination of 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. Although 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. To date, we have not received any reports of illness related to the consumption of Egg Salad Sandwiches.
Almark Foods initiated a recall and is an ingredient supplier to one of Great American Deli’s suppliers, Knott’s Fine Foods that provides egg salad to the company.
Affected product could have been delivered in the following states through convenience stores, micro markets and vending machines: Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Consumers who have purchased the affected sandwiches are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-343-1327 Monday – Friday 8:00 AM ET to 5:00 PM ET.
Great American Deli is taking this action out of caution for the safety of our consumers.
Affected lots: 19094, 19107, 19129, 19155, 19158, 19218, 19237, 19259, 19274, 19297, 19304, 19310, 19322, 19336.
Total Illnesses: 7
Illnesses in 2019: 4
Hospitalizations: 4
Deaths: 1
Last illness isolation date: November 12, 2019
States with Cases: FL (1), ME (1), PA (1), SC (2), TX (2)
States with Cases in 2019: TX (1), SC (2), FL (1)
Product Distribution*: Nationwide
*Distribution has been confirmed for states list, but at this time we believe the product was distributed nationwide. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.
On December 23, 2019 Almark Foods expanded its voluntary recall to include all hard-boiled eggs manufactured at its Gainesville, Georgia facility. The initial recall included bulk hard-boiled eggs in pails and now includes product packaged for sale at retail within shelf-life, which have “Best If Used By Dates” through March 2, 2020. At this time, Almark Foods is no longer producing products from this facility.
Companies who received recalled product from Almark Foods have initiated recalls of products containing these eggs. Additional companies and products may be added as the investigation continues.
Consumers should not eat any of the recalled products. A full list of products sold at retail is available below.
Food processors, restaurants, and retailers should not sell or serve any of the recalled hard-boiled and peeled eggs from Almark Foods. These products were sold in bulk pails to food processors, restaurants and retailers, and in retail packaging to retailers for direct-sale to consumers. The full list of products is below.
Additionally, FDA recommends that food processors, restaurants and retailers who have received Almark Foods bulk, fresh hard-boiled eggs, use extra vigilance in cleaning and sanitizing any surfaces that may have come in contact with these products, to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
As of December 17, 2019, a total of seven people infected with the outbreak strain of Listeria monocytogenes have been reported from five states. In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposures in the month before they became ill. Of the five people for whom information was available, four reported eating products containing eggs. Three of these people reported eating hard-boiled eggs in deli salads purchased from grocery stores and in salads eaten at restaurants. Illnesses started on dates ranging from April 10, 2017 to November 12, 2019.
Additionally, based on whole-genome sequencing, the Listeria monocytogenes found in environmental samples collected at the firm’s processing facility during FDA inspections conducted in February 2019 and December 2019 are a genetic match to the outbreak strain. Almark Foods has been cooperating with the ongoing investigation and announced an initial voluntary recall of hard-boiled and peeled eggs in pails on December 20, 2019. On December 23, 2019 Almark Foods expanded the initial recall to include all hard-boiled eggs produced at its Gainesville, Georgia facility.
This outbreak strain was found during environmental sampling in 2017 of one other food facility. That facility is not currently handling food and ceased operation in 2018.
The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be provided as it becomes available.
Posted in FDA, food contamination, food death, Food Hygiene, Food Illness, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, Listeria, Listeria monocytogenes, Uncategorized
There was a Salmonella outbreak at Doug Sauls’ Bar-B-Que & Seafood in Nash County, North Carolina at the end of November 2019 that sickened almost a dozen people, according to the Nash County Health Department. The restaurant, located at 813 Western Avenue in Nashville, North Carolina is re-opening after being closed on November 22, 2019 by public health officials.
Posted in food bourne outbreak, food contamination, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Testing, foodborne outbreak, foodbourne outbreak, outbreak, Salmonella, Uncategorized
Shelled almonds have an atypical aflatoxin distribution that appears consistent with a combination of two distributions: first, infrequent highly contaminated nuts and second, a uniform low‐level aflatoxin contamination. This second distribution appears to come from cross‐contamination during postharvest processing, but this has not been previously tested. Results of this study confirmed that aflatoxin can transfer between contaminated nuts and uncontaminated nuts via simple mechanical mixing contact, as would occur during postharvest processing. Almond producers will want to take this finding into account when reviewing their processing and cleaning procedures and reduce any opportunity for nut to nut cross‐contamination by removing contaminated nuts as early as possible and routinely cleaning processing equipment.
In the present study, we investigated whether cold plasma activation affected the efficacy of aerosolized hydrogen peroxide against S. Typhimurium and L. innocua. Stem scars and smooth surfaces of grape tomatoes, surfaces of Granny Smith apples and Romaine lettuce (both midrib and upper leaves) and cantaloupe rinds were inoculated with two-strain cocktails of S. Typhimurium and 3-strain cocktails of L. innocua. The inoculated samples were treated with 7.8% aerosolized H2O2 with and without cold plasma for various times. For all fresh produce items and surfaces, cold plasma significantly (P < 0.05) improved the efficacy of aerosolized H2O2 against Salmonella and L. innocua. Without cold plasma activation, H2O2 aerosols only reduced populations of Salmonella by 1.54–3.17 log CFU/piece while H2O2 with cold plasma achieved 2.35–5.50 log CFU/piece reductions of Salmonella. L. innocua was more sensitive to the cold plasma-activated H2O2 than Salmonella. Cold plasma activated H2O2 aerosols reduced Listeria populations by more than 5 log CFU/piece on all types and surfaces of fresh produce except for the tomato stem scar area. Without cold plasma, the reductions by H2O2 were only 1.35–3.77 log CFU/piece. Overall, our results demonstrated that cold plasma activation significantly enhanced the efficacy of H2O2 mist against bacteria on fresh produce.
Human salmonellosis caused by the consumption of eggs and chicken meat contaminated with Salmonella Enteritidis has become a continuing public health concern worldwide. In this study we adopted whole genome sequencing (WGS) to determine the genetic relationship and antimicrobial resistance of S. enterica strains isolated from a poultry breeding enterprise that consists of one breeding chicken farm, one egg hatchery and one commercial chicken farm. A total of 148 S. enterica including 147 S. Enteritidis strains were isolated from 2100 fecal swab samples, with 16 (5.3 %, 16/300) from breeding chicken farm, 38 (4.2 %, 38/900) from egg hatchery and 94 (10.4 %, 94/900) from commercial chicken farm. WGS revealed that all 147 S. Enteritidis strains belonged to ST11, and further divided into 4 different ribosomal STs and 64 core genome STs. Single nucleotide polymorphism typing suggested the presence of the vertical transmission of S. Enteritidis from breeding chicken to commercial chicken. Three different antimicrobial-resistant plasmids including one blaCTX-M-14-carrying plasmid and two virulence-resistance plasmids were characterized, resulting in the heterogeneous antimicrobial resistance of clonally related S. Enteritidis strains. Routine surveillance in breeding chicken farms is conducive to the control of S. Enteritidis from farm to fork.
Salmonella spp. is one of the main lettuce pathogens and should be inactivated during the disinfection of these vegetables before consumption. In minimally processed vegetable industries, residues of organic matter can prevent the inactivation of this pathogen by disinfectants. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the inactivation of Salmonella isolated from organic lettuce to sodium hypochlorite (25 and 50 ppm) and citric acid (0.5 and 1%) in washing water added with lettuce residues. To do so, a washing water with lettuce residues was elaborated, and Salmonella was added in the order of 106 CFU/ml. Thereafter, each sanitizer was added separately to evaluate its effect on reducing Salmonella counts. After 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, and 15 min of contact with the sanitizers, serial dilutions using neutralizer (0.5% sodium thiosulfate) were performed and each dilution was sown in Xylose‐Lysine‐Desoxycholate medium. Total aerobic mesophilic counts of wash water with lettuce residues before testing (without Salmonella) and after 15 min of exposure to each sanitizer (with Salmonella) were also performed. In addition, the free chlorine still present in the samples after the contact of sodium hypochlorite with lettuce residues for 15 min. The results demonstrated that 50 and 25 ppm sodium hypochlorite could reduce 6 log CFU/ml of Salmonella in 1 and 3 min of contact, respectively, while 0.5 and 1% citric acid was able to reduce 1.26 and 1.74 log CFU/ml respectively from the same microorganism within 15 min of contact. The total aerobic mesophilic counts of the wash water before being tested were, on average, 1.5 log CFU/ml. After addition of Salmonella, with 15 min of contact with the sanitizer, the results of total counts showed the same magnitude as the Salmonella counts. Organic matter may have reacted with the free chlorine present, reducing chlorine concentrations, since values of 30.4 ppm were observed when the initial concentration should be 50 and 17.1 ppm when the initial concentration should be 25 ppm. Based on the results, sodium hypochlorite demonstrated a greater microbial reduction capacity in wash water with lettuce residues, indicating that it is more appropriate to avoid cross‐contamination between batches during sanitation of lettuce in washing tanks.
24 December 2019
Daly Potato Company is conducting a recall of Bacon and Dijon Gourmet Potato Salad. The product has been available for sale at Woolworths in NSW, ACT, VIC and TAS and Coles in TAS.
Use By 08/01/2020
The recall is due to microbial contamination (Listeria monocytogenes).
Listeria may cause illness in pregnant women and their unborn babies, the elderly and people with low immune systems.
Australia
Bakkavor Foods USA, Inc. is voluntarily recalling Trader Joe’s Egg Salad, 6 oz and Trader Joe’s Old Fashioned Potato Salad, 20 oz with “USE BY” date codes up through and including 12/27/19 because these products have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
This recall is taking place due notification by Almark Foods of Gainesville, GA that they supplied certain lots of Broken Egg Whites products in 20 Lbs pails which may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and its association with a Listeria monocytogenes foodborne illness investigation.
