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Salmonella Recalls Ongoing, S.T.O.P. in the News and More

Ongoing Comprehensive Summary of Products Implicated in HVP Seasoning Salmonella Recall

• 1. Summary List of recalled FDA products, as of 12:00pm on 3/8/2010:  http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/HVPCP/#DipandDipMix
   
  2. Pringles have been recalled, but are not yet listed on the FDA website:  http://www.examiner.com/x-38960-Ashland-Frugal-Living-Examiner~y2010m3d8-Proctor-and-Gamble-voluntarily-recalls-some-Pringles-chips-due-to-HVP-Salmonella-FDA-crackdown
  
  3. Ready-To-Eat Bacon Base- a USDA product that contains recalled HVP:  http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_015_2010_Release/index.asp
   
   
   

Listeria in Cheese (Canada)

• VANCOUVER, BC – Following a provincial product recall, the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control is warning the public not to consume Camembert cheese manufactured by Moonstruck Organic Cheese located on Saltspring Island. This recall is the result of a routine sampling program by the BCCDC, which revealed that one wheel of the finished product contained the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Other batches of product may also be affected.
  Three Camembert varieties are potentially contaminated, including White Moon, Savoury Moon, and Ash-Ripened. Affected products include:
  
      * Code 240110, with best before dates of 03/03/10, 10/03/10, and 24/03/10
      * Code 200110, with best before date 03/03/10
      * Code 290110. with best before dates 10/03/10, 17/03/10, 23/03/10
      * Code 050210 with best before dates 17/03/10, 23/03/10, 02/04/10
      * Code 120210 with best before dates 23/03/10, 02/04/10
      * Code 190210, with best before date 02/04/10
  
  In order to ensure the health and safety of their consumers, the manufacturer has provided product labels so the public can easily identify the affected product. To view these labels, please see below.
  This product was sold through various retailers in British Columbia, and anyone who may have purchased this recalled cheese should not consume it, and discard or return it to their place of purchase. The BCCDC is concerned that this cheese product may still be in the homes of consumers as Camembert cheeses can be stored and consumed well beyond the product's best before date. Listeria, if present, will grow to high numbers even if the cheese has been stored in the refrigerator. Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes may not look or smell spoiled.
  The BCCDC is currently working with BC Health Authorities, the BC Ministry of Healthy Living and Sport and the CFIA to ensure the recalled product is removed from distribution and is investigating any possible cases of illness. Currently there are no cases linked to this recall, and the manufacturer is cooperating with authorities to ensure the product is removed from distribution.
   
  This recall taken from:  http://www.bccdc.ca/resources/news-alerts/alerts/ListeriaCheeseMarch8.htm
   
   
   

Salmonella in Pet Food

• **This is an expansion of a previous recall, which now includes more production dates.**
   
  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- Lincoln, NE, March 8, 2010 – Nature's Variety has expanded its voluntary recall of Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diets for dogs and cats to include the "Best If Used By" dates of 10/29/10 and 11/9/10 because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products. People handling pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the product or any surfaces exposed to these products.
  The recall includes the following products with a "Best If Used By" date of 10/29/10 or 11/9/10:
  
      *
            o UPC#7 69949 60131 9 – Chicken Formula 0.75 lb trial sized medallions
            o UPC#7 69949 60130 2 – Chicken Formula 3 lb medallions
            o UPC#7 69949 60120 3 – Chicken Formula 6 lb patties
            o UPC#7 69949 60121 0 – Chicken Formula 2 lb single chubs
  
  The products included in the expanded recall are any Chicken Formula or Organic Chicken Formula Raw Frozen Diet with a "Best If Used By" date on or before 2/5/11, including:
  
      *
            o UPC#7 69949 60131 9 – Chicken Formula 0.75 lb trial sized medallions
            o UPC#7 69949 60130 2 – Chicken Formula 3 lb medallions
            o UPC#7 69949 60120 3 – Chicken Formula 6 lb patties
            o UPC#7 69949 60121 0 – Chicken Formula 2 lb single chubs
            o UPC#7 69949 50121 3 – Chicken Formula 12 lb case of chubs
            o UPC#7 69949 60137 1 – Organic Chicken Formula 3 lb medallions
            o UPC#7 69949 60127 2 – Organic Chicken Formula 6 lb patties
  
   
   
  This recall continues at:  http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm203612.htm
   
   
   

   

S.T.O.P. in the News: Experiences Prompt Increase in Food Safety Vigilance

• **S.T.O.P. members, Melissa and Grant, as well as Executive Director mentioned below.**
  
  Beef-shy after the 1993 Jack in the Box E. coli outbreak that claimed the lives of four children, Melissa Achenbach never ate red meat outside the house nor allowed her two children to order burgers. So when her son Grant fell sick a few years ago, at first both she and the doctor thought it was the flu.  Grant's fever shot up to 105 and he reported his legs felt strange; emergency room doctors termed it a sinus infection brought on by flu. Only after he returned to the emergency room two days later when his fever still hadn't broken did a doctor conduct some tests. On the day his infection was diagnosed as salmonella, Grant's fever finally broke -- 18 days and 9 lost pounds after it started.
   
  Grant's experience is not unique. Each year an estimated 76 million people -- or one in four -- experience a food-borne illness. In some instances, illnesses occur because of unsafe food practices in the home. But in many more, they stem from a food system that offers many opportunities for contamination...
   
  ...The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, being considered in Congress, would allow the Food and Drug Administration to require food facilities to have food-safety plans and inspect facilities more frequently than every 10 years. It also would create better means of tracking foods to help identify problem produce or meats and give the FDA mandatory recall ability.
   The legislation recognizes that there's only so much that individual consumers can do to keep their food safe.
   "We don't think consumers should have to control this in their kitchens. You're never going to get to zero," says Donna Rosenbaum, executive director of Safe Tables Our Priority, a group formed in the wake of the Jack in the Box outbreak.How reliable are pop-up timers in poultry as an indication of safe internal temperatures?
  Commonly used in turkeys and roasting chickens since 1965, the "pop-up" temperature device is constructed from a food-approved nylon. The inside contains a stainless steel spring and firing material. The firing material is made of an organic salt compound or an alloy of metals commonly used in other thermo-sensing devices. The tip of the stem is imbedded in the firing material until it melts, releasing the stem, which is then "popped up" by means of the spring. This indicates that the food has reached the final temperature for safety and doneness. Pop-up timers are reliable within 1 to 2 °F if accurately placed in a food; however, checking the temperature of other parts of the food with a conventional food thermometer is recommended.