Cantina Foods of New York is recalling 2,375 pounds of ready-to-eat Beef and Cheese Pastellios (empanadas) after the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) discovered the food had not been inspected by government officials. All meat products made in the U.S. must be inspected before being sold. The stuffed meat and cheese pies were packaged in cartons containing four clear plastic bags that each have six 4-ounce pastellios made with puff pastry. There are no labels or marks of inspection on the cartons or the bags. They were made and sold from October 3, 2012 through November 20, 2012 in the Buffalo, New York area. The pies may have been available for sale from heat trays at convenience stores. In September 2012, the company had requested to voluntarily suspend its … [Read more...]
E. coli 0157:H7 Public Health Alert for XL Foods Beef Products Expands in U.S.
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service is expanding the Public Health Alert issued on September 28, 2012 for XL Foods beef products. The products, manufactured at the Canadian plant, have been recalled for possible E. coli 0157:H7 contamination. And at least 10 consumers in Canada have been sickened by E. coli 0157:H7 by mechanically tenderized meat produced at XL Foods. All beef and beef products produced on August 24, 27, 28, 29, and September 5, 2012 at the XL Foods plant are being recalled. Back in September, the FSIS reported that about 890,000 pounds of boneless beef trim were imported into the U.S. from XL Foods. Now, they estimate that about 1.1 million pounds of beef trim and 1.4 million pounds of primal and sub-primal cuts were imported. The primal and sub-primal cuts … [Read more...]
USDA Unveils New Tool To Help Public Health Scientists Target Pathogen Risk
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), along with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just unveiled a new tool called the Microbial Risk Assessment (MRA) Guideline. It was developed with the EPA to help scientists improve the quality of data collected to protect consumers from pathogens in food and water. The Guideline focuses on infectious diseases associated with the GI tract and fecal or oral transmission of pathogens in food and water. Dr. Elisabeth Hagen, the USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety, said, "this new tool will help public health scientists target pathogen-related risks and prevent them from harming the public. We will continue to enhance the tools at our disposal to keep pace with evolving pathogens in our environment with … [Read more...]
