McMaster researchers have created food packaging that can reveal contamination of food, possibly helping prevent foodborne illness. Researchers Akansha Prasad, co-lead author of the paper that describes the invention, which was published in the journal Advanced Materials said in a statement, "This is something that can benefit everyone. We're hoping this technology will see lives, money, and food waste." Shadman Khan, co-lead author on the paper added, "We wanted to develop a system that was reliable, quick, affordable, and easy to use." The packaging will let producers, retailers, and consumers tell in real time whether the contents of a sealed food package are contaminated just by looking at it. Not having to open the package will eliminate the possibility of … [Read more...]
Consumer Advocates Call for Modernization of Poultry Food Safety
Consumer advocates, food poisoning survivors, scientists, and four major poultry producers are calling for the modernization of poultry food safety to reduce illnesses, according to Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). These groups want to meet with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to discuss a "modernized, science-based regulatory approach to ensure the food safety of poultry products." The four poultry products are Butterball, Perdue Farms, Tyson Foods, and Wayne Farms. The four consumer groups are CSPI, Consumer Federation of American, Consumer Reports, and Stop Foodborne Illness. Campylobacter and Salmonella infections make up 705 of the foodborne illnesses tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those pathogens are commonly found on … [Read more...]
USDA Clarifies Instructions About Inspections at Stuffed Chicken Establishments
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is updating inspection instructions for establishments that produce raw and heat-treated but not fully cooked, not shelf stable stuffed chicken products. These products have been linked to Salmonella outbreaks that caused the eighth largest food poisoning outbreak of 2015. The stuffed chicken products were made by Aspen Foods and Barber Foods. Personnel are to update the profiles so FSIS can determine which establishments product not ready to eat (NRTE) stuffed chicken products that look ready to eat. FSIS will use this information to schedule a public health risk evaluation to make sure the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans have been reassessed in response to those outbreaks. A food safety assessment may … [Read more...]
Aspen Foods Salmonella Outbreak Ends
The Salmonella outbreak linked to raw, frozen breaded chicken entrees made by Aspen Foods has ended, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But because these entrees have a long shelf life, agency officials are worried that consumers may still have these products in their freezers. Consumers who do have these products in their freezers should dispose of them in a sealed plastic bag and wash their hands thoroughly. The outbreak associated with these chicken entrees including Chicken Cordon Bleu, Chicken a la Kiev or Chicken Broccoli and Cheese, sickened five people in Minnesota hospitalizing two of them. The products were sold nationwide under the brand names Acclaim, Antioch Farms, Buckley Farms, Centrella Signature, Chestnut Farms, Family … [Read more...]
As Salmonella Outbreak Grows, Aspen Foods Recalls More Breaded Chicken
Chicken Kiev, Chicken and Broccoli and Chicken Cordon Bleu are being recalled by Aspen Foods of Chicago after more Salmonella illnesses were linked to the products. The recall follows one issued July 15 after a Salmonella outbreak linked to the products, which has now sickened five people, was first announced. The recalled products have the establishment number “P-1358” inside the USDA mark of inspection and were produced between August 25, 2015 and September 17, 2015 with “best if used by” dates of August 23, 2016 to December 15, 2016. They were sold under a variety of brand names including Acclaim, Antioch Farms, Buckley Farms, Centrella Signature, Chestnut Farms, Family Favorites, Kirkwood, Koch Foods, Market Day, Oven Cravers, Rose, Rosebud Farm, Roundy’s, Safeway … [Read more...]
Aspen Foods Finally Expands Recall of Salmonella Chicken Products
Aspen Foods of Illinois is finally expanding their July 15, 2015 recall of frozen, raw, stuffed, breaded chicken products that are linked to a Salmonella outbreak. They were sold under the brand names Acclaim, Antioch Farms, Buckley Farms, Centrella Signature, Chestnut Farms, Family Favorites, Home Dining Selections, Kirkwood, Koch Foods, Market Day, Oven Cravers, Rose, Rosebud Farm, Roundy’s, Safeway Kitchens, Schwan’s, Shaner’s, Spartan, and Sysco. In September, after Koch Poultry, which owns Aspen Foods, refused to issue another recall because there were more illnesses linked to these products, the USDA ordered the product seized by inspectors. Inspections found that the facility was not controlling the Salmonella contamination and FSIS sampling revealed positive results that … [Read more...]
Chicken Entrees Linked to Salmonella Outbreak Sold at These Stores
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS) has released a list of stores where frozen chicken entrees, which have been linked to a Salmonella outbreak, were sold. The list is 60 pages long. The raw, breaded frozen chicken entrees made by Aspen Foods and sold under a number of brand names have sickened five people in Minnesota. They were sold at Aldi, Food Lion, Kroger, Safeway, Save-a-Lot, and Walmart stores nationwide and dozens of other stores in 40 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The breaded chicken items were labeled as “chicken cordon bleu,” “chicken Kiev” or “chicken broccoli and cheese” and have the establishment number “P-1358” inside the USDA mark of inspection. They were sold under the brand names Acclaim, Antioch … [Read more...]
Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Aspen Chicken Grows
A Salmonella outbreak linked raw, frozen breaded chicken products from Aspen Foods has sickened five people in Minnesota hospitalizing two of them. The company, which has been linked to other Salmonella outbreaks, has a systemic Salmonella problem, the USDA said two weeks ago. The current outbreak, announced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in June, followed another Salmonella outbreak linked to the same products a year earlier. Between August 17, 2014 and September 27, 2014 six people in Minnesota got Salmonella infections from Antioch Farms brand frozen, raw Chicken Kiev produced at the Aspen Foods facility in Chicago. Officials from the Minnesota Department of Health said that during interviews with case patients they learned that some of them followed … [Read more...]
A Tale of Two Chickens and Salmonella: Koch Poultry and Foster Farms
Two giant poultry processors have been linked to serious food poisoning outbreaks in the past few years. One, Foster Farms, was the source of chicken tainted with antibiotic-resistant Salmonella that sickened almost seven hundred people. Despite objections from food safety experts, that company only issued a small recall of chicken produced over a period of one week in March 2014. Other retailers such as Costco did issue recalls of Foster Farms chicken, including rotisserie chickens that were professionally cooked. The second, Koch Poultry, under the name Aspen Foods, was the source of frozen breaded stuffed chicken tainted with Salmonella. While the company did recall products linked to an outbreak last summer, they refused to issue a new recall when the USDA requested it after finding … [Read more...]
USDA Issues Order to Detain Aspen Foods Salmonella Chicken
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a public health alert about Aspen Foods stuffed frozen chicken products that are linked to a Salmonella outbreak. Apparently, inspectors found that the facility that produced those products is contaminated with the pathogenic bacteria. But Koch Poultry Company, which owns the facility, is refusing to recall the chicken. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 (FSMA), FDA has the authority to force a recall and seize products that are deemed dangerous to the public. USDA has had that authority since the 1960s. They have ordered their personnel to "detain products covered by this alert that they find in commerce because the company has refused to recall the products." The products were recalled voluntarily by the … [Read more...]
