food recalls

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Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Blue Bell Creameries Ice Cream Products

http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreak...-15/index.html

[Limner]

http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/0...0XC1N420150415

Sectors | Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:07pm IST Beech-Nut baby food recalled over fear of glass contamination

NEW YORK, April 15








(Reuters) - Federal food inspectors have announced the recall of 1,920 pounds of sweet potato and chicken baby food made by Beech-Nut Nutrition, saying it may be contaminated with small pieces of glass.


The problem was discovered after Beech-Nut received a complaint from a consumer who found a small piece of glass in the product, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service said in a statement on Tuesday.


Beech-Nut, based in Amsterdam, N.Y., also learned of an oral injury associated with consumption of the product, it said.


"Outside of this single report, we have no indication that any other jar of our Classics Stage 2 Sweet Potato & Chicken is affected, but as a company of parents and families we are acting with an abundance of caution," Beech-Nut said in a statement.


The 4-oz. glass jars containing "Stage 2 Beech-Nut CLASSICS sweet potato & chicken" were produced on December 12, 2014.


They bear the establishment number "P-68A" inside the USDA mark of inspection, show an expiration date of "DEC 2016" and include product numbers "12395750815" through "12395750821."


Beech-Nut, which is owned by Swiss-based Hero Group, said it was encouraging customers to return the recalled product to the store where they purchased it for a refund or exchange.
(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst; Editing by Lisa Lambert)

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From 3/25/15:

Outbreak of Listeriosis Linked to Blue Bell Creameries Ice Cream Products
http://www.cdc.gov/listeria/outbreak...-15/index.html

Update 4/22/15:

Through a review of DNA data from listeriosis cases, federal health officials have identified two more patients who were affected by a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak linked to Blue Bell Creameries products, increasing the case count to 10.
The two cases occurred in Arizona and Oklahoma, states not previously known to be affected by the outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today. The outbreak also includes five cases in Kansas and three in Texas. All 10 patients were hospitalized, and 3 of the Kansas patients died.
Illness-onset dates in the outbreak ranged from January 2010 through January 2015, the CDC said. Patients with illness onsets through 2014 were identified through a retrospective review of the PulseNet database for DNA fingerprints that were similar to isolates collected from Blue Bell ice cream samples.
One more isolate from a listeriosis patient is still being tested to determine if the illness is related to the outbreak, the CDC said.
Meanwhile, Blue Bell yesterday announced a recall of all of its products currently on the market, including ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, and frozen snacks, because of potential Listeria contamination. Previously the company had recalled products made at its Broken Arrow, Okla., plant from Feb 12 to Mar 27, 2015.
In a statement, the company said that it now has had several positive tests for Listeria in various places and plants. "We're committed to doing the 100 percent right thing, and the best way to do that is to take all of our products off the market until we can be confident that they are all safe," Paul Kruse, Blue Bell CEO and president, said in the statement.
Apr 21 CDC update
Apr 20 Blue Bell statement

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[bolding below is mine]

FDA Warning Letter: Tennessee Seafood Processor

August 10, 2015

T-Ho Foods Inc., a seafood processor in Powell, TN, was sent a July 22 warning letter from the New Orleans District Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that is very precise about rodent excreta.
In a June 1-3, 2015, inspection of the T-Ho Tennessee facility, the letter stated that FDA inspectors found:

• At least seven apparent rodent excreta pellets (aREPs) on the floor along the southeast wall of the warehouse behind the vending machine for drinks and adjacent to a pallet holding various packaging materials and plastic tubs of powdered meat bases.
• At least 13 aREPs on and under a pallet covered with a piece of cardboard along the southeast wall of the warehouse, which was holding cases of glass jar packaging materials and several paper bags of bread crumbs.
• At least three aREPs on a pallet and 35 aREPs on the floor adjacent to a pallet holding flour and bread crumbs. The pallet was located adjacent to the lift along the northwest wall of the warehouse.
• At least five aREPs on the floor in the west corner and at least six aREPs on the floor along the southwest wall of the spice room on the second floor.
• At least four aREPs on the floor in the storage area adjacent to the northeast entrance to the spice room on the second floor.

FDA noted that plenty of rodent pellets had previously been found at the T-Ho facility in both June 2013 and January 2014 in areas where food ingredients and packing materials were stored.
Among the warnings, T-Ho co-owners Thuc G. and Thoai Ho were told that they needed to take effective measures to exclude pests from these areas as good manufacturing practices require.

FDA also found that T-Ho failed to properly store equipment and remove waste and litter, nor was its building being adequately maintained as a food processing facility, particularly involving preventing drip and condensation from contaminating food.

Four of the 13 areas which FDA called to T-Ho’s attention as violations involve Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations and half were repeat violations, including monitoring and failure to conduct hazard analysis for each kind of fish or fish product.

FDA gave T-Ho 15 working days to respond.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)
© Food Safety News

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/0...r#.VcjlAEVjtPR

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Maytag Dairy Farms Expands Voluntary Recall Of Blue Cheese Products Due To Possible Health Risk http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm488124.htm

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Whole Foods Market Recalls Maytag Blue Cheese Because Of Possible Health Risk http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm488391.htm

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Continuing on with the Maytag Blue Cheese recalls....




Maytag Dairy Farms Blue Cheese Sold at 17 Select Schnuck Markets Recalled Due to Possible Health Risk

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Progressive Gourment Inc. Issues Alert on Sausage Egg Cheese Muffin Because of Possible Health Risk

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm489311.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email& utm_source=govdelivery

Progressive Gourmet Inc. of Wilmington, MA, is recalling its 6 ounce packages of Sausage, Egg, and Cheddar Cheese on English Muffin breakfast sandwiches manufactured for Starbucks Coffee Co. out of the abundance of caution because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
The product comes in a 6 ounce, clear plastic labeled package marked with Best Before: 07-AUG-2016 on the top. Note, no other production runs of this product are impacted by this recall.
These potentially impacted sandwiches were possibly sold to consumers by select Starbucks stores in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma Starbucks Stores on 3/3/16 and 3/4/16. The sandwiches may be heated at the store level for immediate consumption.
This recall is limited to impacted 250 stores in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma only. (The recalled sandwiches were distributed to warehouses in Maryland, North Carolina, Texas and Louisiana).
As soon as Starbucks was informed of this potential issue, the impacted product was removed from the 250 stores that potentially received it. The scope of this issue is limited to these stores.
The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing by the company revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes on a contact surface within the production facility.
No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this product.
Progressive Gourmet is working closely with FDA and the Massachusetts Department of Health and continues to investigate the source of the problem.
Consumers who have purchased 6 ounce packages of the sandwich are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-800-224-7630 (9:00 am-5:00 pm Monday through Friday EST).

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