Metcash Food & Grocery Ltd has recalled Baker’s Oven Choc Lamingtons 4 Pack from IGA and Independent stores in QLD, Northern NSW and WA due to Staphylococcus aureus contamination. Food products contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus may cause illness if consumed. Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice and should return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund.
The Government of Canada verifies that food produced and/or sold in Canada meets federal food safety standards to ensure Canadians have confidence in what they buy. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) monitors and regulates food products that are produced domestically and moved inter-provincially, or are imported. Within Canada, all food products must comply with the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, which set out criteria for safe food and clearly prescribe restrictions on the production, importation, sale, composition and content of food.
The National Microbiological Monitoring Program (NMMP) is one of many tools utilized by the CFIA to verify that domestically produced and imported products meet Canadian standards. It is designed to sample and test a broad range of imported and domestic commodities for multiple hazards, including microbial hazards and extraneous material. The testing carried out under the NMMP covers red meat and poultry products, shell eggs and egg products, dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetable products.
As CFIA focuses its monitoring activities towards specific food-related hazards that may impair the health and safety of Canadians, it is important to note that most testing is in commodities that are not further processed by the consumer as well as in raw food, that if not properly cooked, can lead to illness. It is generally accepted that proper precautions taken in the home will destroy any bacteria that may be present.
During the 2011/12 fiscal year under the NMMP, 14307 tests were performed on 5234 domestic and imported products. Specifically, 9049 tests were performed on 3678 domestic products and 5258 tests were performed on 1556 imported products to verify they were compliant with Canadian standards. Results indicated that domestic products were 99.0% compliant and imported products were 98.0% compliant. Overall, a 98.7% compliance rate for combined domestic and imported products was observed.
In addition to testing food products, wash water samples and surface swabs taken within the food production environment are used to verify that food products are produced under sanitary conditions. This type of environmental sampling was performed in domestic establishments to verify the operator systems’ ability to control the presence of pathogens within the processing environment. During 2011/12, there were 2300 tests performed on 1878 environmental samples which were assessed as 97.5% compliant.
The results of the 2011/12 NMMP sampling activities demonstrate that the products available in the Canadian marketplace are for the majority compliant with national standards.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cfia, food, food products, National Microbiological Monitoring Program
Product name: Soup with pork lung, apricot kernel and Chinese ham (by Hung Fook Tong)
Package: 400 grams per pack
Best before date: July 2, 2014
Batch number: SU 22018
Place of origin: Hong Kong
During follow-up investigation on a case of removal from shelves of some food products by a local food chain, the CFS collected samples of the food products at the retail level for testing. Subsequent to announcement by the CFS on finding a bottled organic black soybean milk sample with excessive Bacillus cereus on July 9, the CFS found that a sample of locally produced Chinese-style soup with pork lung, apricot kernel and Chinese ham of the same brand was also detected to contain Bacillus cereus at an excessive level. Test results showed that the concerned soup sample contained Bacillus cereus at a level of 300,000 per gram.
Consumers may suffer from gastrointestinal upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea after consuming the concerned product.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged apricot kernel, bacillus cereus, food products, Hong Kong, Hung Fook Tong, local food chain
California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director Dr. Ron Chapman warned consumers today not to eat Healdsburg Pickling Company jarred food products because they may have been improperly produced, making them susceptible to contamination with Clostridium Botulinum. Ingestion of botulism toxin from improperly processed jarred and canned foods may lead to serious illness and death. No illnesses have been linked to any of the affected products at this time.
According to the data of Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, the withdrawals of food products have been on the increase in recent years. Data on withdrawals have been recorded more systematically since 2006. The recording of data has become somewhat more explicit over time, which means that the statistics of different years are not necessarily fully comparable. This should be taken into account when analysing the results. Statistics are useful, however, in providing information about the development of the trend.
Number of food product withdrawals in 2006–2013
Contamination of food products is a major route of transmission for opportunistic foodborne pathogen. Cronobacter spp. (formerly Enterobacter sakazakii) are an important group of emerging opportunistic foodborne pathogens that may cause rare but severe systemic infection such as neonatal meningitis, septicemia, and enterocolitis in neonates. Here, we tried to investigate the possible natural reservoir and routes of transmission of this pathogen. Samples of food (N = 141) were screened for the presence of the bacterium, and 34 isolates of Cronobacter spp. were collected in total. Of the initial of 108 samples including infant formulas, dry milk powder, milk and milk related beverages, cereal (products), chocolate and candy, miscellaneous food products, 12% were positive for Cronobacter spp., with the highest percentage (69.3%) coming from cereal products. Further investigation indicated that 100% of 13 wheat flours, 5 of 8 (62.5%) wheat kernel samples, 100% of 5 different brands of dry noodles, and 3 of 7 (42.9%) deep-frozen dumpling samples contained Cronobacter spp. Biochemical analysis (ID32E strips) of the 34 isolates resulted in 11 different biogroups based on the utilization of 8 substrates. In addition, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) demonstrated extremely high genetic diversity as 24 unique PFGE profiles were revealed among the 25 isolates acquired mainly from wheat flour or related products. We therefore conclude that wheat flour is one likely reservoir and/or transmission route for Cronobacter spp., and special care should be taken while preparing infant foods or formulas in order to avoid cross-contamination from this source.
Pendle Ham and Bacon has recalled Cooked Corned Beef from their deli store in
Pendle Hill, NSW due to Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Food
products contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may cause illness in
pregnant women and their babies, the elderly and people with low immune systems.
Consumers should not eat this product. Any consumers concerned about their
health should seek medical advice.
FoodWorld 