The Dave's Sushi morel mushroom outbreak has now sickened at least 41 people in Montana, according to the FDA's CORE Outbreak Investigation Table. The Table states that morel mushrooms are the suspect food in this outbreak. Two deaths have occurred in patrons of that establishment after eating there. The case count has increased to 41 from 30 since the last update was issued on May 3, 2023. In that investigation, traceback has been initiated, and sample collection and analysis has begun. The Gallatin City-County Health Department, which is also investigating the outbreak, says that ill persons ate at the restaurant between March 31 and April 17, 2023. Three patrons had "severe outcomes," including hospitalizations, and the deaths of two patrons are being investigated. No causative … [Read more...]
APHIS Seized Prohibited Pork From China and Other Meats
APHIS seized prohibited pork sourced from China, along with poultry and ruminant products from New York City retailers in the last three months of 2021, according to a press release from the USDA. APHIS is the Animal and Plant Protection Service branch of that agency. More than 1900 pounds of prohibited products were seized. The foods were sourced from China and didn't have the required import permits and health certificates, and are considered a risk of introducing invasive plant and animal pests and diseases into the country. The prohibited pork from China and other meats were destroyed. These efforts are part of a collaboration between APHIS, the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), U.S. Customers and Border Protection, and New York City public health … [Read more...]
Public Health Alert For Meat and Poultry Imported From China
The USDA has issued a public health alert for an undetermined amount of imported meat and poultry products from China. A recall was not requested because the USDA has not been able to identify and contact the importers. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions associated with the consumption of these products. The meat and poultry products do not have an eligible establishment number on the packages and were not presented to FSIS for import reinsertion. They are ineligible to import into this country, which makes them unfit for human consumption. The problem was found through an investigation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). USDA is continuing to work with those agencies on this … [Read more...]
Rong Shing Trading Recalls Chinese Hot Pot Base For Ineligible Products
Rong Shing Trading of Brooklyn, New York, doing business as Double R Trading Inc. is recalling about 3,365 pounds of Rong Shing Trading Chinese Hot Pot Base because the product contains beef tallow imported from the People's Republic of China, which is a country ineligible to export beef to the United States. No confirmed reports of adverse reactions have been received by the company to date in connection with the consumption of these products. The Rong Shing Trading Chinese hot pot base products were imported on or around February 14, 2020. These are the recalled products: 450 gram Plastic vacuum wrapped packages containing a “Lee’s 52° Da Zhuang” Hot Pot Base and a Sell By date of January 29, 2022 that is printed on the label. 300 gram Plastic vacuum wrapped packages … [Read more...]
FDA Addresses Issue of China Coronavirus and Imported Products
On our Facebook page recently, one person asked if anyone should be concerned about the safety of products arriving from China as the coronavirus outbreak continues. The virus has been named COVID-19, as it is a virus causing coronavirus disease that was first identified in 2019. Is there a danger regarding coronavirus and imported products? The FDA is working to surveil the medical product supply chain and is using enforcement tools to oversee the safety and quality of FDA-regulated products. The FDA isn't able to conduct inspections in China now, as the U.S. State Department's Travel Advisory is not to travel to China because of the outbreak. Here's the takeaway line: "Fortunately, currently, we are not seeing the impacts of this outbreak resulting in an increased public health … [Read more...]
Congresswoman Questions USDA Equivalency of China’s Poultry Processing Plants
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) recently wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, questioning the USDA's process approving China's poultry processing plants. These plants are now able to export processed chicken to the United States. She expresses concern about the way the USDA has approved those plants. Her letter states that she opposed the equivalency designation because "it irresponsibly granted equivalency to the entire country's poultry processing system despite FSIS having only audited a limited number of China's poultry processing plants." She also states that the recent release of internal emails shows that "FSIS is taking a stunningly passive approach in approving three new Chinese poultry processing as eligible to export to the United States." The … [Read more...]
Rep. DeLauro Sends Letter to USDA Expressing Concern Over Chinese Chicken
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has written a letter to Sonny Perdue, the Secretary of the USDA, expressing concern over reports suggesting that the government is planning to let China export its own poultry products to the United States. Food safety and consumer advocates have long opposed such a move to import Chinese chicken, citing serious food safety concerns about food from that country and many deadly outbreaks that have occurred there. According to the letter, Chinas General Administration of Customs Under Secretary met with a Chinese deputy director to discuss agricultural trade. DeLauro states, "given China's longstanding and well documented food safety problems, it is appalling to me that officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection … [Read more...]