The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that Randalls, Tom Thumb, and Albertsons stores have recalled several of their “Ready. Chef. Go!” Seafood Meal Bags following Mann Packing’s enormous recall of its vegetable products from stores throughout the United States and Canada. These vegetables, incorporated into the processed seafood meals, were recalled after the Canadian Inspection Agency detected the presence of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria in a single random sample. Listeria is one of the most severe forms of food poisoning, and is particularly dangerous to pregnant women and their unborn infants as it can cause miscarriage, stillbirths, and birth defects such as hydrocephalus. In adults (especially the elderly or people with underlying medical conditions), it … [Read more...]
Meijer Recalls Brand Name Produce by Mann Packing for Possible Listeria Contamination
In conjunction with the extensive recall by Mann Packing of produce from stores across the United States and Canada, Meijer has now announced a recall of many of its branded produce items. This produce, originally processed and distributed by Mann Packing, may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Meijer thus joins several other grocery retailers who have issued recalls either of branded produce or of food products created in-store from the recalled vegetables. We will continue to update our list of these secondary recalls as they arise. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) reports that the Meijer recall addresses all of its stores in the states of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The vegetable items affected by the recall were sold … [Read more...]
Salad Kits and Stir Fry Mixes Recalled in Alaska for Possible Food Contamination
Triple B Corporation, headquartered in Anchorage, Alaska, has now recalled eight (8) different vegetable products, including salad kits, in connection with the major October 19th recall by Mann Packing of many of its minimally processed vegetable items. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) reports that the broccoli florets, stir fry kits, and other vegetable products being recalled may possibly be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, a bacteria that can cause a serious form of food poisoning. All of the items affected by Triple B Corporation’s recall were prepared using potentially contaminated broccoli provided by Mann Packing of Salinas, California. They were then shipped to retail store delis throughout the state of Alaska. The eight (8) recalled vegetable products … [Read more...]
Chicken Patties Recalled by Foster Poultry Farms for Suspected Foreign Matter Contamination
A Class II Recall (“Low Health Risk”) has been issued for “FOSTER FARMS Chicken Patties BREADED CHICKEN BREAST PATTIES WITH RIB MEAT.” According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Foster Poultry Farms initiated this recall of 131,880 pounds of its frozen, ready-to eat chicken patty products because they may contain fragments of clear, soft plastic. Three separate consumers who bought the contaminated products alerted the company to the extraneous plastic materials they had discovered on March 22, April 3, and April 15, 2017. Foster Poultry Farms subsequently ascertained that the plastic pieces had come from their packaging materials. The affected breaded chicken patty products, produced on February 15, 2017, were distributed in … [Read more...]
Garcia and Ema’s Brand Sausage Products Recall
Uncle John’s Pride, LLC., based in Tampa, Florida, has issued a recall for many ready-to-eat smoked meat and poultry items. As reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), these products may be contaminated with extraneous metal materials. Approximately 139,909 pounds of the smoked meat and poultry sausage products were recalled after a metal magnet was discovered in a beef trim product used during production. This recall has been classified as a Class I / “High” Health Risk recall, signifying that people may become dangerously ill or die if they consume these products. The ready-to-eat smoked meat and poultry sausage products, produced between March 8, 2017 and April 8, 2017, were distributed to retail stores and foodservices … [Read more...]
Rosca de Reyes Bread Contaminated with Synthetic Marijuana
More than 30 people were sickened in January 2015 after eating Rosca de Reyes bread produced at Cholula's Bakery in Santa Ana, California. The bread is also known as King Cake and is made with candied fruit and a baby Jesus figurine. It is eaten as part of the Latin American celebration of Three Kings Day. Symptoms included palpitations, dizziness, and numbness. Lab results were released after an investigation found that the bread was deliberately contaminated with a synthetic drug called "K2"or "spice" that is an artificial component of the main ingredient in marijuana. This chemical looks like pot, but side effects from ingesting it are more severe. The particular strain put in this bread is JWH-122, which is illegal in the U.S. Thousands of people are sickened by this drug every … [Read more...]
North Carolina Researchers Find Formaldehyde in Imported Fish
Researchers at North Carolina State have verified that an inexpensive instant test for formaldehyde on food has found about 25% of the imported fish purchased at a grocery store chain in Raleigh, North Carolina had unacceptable levels of the chemical. The contaminated fish were imported from China and South Vietnam. Swai, cod, pollack, shrimp, tilapia, and whiting are some of the species that were contaminated. No fish from the United States or other regions tested positive for formaldehyde. The chemical occurs naturally in tiny quantities in fish and other foods, including fruits and vegetables, but the levels found in the tests were far beyond normal or acceptable. The FDA does not test fish for formaldehyde, even though some countries such as Bangladesh use it to preserve food … [Read more...]
Wildfires and Food Safety
The western United States is suffering through some horrific wildfires. In Colorado alone, more than 350 homes have been burned to the ground and wildfires are still raging. Food safety in times like these might not seem important. But wildfires can make the food in your home dangerous to eat, according to the USDA. Smoke fumes, the heat of the fire, and chemicals used to fight fire can be toxic. Heat from the fire can activate bacteria that cause foodborne illness and rupture the seals in cans and jars, exposing the food to bacteria. Fumes from a fire can create toxic fumes that contaminate food. Chemicals used to fight fires can contaminate food and cookware and create toxins that can't be washed off the food. To protect yourself and your family against the effects of wildfire, the … [Read more...]
Facts About Food Poisoning and the Law
Unless you or a member of your family have been struck down by a foodborne illness, you won't know the facts about food poisoning and the law. Public reaction to a recent case of Salmonella food poisoning has made this very clear. Many people think that food poisoning just means an uncomfortable period of time spent running to the bathroom. For most people, this is true, since 48,000,000 Americans contract food poisoning every year. But for more than 128,000 Americans each and every year, food poisoning means hospitalization, a serious illness, and the risk of developing lifelong health complications including paralysis, kidney failure, arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease. And for 3,000 Americans each year, food poisoning means a painful and untimely death. Food Safety Laws The … [Read more...]
UC Davis Food Scientist to Headline Inaugural Fight BAC! Webinar Series
Nearly 300 people already have signed up to take part in the inaugural webinar of the Fight BAC! Brown Bag Webinar Series, which will launch April 10th at 12:30 p.m. EST. Organized by the government-funded Partnership for Food Safety Education, the webinar series will first addresss food safety practices in home kitchens. Dr. Christine Bruhn, a food science marketing specialist at University of California-Davis and director of the Center for Consumer Research, will present information from her recent observational study of home cooks and their food handling practices. "I’ll be reporting on an observational study in which we video-taped 200 households as they prepared burgers and a salad in their home,'' Bruhn told Food Poisoning Bulletin. She'll also discuss how people washed the … [Read more...]
