The Salmonella Hartford outbreak that is listed on the FDA's CORE Outbreak Investigation Table has grown from 31 to 47 cases since the last update was issued on March 8, 2023. There are three other active outbreak investigations on that table. The Salmonella Hartford outbreak has not been linked to any specific food. Traceback has been initiated, but no on-site inspection has taken place, there is no recall, and no sample collection and analysis has started. We do not know where the patients live, their age range, or illness onset dates. And we do not know if anyone has been hospitalized. The other outbreak investigations are unchanged. The hepatitis A outbreak in a not yet identified food, which has sickened at least five people, is unchanged. In that investigation, traceback … [Read more...]
FDA Calls For Enhanced Safety Steps in Powdered Infant Formula
The FDA is calling for enhanced safety steps in powdered infant formula in the wake of the cronobacter crisis in that industry in 2022. Back then, Abbott Nutrition had to close their plant in Sturgis, Michigan that manufactured that formula after cronobacter contamination was found. The whole issue started when four infants were sickened and two died in 2021 and 2022. Those infants were fed powdered infant formula made by Abbott Nutrition. Although cronobacter was found in the Abbott facility, the FDA did not find a connection between the illnesses and the facility. In addition, the FDA found insanitary conditions at that facility. The Abbott facility closed for months after the contamination was found, causing a severe shortage in the infant formula products they made. The FDA … [Read more...]
FDA Adds Salmonella Hartford Outbreak to CORE Investigation
The FDA has added a new Salmonella Hartford outbreak to its CORE Outbreak Investigation Table. It joins three other outbreak investigations that are still active as of March 8, 2023. The Salmonella Hartford outbreak has sickened at least 31 people so far. No food has been identified yet. There is no information about illness onset dates, if anyone has been hospitalized, or the patient age range. So far, traceback has been initiated in this outbreak investigation. The hepatitis A outbreak investigation has been updated. There are now just five illnesses in that outbreak. That number was reduced from nine cases, after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) excluded some suspect cases from the overall count. Sample collection and analysis, along with traceback, has … [Read more...]
FDA Advises Labeling of Plant-Based Milk Alternatives
The FDA is advising companies about labeling of plant-based milk alternatives, since they have different nutrient compositions than cow's milk. These recommendations will make it clear to consumers about these differences so they can make informed decisions. Plant-based products are made from hazelnuts, walnuts, coconuts, cashews, almonds, sesame seed, flax seed, hemp seed, rice, oats, and legumes, including soy. The FDA recommends that these products are labeled with "milk" in their names, such as "almond milk." They would also like to see a voluntary nutrient statement that shows consumers how the product compares with cow's ilk. If the product does not include the word "milk" as part of it name, but instead uses a word like "drink" and doesn't make any claims comparing the … [Read more...]
FDA on Wild Harvest Oysters Salmonella Outbreak in FL GA AL
FDA is weighing in on the wild harvest oysters Salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least eight people in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Any retailers and restaurants that have received wild harvest oysters from harvest area FL-3012 in Cedar Key, Florida, harvested between December 16, 2022 and February 24, 2023 should be discarded. Consumers who bought those oysters at retail in those three states should also discard them. The FDA says it's possible that other states may have received the oysters. So if you purchased raw oysters, check the packaging to see if they were harvested in that area. A Salmonella outbreak linked to those oysters has been detected by the state health departments in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. Eight cases are linked to this outbreak. We do not … [Read more...]
Enoki Mushrooms From China Subject to Import Alert For Listeria
Enoki mushrooms from China are now subject to an FDA Import Alert after several recalls have been issued for that product for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination, and a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak. In July of 2022, the FDA issued an import alert for this type of mushrooms that were imported from Korea because of many recalls for possible Listeria, and Listeria monocytogenes outbreaks. The import Alert #25-21 has been expanded to include enoki mushrooms from China to detention without physical examination. From October 2020 through February 2023, state public health authorities sampled enoki mushrooms from various retail locations. Multiple states found Lsieria monocytogenes, which triggered 18 recalls of enoki mushrooms since 2021. Eight of those recalls were for … [Read more...]
FDA Releases Guidance Document For Food Delivery Services
The FDA has released a guidance document for food delivery services that is designed to ensure that food ordered online or over the phone is safe to eat. The parameters cover proper packaging, temperature control, verification practices, receiving and storage, and controls for physical contamination and allergen control. The FDA coordinated with the USDA and the CDC to produce this document. The New Era of Smarter Food Safety blueprint identified the safety of foods ordered online and delivered directly to consumers as a priority. Since the pandemic there has been a huge increase of food ordered from retailers. The food includes produce and meal-kit subscription services, food from ghost kitchens, grocery stores, and third-party delivery services. The "last mile" of delivery is … [Read more...]
FDA Announces Action Levels For Lead in Processed Baby Food
The FDA is announcing action levels and draft guidance for lead in processed baby food. This, the FDA says, would result in "significant reductions in exposures to lead from food while ensuring availablility of nutritious foods. This plan is part of Closer to Zero, part of the governments' plant to reduce exposure to the heavy metals lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury in foods consumed by young children and babies. FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D. said in a statement, "For more than 30 years, the FDA has been working to reduce exposure to lead, and other environmental contaminants, from foods. This work has resulted in a dramatic decline in lead exposure from foods since the mid-1980s.The proposed action levels announced today, along with our continued work with our state … [Read more...]
DOJ Starts Criminal Investigation into Abbott Over Formula
According to news reports, the Department of Justice has started a criminal investigation into Abbott Laboratories in relation to the cronobacter contamination at the Abbott plant that caused a shutdown last year and the resulting baby food supply crisis that triggered a severe shortage of powdered baby formula. Cronobacter can cause serious illness in infants and can be deadly. In September 2021, an infant in Minnesota developed a cronobacter infection. Minnesota is the only state in the country that requires reporting this illness. Minnesota officials reported the issue to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Babies in Ohio and Texas also got sick; the infant in Ohio died. In all, four infants were sickened and two babies died. With more infants sick, FDA … [Read more...]
CSPI and Consumer Reports Want Red Dye #3 Banned
CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) and Consumer Reports want the government to ban Red Dye #3 for several reasons, mostly because the FDA has found the additive causes cancer in laboratory animals. Those organizations, along with other consumer advocate organizations, petitioned the FDA to ban this ingredient on October 24, 2022. Now they are asking the public to sign a petition to help. According to federal law, a color additive "shall be deemed unsafe, and shall not be listed, for any use which will or may result in ingestion of all or part of such additive, if the additive is found by the Secretary to induce cancer when ingested by man or animal." And according to the Delaney Clause, the FDA can't find as safe the use of any additive that it has been found to induce … [Read more...]
