The FDA wants a judge to block the maker of Mexicali cheese from operating in its New York manufacturing facility because of "persistent unsanitary conditions" that contributed to the spread of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The agency's legal action in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York is against Mexicali Cheese of Woodhaven, N.Y., and two of its officers. A civil complaint seeks a permanent injunction in hopes of protecting consumers from possible food poisoning. The lawsuit follows an FDA Warning Letter to the company in October 2010 and a recall of "Queso Cotija Cheese" in August of the same year. The Warning Letter was issued after three days of inspection at the plant found Listeria in five locations along with numerous food safety violations, including … [Read more...]
Raw Milk Campylobacter Outbreak Widens in Pennsylvania, Maryland
Another six people have been infected with the pathogen Campylobacter in a food poisoning outbreak that Pennsylvania and Maryland health officials have associated with the Family Cow raw milk produced at the Shankstead Ecofarm in Franklin County, Pa. News reports from the region say a total of 12 illnesses have now been linked to consumption of the unpasteurized milk that Family Cow sells at more than 20 health food stores and more than 25 drop points in south-central Pennsylvania, around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia and in eastern Pennsylvania. In Maryland, 4 people have fallen ill, while 8 in Pennsylvania have been sickened. The farm has temporarily suspended raw milk sales pending microbiological testing results. Meanwhile, consumers are still advised by public health officials not … [Read more...]
FDA Stops Orange Juice Imports Tainted With Unapproved Pesticide
Eleven orange juice shipments to the United States since January 4 have been stopped by the Food and Drug Administration for unacceptable levels of carbendazim, a pesticide that is not legal for use on oranges in the United States. The agency is continuing to monitor imports and domestic production of orange juice for this chemical. Six of the tainted shipments were from Canada and five were from Brazil. In all, FDA inspectors have examined 45 import samples of orange juice this year. Fourteen domestic samples also have been taken and currently are in process in the agency's labs. For a sample to be judged positive for carbendazim, it must contain 10 parts per billion or more of the pesticide. Each sample represents one shipment. Of the eleven positive shipments, nine have been … [Read more...]
McDonald’s Twitter Campaign #Hijacked
Twitter is taking a spot in the food safety arena in several ways. It was used to track a norovirus outbreak at the Canadian University Press's 74th National Conference on January 14 of this year. Now it's been used to tell food safety stories about a fast food giant. Last week, McDonald's launched a social media campaign where they encouraged comments from consumers using the hashtag #McDStories. Unfortunately, that campaign backfired. Hashtags are the pound sign (which you call it if you're over the age of 40) placed in front of a word or phrase that groups search terms. If you type in #McDStories, you'll see a huge list of tweets. Other popular hashtags include #recipes, #foodsafety, and #chocolate. The campaign was quickly pulled after people started twitting their displeasure … [Read more...]
