Fecal Matter on 72% of all grocery cart handles, (and E. coli too!) Yuck
Filed under: e-coli, Germs and Cleaniness Tips, Is it Safe?, Tips on Food Safety
Professor Charles Gerba, the lead researcher, swabbed the handles of 85 carts in four states for bacterial contamination.
Gerba says 72% of the carts had a positive marker for fecal bacteria. When they examined some of the samples, they found Escherichia coli, also known as E. coli, on half of them.
Researchers say they actually found more fecal bacteria on grocery cart handles than you would typically find in a bathroom, mainly because bathrooms are disinfected more often than shopping carts.
FDA Recalls Cheese, Smoked Salmon, Eggs and More
Filed under: Banned Foods, Caution with these Foods, Children Products Recalled, holiday food safety, Is it Safe?, Recall, Recalled Foods, Tips on Food Safety
Health and safety are important issues facing parents. Here are FDA food and product recall updates on Rolaids, Tylenol, Benadryl, Motrin, eggs, cheese and others. The FDA has created a free printable Holiday Food Safety Success Kit, too. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA.gov) has created several Holiday Food Safety resources, including a free printable Holiday Food Safety Success Kit and two Holiday Food Safety videos, one in English and one in Spanish.
The FDA keeps consumers current with all food and drug recalls, voluntary and mandatory. It’s is important when tracking recalls to note the purpose of the recall and whether it is at wholesale, retail or consumer level. In some cases, the consumer may continue to use the product. In other cases, evidence of contamination has been found. Some products have undeclared allergens or have been mislabeled. Food and drug recalls of special interest for parents include the following:
* “Rushing Waters Fisheries, Palmyra, is recalling about 225 pounds of smoked trout and smoked salmon spreads, because the products may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.” (FDA)
* Frontier Natural Products Co-op nutmeg (salmonella)
* McCormick and Company Golden Dipt Fry Easy All Purpose Batter (voluntary recall for unlabeled egg ingredient)
* Mylanta, AlternaGEL Liquid products, TYLENOL Cold Multi-Symptom liquid, Children’s BENADRYL Allergy FASTMELT Tablets and Junior Strength MOTRIN Caplets cherry and grape flavor, Rolaid’s Extra Strength Softchews (Wholesale and Retail recall; no action necessary for consumers, may continue to use)
* Whole Foods Markets and Bravo Farms Cheese (cheese products list here) Evidence of e.coli and Listeria. Also Del Bueno products.
* Krunchers! Jay’s Original Potato Chips (undeclared milk allergen)
* Costco, DPI Specialty Foods Mauri gorgonzola cheese (voluntary recall for possible e. coli contamination)
* Liz Lovely chocolate (undeclared dairy)
* Artisan Confections Dagoba new moon Rich Dark Chocolate (salmonella)
* Duro Extend Capsules for Men (marketed as dietary supplement, contains Sulfoaidenafil (used in treatment of Erectile Dysfunction)
Parents are urged to visit the FDA’s Holiday Food Safety Success Kit page for tips, resources and free printable activities about health and food safety. You’ll find recipes, games, tips and helps. There are free printable shopping lists, food labels, brochures, coloring pages and activity booklets for children. The Holiday Food Safety Videos emphasize the basics of safe food handling in any season, which can be remembered as CSCC:
Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often (use hot water)
Separate: Keep foods separate; don’t cross-contaminate
Cook: Cook to proper internal temperature
Chill: Refrigerate foods promptly.
72,000 pounds of canned chicken salad recalled
(CNN) — The discovery of hard plastic inside packages prompted a nationwide recall of 72,000 pounds of canned chicken salad, one of several recalls involving poultry and meat products issued through U.S. food safety authorities in recent days.
The Suter Company is recalling 8.2-ounce packages of the “Bumble Bee Lunch on the Run Chicken Salad Complete Lunch Kit” and 3.5-ounce packages of “Bumble Bee Chicken Salad with Crackers,” according to a statement released Sunday by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.
While the company is headquartered in Sycamore, Illinois, its products are sold from coast to coast. The recalled products — which have a August 2011 “best-by” date for the lunch kit, and February 2012 corresponding date for the cracker package — were put together and shipped out to distributors and stores between August 14 and 28 of this year.
The recall was prompted by complaints from people who found pieces of loose plastic inside their Bumble Bee packages. The federal agency noted in its release that it hasn’t received any reports of people getting hurt or sick as a result.
The recall is a Class II, which means there is a “remote probability of adverse health consequences,” according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service.
Meanwhile, two unrelated and separate but potentially more dangerous recalls announced late last week were categorized as Class I, equating to a “reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”
Federal food safety authorities said Friday that Diana’s Mexican Food Products, of Lawndale, California, is recalling 41,670 pounds of chicken tamales.
The tamales contain whey, a known allergen. But the packages don’t note the whey on its labels, said the Food Safety and Inspection Service, potentially imperiling consumers.
The tamales, which went out to restaurants in California, were produced between February and December 2, 2010. There are no known reports of adverse reactions to the undeclared presence of whey, which was discovered by federal authorities in a “routine inspection.”
One day earlier, Brooklyn-based N.Y. Gourmet Salads recalled various meat and poultry products because, prior to their distribution, they hadn’t been inspected by federal health inspectors.
While there have been no reports of sicknesses, a public health alert was issued October 30 for a host of Gourmet Salad’s products packaged between March 11 and October 29 of this year. The recall list includes 12 items — ranging from Swedish meatballs to stuffed cabbage to grilled chicken — all wrapped in 4.5-, 5- and 6-pound packages.
Perfluoroalkyls, which are chemicals used to keep grease from leaking through fast food wrappers, are being ingested by people through their food and showing up as contaminants in blood.
Filed under: Caution with these Foods, Is it Safe?, Perfluoroalkyls, What it is?
Dangerous chemicals leak into blood from packaging
Perfluoroalkyls, which are chemicals used to keep grease from leaking through fast food wrappers, are being ingested by people through their food and showing up as contaminants in blood.
Perfluoroalkyls are stable, synthetic chemicals that repel oil, grease, and water. They are used in surface protection treatments and coatings for packages.
The specific chemicals studied were polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters (PAPs), which are the breakdown products of the perfluorinated carboxylic acids used in coating the food wrappers.
Common Dreams reports:
“The researchers used the PAP concentrations previously observed in human blood together with the PAP and PFCA concentrations observed in the rats to calculate human exposure to the chemical perflurooctanoic acid, PFOA.”
Sources:
Recalls of Benadryl, Motrin, Rolaids
Johnson & Johnson, which has been beset with recalls of Tylenol and other consumer products over the past year, has recalled almost 5 million additional packages of Benadryl, Motrin and Rolaids because of manufacturing “insufficiencies.”
J&J said the recalls, like many of the earlier ones, involved products made at its plant in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. The facility was closed earlier this year to fix quality-control lapses, including unsanitary conditions.
The latest actions involve 4 million packages of Children’s Benadryl Allergy Fastmelt Tablets in cherry and grape flavors. The allergy drug was distributed in the United States and other markets, a company spokeswoman said.
An estimated 800,000 bottles of Junior Strength Motrin Caplets, a painkiller, were recalled in the United States.
The Benadryl and Motrin recalls were initiated after a J&J review “revealed insufficiencies in the development of the manufacturing process,” J&J said.
The company spokeswoman declined to identify the specific manufacturing lapses. She said there was no indication that the products failed to meet quality standards.
In addition, about 71,000 packages of Rolaids antacid, in a cherry flavored extra-strength Softchews formulation, were recalled in the United States.
J&J said the Rolaids were made by a third party, and were recalled following consumer complaints about “an uncharacteristic consistency or texture, traced to crystallized sugar in the product.”
Unlike previous recalls, J&J did not issue press releases announcing the latest actions by its McNeil consumer healthcare division. It posted them on a company website.
“This is not a consumer-level recall; consumers do not have to take any action,” the spokeswoman said when asked why press releases were not issued.
She said all three new actions instead were “wholesale and retail level” recalls, which called instead on wholesalers and retail outlets to take action.
(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson in New York and Thyagaraju Adinarayan and S. John Tilak in Bangalore. Editing by Jon Loades-Carter and Robert MacMillan)
New Braunfels Smokehouse recalls turkey breast products-listeriosis
Texas firm recalls turkey breast products
- The products may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes
- They are sold by New Braunfels Smokehouse
- Listeriosis is an uncommon but potentially fatal disease
RELATED TOPICS
(CNN) — A Texas firm has recalled about 2,600 pounds of fully cooked, ready-to-eat smoked turkey breast products because they may be contaminated with bacteria that can cause a potentially fatal disease.
The products by the New Braunfels Smokehouse were distributed nationwide, including via catalog and Internet sales, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Sunday.
The meat may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, the agency said.
The products subject to recall are:
– 1-pound packages of New Braunfels Smokehouse Sliced Smoked Turkey, with the package code “2210″ on the label.
– 4- to 6-pound packages of New Braunfels Honey-Glazed Spiral Sliced Smokehouse Hickory Smoked Boneless Breast of Turkey, with the package code “2180″ on the label.
Food poisoning 101 Food safety tips
– 4- to 6-pound whole breast packages of Stegall Boneless Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast, with the package code “2210″ on the label.
– 4- to 6-pound whole breast packages of Stegall Spiral Sliced Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast, with the package codes “2180″ or “2210″ on the label.
Each package bears the USDA mark of inspection and the number “P-975″ inside the mark of inspection.
The items were produced on August 4.
Consumption of food contaminated with listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease, the agriculture department said.
Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. But it can cause can cause high fever, severe headaches, neck stiffness and nausea. It also can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, the agency said.
Consumers with questions about the recall may call the company at 1-800-537-6932.
Lobster and Crab has domoic toxin in California warning
Filed under: Caution with these Foods, Dangerous Foods, Tips on Food Safety
The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is warning all consumers of California spiny lobster to eat only the tail meat until further notice. Elevated levels of domoic acid toxin have been found in the viscera of lobster sampled from waters adjacent to the northern Channel Islands. Elevated levels of the toxin have also been detected in recent samples of rock crab, and so this warning also extends to this species. The meat of the lobster and crab is not affected by the toxin, but all internal organs, including the roe, should be discarded.
The lobster hunting season in the state of California is an annual event for scuba divers. Midnight “lobster hunts” are common this time of year.
Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood. In mild cases, symptoms may include nausea or diarrhea, cramps, headache and dizziness. These symptoms typically disappear within several days, but in severe cases, the victim may experience life-threatening symptoms, or even death.
“DFG biologists are working with the Department of Public Health to increase the level of sampling for domoic acid along the coast,” said DFG Senior Invertebrate Specialist Kristine Barsky. “To date, there have been no known cases of poisoning. With this warning we want to ensure consumer safety, but not discourage people from enjoying these tasty crustaceans.”
Domoic acid is a naturally occurring toxin sometimes found in the microscopic marine algae that small fish, clams, and mussels eat. Crabs and lobsters feed on these animals and concentrate the toxin in their organs. The algal blooms can come and go quickly, so it’s difficult to determine exactly when and where they are present. Thus, this warning applies to all lobster and rock crab harvested in southern California.
As soon as domoic acid toxin is no longer detected in samples, DFG will issue another news release. In the meantime, check DFG’s website atwww.dfg.ca.gov/marine/healthadvisory.asp for updates and more information on this situation.
EGG Recall- 228 million eggs recalled due to Salmonella-Update- Half Billion Eggs Recalled
UPDATE
A half-billion eggs have been recalled in the nationwide investigation of a salmonella outbreak that Friday expanded to include a second Iowa farm. More than 1,000 people have already been sickened and the toll of illnesses is expected to increase.
Iowa’s Hillandale Farms said Friday it was recalling more than 170 million eggs after laboratory tests confirmed salmonella. The company did not say if its action was connected to the recall by Wright County Egg, another Iowa farm that recalled 380 million eggs earlier this week. The latest recall puts the total number of potentially tainted eggs at over half a billion.
An FDA spokeswoman said the two recalls are related. The strain of salmonella causing the poisoning is the same in both cases, salmonella enteritidis.
The eggs recalled Friday were distributed under the brand names Hillandale Farms, Sunny Farms, Sunny Meadow, Wholesome Farms and West Creek. The new recall applies to eggs sold between April and August.
Hillandale said the eggs were distributed to grocery distribution centers, retail groceries and food service companies which service or are located in fourteen states, including Arkansas, California, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Reed Saxon / AP
A food safety expert at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., said the source of the outbreak could be rodents, shipments of contaminated hens, or tainted feed. Microbiology professor Patrick McDonough said he was not surprised to hear about two recalls involving different egg companies, because in other outbreaks there have also been multiple sources.
Both plants could have a rodent problem, or both plants could have gotten hens that were already infected, or feed that was contaminated.
“You need biosecurity of the hen house, you want a rodent control program and you want to have hens put into that environment that are salmonella free,” McDonough said.
The salmonella bacteria is not passed from hen to hen, but usually from rodent droppings to chickens, he added. This strain of bacteria is found inside a chicken’s ovaries, and gets inside an egg.
CDC officials said Thursday that the number of illnesses related to the outbreak is expected to grow. That’s because illnesses occurring after mid-July may not be reported yet, said Dr. Christopher Braden, an epidemiologist with the federal Centers for Disease Control.
Almost 2,000 illnesses from the strain of salmonella linked to both recalls were reported between May and July, almost 1,300 more than usual, Braden said. No deaths have been reported. The CDC is continuing to receive information from state health departments as people report their illnesses.
The most common symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within eight hours to 72 hours of eating a contaminated product. It can be life-threatening, especially to those with weakened immune systems.
The form of salmonella tied to the outbreak can be passed from chickens that appear healthy. And it grows inside eggs, not just on the shell, Braden noted.
Thoroughly cooking eggs can kill the bacteria. But health officials are recommending people throw away or return the recalled eggs
Egg Recall 2010
One of the nation’s largest egg producers is recalling 228 million eggs after being linked to an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning.
The enters for Disease Control and Prevention said eggs from Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, were linked to several illnesses in Colorado, California and Minnesota. The CDC said about 200 cases of the strain of salmonella linked to the eggs were reported weekly during June and July, four times the normal number of such occurrences.
The nationwide recall involves eggs packaged from May 16 through Aug. 13.
Eggs affected by this recall were distributed to food wholesalers, distribution centers and foodservice companies in California, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. These companies distribute nationwide.
The eggs were packaged under the names Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemp.
LOOK FOR ONE OF THESE THREE PLANT NUMBERS: P-1026, P-1413, AND P-1946 FOR THE EGG RECALL
The plant number is on the end of the egg carton. If it’s stamped with one of those numbers, check the numbers after it.
If they are between 136 to 225, take the eggs back to the store.
The Food and Drug Administration is investigating the egg company.
What can I do to reduce my risk of getting Salmonella Enteritidis from eggs?
Eggs, like meat, poultry, milk, and other foods, are safe when handled properly. Shell eggs are safest when stored in the refrigerator, individually and thoroughly cooked, and promptly consumed. The larger the number of Salmonella present in the egg, the more likely it is to cause illness. Keeping eggs adequately refrigerated prevents any Salmonella present in the eggs from growing to higher numbers, so eggs should be kept refrigerated until they are used.
Cooking reduces the number of bacteria present in an egg; however, an egg with a runny yolk still poses a greater risk than a completely cooked egg. Undercooked egg whites and yolks have been associated with outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis infections. Both should be consumed promptly and not be kept warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
What are the specific actions I can take to reduce my risk of a Salmonella Enteritidis infection?
Keep eggs refrigerated at ? 45° F (?7° C) at all times.
Discard cracked or dirty eggs.
Wash hands, cooking utensils, and food preparation surfaces with soap and water after contact with raw eggs.
Eggs should be cooked until both the white and the yolk are firm and eaten promptly after cooking.
Do not keep eggs warm or at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
Refrigerate unused or leftover egg-containing foods promptly.
Avoid eating raw eggs.
Avoid restaurant dishes made with raw or undercooked, unpasteurized eggs. Restaurants should use pasteurized eggs in any recipe (such as Hollandaise sauce or Caesar salad dressing) that calls for raw eggs.
Consumption of raw or undercooked eggs should be avoided, especially by young children, elderly persons, and persons with weakened immune systems or debilitating illness.
Who is most at risk for getting Salmonella Enteritidis?
The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems may have a more severe illness. In these patients, the infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.
How do I know if I have Salmonella Enteritidis?
A person infected with the Salmonella Enteritidis bacterium usually has fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea beginning 12 to 72 hours after consuming a contaminated food or beverage. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without antibiotic treatment. However, the diarrhea can be severe, and the person may be ill enough to require hospitalization.
Fruit Smoothies Linked to Outbreak of Typhoid Fever in U.S.
Filed under: Is it Safe?, Product Recalls, Recalled Foods, Typhoid Fever
Friday , August 13, 2010
A rare U.S. outbreak of typhoid fever has been linked to a frozen tropical fruit product used to make smoothies, health officials reported Thursday.
Seven cases have been confirmed — three in California and four in Nevada. Two more California cases are being investigated. Five people were hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
The CDC said five of the victims drank milkshakes or smoothies made with frozen mamey fruit pulp. Four of them used pulp sold by Goya Foods Inc. of Secaucus, N.J.
Mamey is a sweet, reddish tropical fruit grown mainly in Central and South America. It is also known as zapote or sapote. It is peeled and mashed to make pulp, the CDC said.
The company has recalled packages of the pulp, sold in mostly western states. A sample from one package found in Las Vegas tested positive for the bacteria that causes typhoid, the Food and Drug Administration reported Wednesday.
A phone call to Goya seeking comment was not immediately returned Thursday.
No other food was linked to the illnesses, which occurred between April and July. The victims range in age from 4 to 31, said CDC spokeswoman Arleen Porcell-Pharr.
Typhoid fever is a life-threatening illness caused by a type of bacteria called Salmonella typhi. It’s become rare in the United States. There are only about 400 cases annually, and most people caught it while traveling abroad.
Three food-related outbreaks have been reported in the last 12 years. One, also linked to frozen mamey pulp, caused three illnesses in Florida in 1999. One, linked to Gulf Coast oysters, sickened six in Texas in 2006. The third, linked to a Maryland restaurant, caused four illnesses.
Symptoms include a sustained fever as high as 103 to 104 degrees, along with headache. weakness, stomach pains or loss of appetite. Some patients have a rash of flat, rose-colored spots. It can be treated with antibiotics.
It’s not clear if there will be additional cases, said Dr. Ezra Barzilay, the CDC epidemiologist supervising the investigation. It can take between three days to eight weeks for an infected person to develop symptoms, he noted.
The disease is still common in the developing world. The bacteria passes through the intestinal tract and often spreads to others through feces-tainted food or water. Freezing does not kill it.
The recalled mamey pulp was sold in 14-ounce plastic packages in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington.
CDC report: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhoidfever/
FDA recall: http://www.fda.gov/Safety
/Recalls/ucm222223.htm
15 Million Pounds of SpaghettiOs Recalled-Undercooked Meatballs
15 Million Pounds of SpaghettiOs Recalled
Andrea Tse
NEW YORK (TheStreet) — Campbell Soup(CPB) is recalling 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs with meatballs following a cooker malfunction at one of its Texas plants.
The malfunction resulted in undercooked meat, the Agriculture Department announced Thursday evening.
The SpaghettiO meals being recalled consist of children’s meals SpaghettiOs with Meatballs, SpaghettiOs A to Z with Meatballs and SpaghettiOs Fun Shapes with Meatballs. The bottom of their cans are marked with “EST 4K” and expiration dates of between June 2010 and December 2011.
It’s still unclear when the cooker began to malfunction, so Campbell is recalling products that have been out since Dec. 2008, to err on the safe side. The company estimates that about 35,000 cases of the SpaghettiOs on recall are currently on the market.
Campbell adds that much of this has probably already been eaten.
For more details on the recall, Campbell’s is offering a hotline at (866) 495-3774.
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