Category Archives: Uncategorized

FDA

Le Mars, Iowa – Wells Enterprises, Inc. is voluntarily recalling two lots of Blue Bunny Hoppin’ Holidoodle ice cream sold at retail outlets, because they contain snickerdoodle cookie dough pieces recalled by the supplier, Aspen Hills, due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. Wells has received no reports of illness attributable to this product.

Only Hoppin’ Holidoodle ice cream with the following lot numbers and best if used by dates are included in this recall. The recalled product is a seasonal holiday flavor with very limited geographic distribution in six states. Consumers should check the side of their ice cream packages to check for the following lot numbers and best if used by dates:

No other Blue Bunny product is included in this recall.

FDA 

Madison, WI – Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream Company, Inc.  is recalling select ice cream products, because they were made with a chocolate chip cookie dough ingredient supplied by Aspen Hills, Inc., which has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

Food Poisoning Journal

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert out of an abundance of caution due to concerns about illnesses caused by Salmonella that may be associated with a chicken salad product sold from Costco Store #1190, in Lynwood, Wash.

The chicken salad item for this public health alert was produced Aug. 26 through Sept. 2, 2016. The following product is subject to the public health alert:

• Varying weights of “Costco Rotisserie Chicken Salad”.

This product was sold directly to consumers who shopped at Costco Store #1190 in Lynwood, Wash.

Botulism Blog

FDA advises consumers to discard any soup products from Island Soups Company, Inc. of New York with Best Before dates between July 2015 and June 2018 because they have the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that causes botulism.

FDA is working with Island Soups Company to ensure that recalled product is removed from the market. FDA’s safety concerns extend to all low-acid canned food products with Best Before dates between July 2015 and June 2018.

Food Poisoning Journal

Lewis County Public Health & Social Services announced today that recent customers of the Shop’N Kart bakery in Chehalis, may have been exposed to hepatitis A.

Campylobacter Blog

CDC Photo

The Pueblo City-County Health Department, El Paso County Public Health and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment are jointly investigating an ongoing outbreak of Campylobacter infections linked to raw milk from Larga Vista Ranch in Pueblo County. The agencies are warning consumers that drinking unpasteurized milk can pose severe health risks and there is no method to assure the safety of raw milk.

FDA 

New Castle, CO – Osage Gardens Inc. is recalling Osage Gardens Organic 2oz Micro Greens, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

Osage Gardens Organic 2oz Micro Greens was distributed to Whole Foods stores in Colorado and Kansas. The Osage Gardens Organic 2oz Micro Greens product is packed in a clear plastic clamshell and has a label on the bottom with a UPC Code 709376615008 and affected product are dated with a Julian codes from 266 to 279’.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

FDA

Glendale, CA – Nestlé USA, Inc. is initiating a voluntary recall of its Nestlé Drumstick Club 16 count Variety Pack and 24 count Vanilla Pack (with cones marked for easy individual sale) due to a possible health risk. The two pack sizes contain 4.6 fl.oz. cones and were manufactured in Bakersfield, Calif. and distributed nationally. No other production codes, sizes or varieties of Nestlé Drumstick products are affected by this recall.

The company received positive test results for Listeria monocytogenes (LM) from equipment contact surfaces from a location on the production line where these products are made. There have been no positive test results for LM present in the Drumstick cones themselves. The products impacted by the voluntary recall were put into distribution inadvertently. No illnesses have been reported to date; the company is initiating this recall as a precautionary action to avoid any potential for consumer illness.

FSIS USDA

Silver Springs Farms, Inc., a Harleysville, Pa. establishment is recalling approximately 7,970 pounds of ground beef and burger products, as well as an undetermined amount of sandwich steak products that may be adulterated with E. coli O157:H7, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The ground beef items were produced on August 19 and 20, 2016. The exact production dates for the various sandwich steak products are unknown at this time, but are believed to have been produced between August 19 and September 19, 2016. The following products are subject to recall: [View Labels (PDF only)]

• 20-lb. cases containing 4 packages of 5-lb ground beef 80/20.
• 10-lb. packages of “Camellia Beef Pattie 80/20,” with package codes 6235 and 6242.
• 10-lb. packages of “Silver Springs Farm Beef Pattie 80/20,” with package codes 6242 and 6237.
• 10-lb. packages of “Silver Springs Farm Beef Pattie 80/20 Flat,” with package code 6237.
• 10-lb. packages of “Silver Springs Farm Gourmet Beef Burger Flat,” with package code 6235.
• 10-lb. packages of “Silver Springs Farm Gourmet Beef Burger 80/20,” with package code 6237.
• 10-lb. packages of “Silver Springs Farm Gourmet Beef Pattie 80/20,” with package code 6242.
• various sandwich steak products produced by the recalling firm.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 4771” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to a distributor in Virginia and institutional food establishments in New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

The problem was discovered during a routine verification sampling performed by Silver Springs Farms, Inc. There have been no confirmed reports of illness or adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and abdominal cramps 2–8 days (3–4 days, on average) after exposure the organism. While most people recover within a week, some develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This condition can occur among persons of any age but is most common in children under 5-years old and older adults. It is marked by easy bruising, pallor, and decreased urine output. Persons who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately.

FSIS and the company are concerned that some product may be frozen and in consumers’ freezers.

CDC 

As of September 26, 2016, 895 people infected with the outbreak strains of Salmonella were reported from 48 states. A list of states and the number of cases in each can be found on the Case Count Map page.

Among people for whom information is available, illnesses started on dates ranging from January 4, 2016 to September 10, 2016. Ill people ranged in age from less than 1 year to 106, with a median age of 27. Of ill people, 52% were female. Among 761 ill people with available information, 209 (27%) reported being hospitalized, and three deaths were reported. Salmonella was considered to be a cause of death for one person in Mississippi. Although the two people who died in Kentucky and New Jersey had a Salmonella infection, the infection was not considered to be a cause of death.

Investigation of the Outbreak

Epidemiologic, traceback, and laboratory findings linked the eight outbreaks to contact with live poultry, such as chicks and ducklings, from multiple hatcheries.

In interviews, ill people answered questions about contact with animals and foods consumed during the week before becoming ill. Contact with live poultry (chicks, chickens, ducks, ducklings) in the week before becoming ill was reported by 552 of 745 ill people interviewed, or 74%.

Ill people reported purchasing live baby poultry from several suppliers, including feed supply stores, Internet sites, hatcheries, and friends in multiple states. Ill people reported purchasing live poultry to produce eggs, learn about agriculture, have as a hobby, enjoy for fun, keep as pets, or to give as Easter gifts. Some of the places ill people reported contact with live poultry included their home, someone else’s home, work, or school settings.

Public health officials collected samples from live poultry and the environments where the poultry live and roam from the homes of ill people in several states or at locations of purchase in several states. Laboratory testing isolated five of the outbreak strains of Salmonella.

More information about each outbreak is available in the outbreak summaries below.