Brand : AZIENDA AGRICOLA VANZELLI GINO
Name : PACK OF EGGS OF 30
Reason for reporting : Recall due to microbiological risk
Publication date : 23 June 2024Documentation
Documentation
Recall model AZIENDA AGRICOLA VANZELLI GINO – PACK OF EGGS OF 30
Posted in bacterial contamination, food contamination, food handler, Food Hazard, Food Hygiene, Food Inspections, Food Micro Blog, Food Microbiology, Food Microbiology Blog, Food Microbiology Testing, Food Pathogen, Food Quality, food recall, Food Safety, Food Safety Alert, Food Safety Management, Food Safety Regulations, Food Testing, microbial contamination
Vitakraft Sun Seed Inc. of Weston, OH, is voluntarily recalling one lot of Sun Seed Vita Prima Hedgehog Food because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals eating the products and there is also a risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products, animal waste, or any surfaces exposed to these products.
Vitakraft Sun Seed was notified on June 18, 2024, by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture that Salmonella was detected in an inspection sample of product from Lot Number 417429. The tests which identified the bacteria were part of random testing performed by the State of Minnesota on consumer products, and not prompted by any consumer concerns. To date, there have been no reports of illness.
Products matching the specific lot number below are being recalled:
|
UPC # |
DESCRIPTION |
LOT |
EXP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-87535-40060-4 | Sun Seed Vita Prima Hedgehog Food, 25oz | 417429 | 10/18/2025 |
The package of hedgehog food labeled “Vita Prima” by Sunseed. The package is predominantly yellow and white with a picture of a hedgehog in the bottom left corner. The product is described as “wholesome nutrition” and “all-in-one pellet.” Key features highlighted on the package include “vitamin fortified,” “highly digestible,” and “high in protein.” The net weight of the product is 25 ounces (708 grams). The background includes images of grains, emphasizing the wholesome ingredients.
Hedgehogs with Salmonella infections may be lethargic, have bloody or mucoid diarrhea, weight loss, decreased appetite, become dehydrated and/or death. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. This means that the asymptomatic hedgehog my shed the pathogen in its feces for a short period of time or persistently without any other symptoms of illness. As with all pathogens, it is imperative to thoroughly wash hands after handling animals, their food, food dishes and their waste to prevent the transmission of this zoonotic disease. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has any symptoms, please contact your veterinarian for proper supportive care.
Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.
Products from the recalled lot were distributed to the following states: FL, IN, IL, KY, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, and VA. Retailers and distributors who received the recalled lots have been contacted and asked to remove these lots from their inventory and shelves.
Consumers who have purchased a product from the recalled lot should discontinue use of the product, handle the remaining product with gloved hands, and wash hands thoroughly after handling the product. The customer may return the unused portion to the place of purchase for a full refund.
Customers who have further questions are welcome to contact Customer Service at 1-800-221-6175 Extension 123, Monday through Friday between 8:30am and 5:00pm EST.
The transition from linear production towards a circular agro-food system is an important step towards increasing Europe’s sustainability. This requires re-designing the food production systems, which inevitably comes with challenges as regards controlling the safety of our food, animals and the ecosystem. Where in current food production systems many food safety hazards are understood and well-managed, it is anticipated that with the transition towards circular food production systems, known hazards may re-emerge and new hazards will appear or accumulate, leading to new -and less understood- food safety risks. In this perspective paper, we present a simple, yet effective approach, to identify knowledge gaps with regard to food safety in the transition to a circular food system. An approach with five questions is proposed, derived from current food safety management approaches like HACCP. Applying this to two cases shows that risk assessment and management should emphasize more on the exposure to unexpected (with regards to its nature and its origin) hazards, as hazards might circulate and accumulate in the food production system. Five knowledge gaps became apparent: there’s a need for (1) risk assessment and management to focus more on unknown hazards and mixtures of hazards, (2) more data on the occurrence of hazards in by-products, (3) better understanding the fate of hazards in the circular food production system, (4) the development of models to adequately perform risk assessments for a broad range of hazards and (5) new ways of valorization of co-products in which a safe-by-design approach should be adopted.
Between 2012 and 2024, a prolonged outbreak of 73 cases of L. monocytogenes ST173 infections (‘My2’ -cluster) has been ongoing in Belgium (5), Czechia (1), Germany (39), Finland (2), Italy (1), the Netherlands (20), and the United Kingdom (UK) (5). Fourteen deaths have been recorded as associated with this outbreak. Males aged over 60 years represent the most affected population group. Most patients with available information from case interviews report consuming various fish products before illness. Among 73 cases, an ongoing ‘My2’ sub-cluster 1 was identified with 38 cases reported in six EU countries and the UK.
The ‘My2’ sub-cluster 1 includes 83 non-human isolates, of which 48 are food isolates and six are environmental isolates with traceability data corresponding to 37 fish products (different typologies) and 12 fish manufacturers (located in six EU countries and one third country). The epidemiological and traceability information did not allow identification of a single common point or food business operator in the traceability of all products. Five countries reported the implementation of control measures.
The whole genome analysis (WGS) analysis, the tracing evidence, and the detection in fish products between 2017 and 2024 suggest that the strain has been geographically spread in Europe for several years, most likely originated from a past single source high up in the production chain, and has been established in different fish processing plants. Overall, the evidence supports the hypothesis of fish products as the vehicle of infections.
Given the detection of the outbreak strain in multiple types of fish products and its wide circulation in the EU/EEA fish production chain, new cases are likely to be reported. Corrective measures should be implemented in the plants where the contamination is detected, and further investigations should be carried out to identify the point of entry and prevent possible re-contamination.
A new study investigating a multistate outbreak of multidrug-resistant Salmonella infections linked to pig ear pet treats highlights the interconnectedness of human health and pet ownership, emphasizing the need for stringent surveillance of pet food products.
The study was funded by the Food and Drug Administration’s Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards and the FDA’s Veterinary Laboratory Investigation and Response Network (Vet-LIRN).
From June 2015 to Sept. 2019, 154 human cases of Salmonella infection were reported across 34 states. The investigation identified seven Salmonella serotypes genetically related to samples from pig ear pet treats. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) of isolates was used to predict antimicrobial resistance. Notably, 107 of 122 patients interviewed reported dog contact, and 65 of 97 reported contact with pig ear pet treats. Salmonella was isolated from 137 pig ear treats, including imports from Argentina, Brazil, and Colombia, and from four dogs. WGS predicted that 77 percent of human isolates and 43 percent of pig ear treat isolates were resistant to three or more antimicrobial classes.
Health authorities have identified eight linked food poisoning clusters involving 15 people who ate vanilla ice cream at three restaurants at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Hong Kong earlier this month.
The Centre for Health Protection said on Friday that the clusters included three earlier linked to the same hotel in Wan Chai, where all the affected people fell ill after eating the ice cream at the three venues on June 1 and 2.
“They developed abdominal pain, fever, nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea about 15 to 65 hours after consuming the food concerned,” it said.
“The stool specimens of six affected people were positive for Salmonella upon laboratory testing. Four of the Salmonella isolates belong to the same group of Salmonella enteritidis,” it said.
“In view of the epidemiological investigations and test results, the affected people’ symptoms were very likely related to consumption of the concerned ice cream provided by the hotel.”
As of 18 June, there have been a further 45 cases associated with the recent outbreak of STEC O145 since the last update (14 June), bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 256 in the UK. All currently confirmed cases had symptom onset dates before 31 May. Although the rate of cases has now slowed, we expect the figure to rise as NHS laboratories refer specimens to UKHSA for genomic sequencing which can link cases to this outbreak strain.
Confirmed case totals:
Based on information from 227 cases to date, 38% were admitted to hospital.
Investigations have highlighted pre-packaged sandwich products containing lettuce as the likely source of the outbreak.
FoodWorld 