Category Archives: Uncategorized

FDA

MINNEAPOLIS – General Mills today announced a voluntary recall of a limited quantity of frozen Beyond Meat Vegetarian Indian Curry with Beyond Chicken, produced over seven days in April 2016. This product is available exclusively at Whole Foods. The recall is being issued as a precaution after the producer of frozen peas used as an ingredient in this product issued a national recall for the potential presence of Listeria monocytogenes.

General Mills has not received any reported consumer illnesses related to this issue. General Mills produces and distributes this product under license from Beyond Meat.

This voluntary recall is limited to only one variety of frozen Beyond Meat product — Vegetarian Indian Curry with Beyond Chicken — and only with the following “Better if Used By” dates printed on the package:

Consumers are urged to dispose of the products affected by this recall and call General Mills Consumer Relations at 1-800-754-9061 if they had product covered by this recall and need a replacement.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm510645.htm

Barfblog

King County health officials are investigating an outbreak of Salmonella linked to the Fadó Irish Pub & Restaurant in downtown Seattle.

Two people in separate parties became sick after eating bacon cheeseburgers at the restaurant on June 16th.

Laboratory tests showed the two were infected with the same Salmonella bacteria.

http://barfblog.com/2016/07/2-sick-with-salmonella-linked-to-seattle-pub/

Asia Plus

DUSHANBE, July 8, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajik Deputy Prime Minister, Azim Ibrohim, who also heads the Council for Food Safety Issues, has expressed concern about increasing number of botulism cases in the country.

The Council for Food Safety Issues reportedly held a meeting here yesterday.

Speaking at the meeting, Ibrohim demanded that heads of good safety management bodies give reports on implementation of the plan of work for the first half-year of 2016.

http://news.tj/en/news/tajik-official-concerned-over-increasing-number-botulism-cases-country

FDA

Continental Mills has issued a recall affecting only retail Krusteaz Blueberry Pancake Mix, which involves product manufactured between April 2016 and June 2016.  The company was notified by our supplier that their product, a blueberry nugget, is made with a small percentage of affected flour which was recalled by General Mills because it may be contaminated with E. coli O121.  This is an isolated issue, and only affects specific lots of Krusteaz Blueberry Pancake Mix.  Food Safety is our highest priority and this has caused us to take action for the safety of our consumers.

Most strains of E. coli are harmless, however, others can make you sick. E. coli O121 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. People who experience these symptoms should seek emergency medical care immediately. The very young, seniors, and those with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.  Anyone diagnosed by a physician as having an illness related to E. coli 0121 should contact state and local public health authorities.

No illnesses have been reported to date.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm510486.htm

FSIS

Kabob’s Acquisition, Inc., a Lake City, Ga. establishment, is recalling approximately 44,850 pounds of raw intact and heat treated, not ready-to-eat (NRTE) meat and poultry products that may be adulterated with E. coli O121, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The not ready-to-eat meat and poultry hors d’oeuvres items were produced on various dates between Dec. 8, 2015, and Jan. 15, 2016.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/FSIS-Content/internet/main/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2016/recall-057-2016-release

FDA

Hearn Kirkwood is initiating a voluntary recall of “Evie’s Cheddar Potato Salad” because it has the potential to be contaminated with 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.

Hearn Kirkwood is issuing this voluntary recall after being notified by their supplier, National Frozen Foods, that the frozen green peas used in the product are being recalled because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The recalled products was sold through Amazon Fresh in the locations Bellevue, Washington area between 04/08/16 and 06/13/16.

There have been no reported illnesses attributed to the recalled items to date.

The recalled product was sold in 6.0 oz. clear plastic containers with the name “Evie’s Cheddar Potato Macaroni Salad,” UPC code 6637511772” and “use by” dates of 04/15/16 to 06/20/16.

Consumers who have purchased this product should discard it and contact Amazon Fresh at (866) 380-0525 between the hours of 6:00 AM – 10:00 PM EST for a full refund.

Consumers with questions should call Hearn Kirkwood at 410-799-4444, Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM EST.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm510429.htm

Food Poisoning Bulletin

A Hepatitis A outbreak on Oahu has grown to include 31 people, according to the Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH). The source of the outbreak has not yet been identified.

https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2016/hepatitis-a-outbreak-on-oahu-grows-31-sick/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+FoodPoisoningBulletin+%28Food+Poisoning+Bulletin%29

Mary Ann Leibert

Cattle are a natural reservoir of Shiga toxin–producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and have recently been recognized as a major source of Campylobacter jejuni contamination. While several factors are known to be associated with bacterial colonization, the underlying microbial factors have not been clarified. In this study, we characterized the fecal microbiota of dairy cattle (n = 24) using next-generation sequencing to elucidate the intestinal bacterial communities and the microbial diversity in relation to the presence of the foodborne pathogens STEC and C. jejuni (STEC-positive samples, n = 9; STEC-negative samples, n = 15; C. jejuni-positive samples, n = 9; and C. jejuni-negative samples, n = 15). While no significant differences were observed in alpha diversity between STEC-positive and STEC-negative samples, a high diversity index was observed in C. jejuni-positive samples compared to C. jejuni-negative samples. Nine phyla, 13 classes, 18 orders, 47 families, 148 genera, and 261 species were found to be the core microbiota in dairy cattle, covering 80.0–100.0% of the fecal microbial community. Diverse microbial communities were observed between cattle shedding foodborne pathogens and nonshedding cattle. C. jejuni-positive cattle had a higher relative abundance of Bacteroidetes (p = 0.035) and a lower relative abundance of Firmicutes (p = 0.035) compared to C. jejuni-negative cattle. In addition, while the relative abundance of 2 and 6 genera was significantly higher in cattle-shedding STEC and C. jejuni, respectively, the relative abundance of 3 genera was lower in both STEC- and C. jejuni-negative cattle. Our findings provide fundamental information on the bacterial ecology in cattle feces and might be useful in developing strategies to reduce STEC or C. jejuni shedding in dairy cattle, thereby reducing the incidence of STEC infection and campylobacteriosis in humans.

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/fpd.2016.2121

E.coli Blog

http://www.ecoliblog.com/e-coli-information/more-sick-with-e-coli-linked-to-carbon-live-fire-mexican-grill/#.V39ONU05Cr8

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) continues to work with the owners and staff of Carbón Live Fire Mexican Grill at 300 W. 26th Street as part of our ongoing investigation into an outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC). To date, 50 residents have been identified as contracting STEC related to this outbreak.

CFIA

http://inspection.gc.ca/about-the-cfia/newsroom/food-recall-warnings/complete-listing/2016-07-07/eng/1467936873085/1467936876244

Ottawa, July 7, 2016 – The food recall warning issued on July 06, 2016 has been updated to include additional product information. This additional information was identified during the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA) food safety investigation.

Veg-Pak Produce Ltd. is recalling Longo’s brand Hot Red Thai Chili Peppers Red Thai from the marketplace due to possible Salmonella contamination. Consumers should not consume the recalled product described below.