According to FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the FDA is going to disclose retailer distribution information for some types of food recalls. The USDA already provides this information. When a recall is initiated, the FDA works with companies to publicize information such as labeling, product descriptions, lot numbers, and UPC numbers, as well as photographs … Read more
The USDA and FDA have issued a report on food recall trends from 2004 to 2013. In it, they find that recalls increased significantly in that time period. The report, titled “Trends in Food Recalls: 2004-2013” was published in April 2018. Between 2004 and 2008, food recalls in the United States averaged 304 a year. … Read more
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration reports that several grocery stores that issued secondary recalls of produce products last week have either updated or revised their lists of the items subject to recall. These recalls were prompted by the large-scale recall by Salinas, CA-based Mann’s Packing of thousands of pounds of minimally processed vegetables they … Read more
Mann’s Packing recalled minimally processed vegetable products for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination on October 19, 2017. A single positive result was found during random sampling in Canada. There is zero tolerance for the presence of this bacteria in the United States on ready-to-eat foods. Since then, there have been a slew of secondary recalls for … Read more
In two separate recalls, the possible presence of undeclared nuts in food products have prompted their removal from store shelves. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) reports that both Aunt Beth’s Cookies (located in Mishawaka, Indiana) and First Source (headquartered in Tonawanda, New York) have issued these voluntary recalls. Aunt Beth’s Cookies recalled nine … Read more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has alerted consumers that Reser’s Fine Foods, Inc., headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, has issued a voluntary recall for 529 cases of its 16-ounce “Reser’s Macaroni Salad.” These products contain two allergens, milk and soy, which are not listed on the packages’ labelling. For those who are allergic to … Read more
The FDA has sent the owners of Aspen Hills, Inc., makers of ready to eat cookie dough, a warning letter on January 10, 2017 about environmental samples from their facility that tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. There is zero tolerance for that pathogenic bacteria in ready to eat products. That means that the cookie dough pucks, … Read more
Every year we gather information about the largest food poisoning outbreaks of the last 12 months. There were many outbreaks this year; some sickened hundreds of people. The largest outbreaks were confined to one state. The outbreaks in this list crossed state lines. The tenth largest multistate food poisoning outbreak of 2016 was a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak … Read more
Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling on the federal government to improve the FDA’s ability to recall contaminated foods. He uses the recall of millions of pounds of General Mills flour for potential E. coli contamination as an example. The E. coli O121 and O26 outbreak linked to that flour began in December 2015, but the … Read more
The FDA is too slow to get food companies to recall contamianted products, according to an audit by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In some cases, firms waited for months before they recalled their products that caused many illnesses. The HHS Office released a report that states “we found that the FDA … Read more