Posts From The Past: The Melamine Muddle

No retrospective would be complete without a look at the aftermath of China's melamine adulteration scandal. I wrote this article in November 2008 after we learned that low levels of melamine had been found in some infant formulas in the United States.

When I was a youngster, my mother had a set of Melmac dishes - the unbreakable, plastic dishware that was popular in the 1950's and 1960's among families with young children. Those cups, bowls and plates were made from melamine. Unknown to Mom, as the Melmac aged, it probably released trace amounts of melamine into our food and beverages – especially into the acid beverages like sodas and orange juices.

In the 1950's researchers at Dow Chemical Company obtained the first in a series of US patents describing the use of melamine as a feed component for ruminant animals (i.e., cattle, goats and sheep). The United States does not now permit the addition of melamine to animal feeds.

Melamine is a permitted component of adhesives in the United States and is considered an indirect food additive for that reason.

Melamine is generated by plants, goats, hens and rats as a breakdown product of the pesticide cyromazine.

In short, there are many ways in which trace amounts of melamine can enter our food. The presence of tiny quantities of melamine – less than 1 ppm – may be undesirable, but its not necessarily the result of deliberate deception or adulteration.

Why, then, all the fuss over trace amounts of melamine reported this week in infant formulas manufactured in the United States? Simply, we consumers don't like to be patronized or lied to by the government officials who are supposed to protect the safety of our food supply. Let's review how the story unfolded.

September 12, 2008. In response to the initial reports out of China, FDA issued its first Health Advisory statement, assuring US consumers that "... there is no known threat of contamination in infant formula manufactured by companies that have met the requirements to sell infant formula in the United States."

While FDA didn't specifically say that infant formula manufactured in the United States was melamine-free, the wording of their statement implied this to be the case.

October 3, 2008. FDA posted an Interim Safety And Risk Assessment for melamine, concluding that, for infant formulas, "... FDA cannot establish a level of melamine and its analogues in these products that does not raise public health concerns." And in a FAQs page posted on the FDA site (no publication date indicated), FDA also said:

"There is too much uncertainty to set a level in infant formula and rule out any health concern. However, it is important to understand this does not mean that any exposure to any detectable level of melamine and melamine –related compounds in formula will result in harm to infants."

November 26, 2008. Associated Press broke the story that FDA had begun testing domestic infant formula for the presence of melamine and cyanuric acid (a related compound that often is a fellow-traveller) in September, and had found trace amounts in samples from two different manufacturers. The information was obtained by AP following their submission of a Freedom of Information request.

November 28, 2008. FDA updated its Interim Safety and Risk Assessment as a result of having found trace amounts of melamine and cyanuric acid in US-manufactured infant formulas. The revised statement says:

"Because FDA has found infant formula where just melamine or just cyanuric acid was present, it is updating the safety/risk assessment. These findings were in U.S.-manufactured infant formula products, and only extremely low levels of melamine or cyanuric acid have been detected in them."

and

"The safety/risk assessment assumes the analogues to have equal effect. Thus, levels of melamine or one of its analogues alone below 1.0 ppm in infant formula do not raise public health concerns."

Conveniently, the revised safety assessment corresponds to the 1.0 ppm limit adopted as an interim standard by other countries around the world – including China. The revised assessment gives the reader an impression that FDA established a "safe" level for melamine, only because some domestic products were found to contain trace amounts of the contaminant.

There is a lot that is still unknown about the risks to human health of trace levels of melamine and cyanuric acid in food. The World Health Organization is convening a meeting of experts this week (December 1-4, 2008) to review the available data and – one hopes – provide guidance to food safety agencies worldwide.

In the meantime, we shall all continue to be exposed to very low levels of melamine, cyanuric acid, and thousands of other chemicals – natural and man-made – that are present in the environment.

FDA put its foot in its mouth with its initial implication that domestic infant formula was not involved in the melamine problem. The agency compounded its error by not telling the American public that it was screening domestic brands of infant formula for melamine contamination. And it stuffed a second foot into its mouth by its clumsy handling of the information release and the revised Safety and Risk Assessment.

FDA also has been slow to alert consumers to some of the melamine-contaminated products from China that were sold in the United States. US consumers deserve better from the federal agency that has primary responsibility for the safety of the country's food supply.

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Posts From The Past: The "Scores on Doors" Survey

Last October, I asked eFoodAlert readers to state their opinions on restaurant inspection programs such as "Scores on Doors" and to share their restaurant food safety experiences. As more jurisdictions around the world implement versions of a "Scores on Doors" program, it seems appropriate to revisit this topic. If you would like to share your thoughts or experiences, please post a comment at the end of this article.


October 8, 2009

On our recent trip to San Francisco, my husband and I stayed at the Union Street Inn, a Bed and Breakfast located in the Cow Hollow district. We chose the Inn based on its excellent reviews on TripAdvisor.com.

When we presented ourselves at breakfast the morning after we arrived, I was delighted to see that the Inn had achieved a score of 100% on its most recent food service inspection. But – even though I am a food safety microbiologist – it hadn't occurred to me to look into the food inspection history of the Inn before we made our reservation.

Most cities and counties in the developed countries carry out some form of routine restaurant inspection. Many local health departments post these inspection results on their web sites. Some jurisdictions – San Diego, Los Angeles and many counties in the United Kingdom, for example – go farther, and require that restaurants post their most recent inspection score on or near the front door (known as "Scores on Doors"). And a few agencies – including New South Wales, Australia – take the "Name and Shame" approach, publishing the names of food establishments that fail inspection.

Surprisingly, San Francisco does not require its restaurants to post their inspection scores. Instead, consumers must visit the web site of the San Francisco Department of Public Health to learn how their favorite restaurants stack up.

We stopped in at The Real Food Company, a local market and deli, for a snack one day.

I was favorably impressed with the care taken by a store employee in handling raw poultry as he loaded it into the rotisserie.

According to the San Francisco Department of Public Health, the store was inspected on September 3rd, just a few days before our visit. Real Food received an "A" rating, with a score of 90 points (out of 100). A score of 89 points would have meant a "B" rating. The inspector noted three violations – two "moderate risk" and one "low risk."

There has been a lot of on-line discussion recently on various food safety blogs about restaurant sanitation, "Scores on Doors" programs, and other food service issues. BarfBlog, in the United States and Le Blog d'Albert Amgar in France are both regular and responsible contributors to this topic.

I wonder, though, how many people take notice of restaurant inspection reports? Does anybody care?

It's time for an eFoodAlert survey

Question #1: Is there a "Scores on Doors" program where you live? If so, have you ever decided not to eat at a restaurant because of a low inspection score (less than an "A")?

Question #2: Have you ever checked a restaurant's inspection score on-line either before or after eating there?

Question #3: Have you or a family member ever become ill after eating a meal at a restaurant? If so, please describe the circumstances.

Question #4: What – if anything – do you think your local health department should do to make the public aware of restaurant inspection results?

I want to hear from you. Please either post your comments below or email them to me (click on my Profile to find my email address). I'll consolidate and post your replies in a follow-up to this article.

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Recall Roundup: February 27, 2010

Here is today's list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals and allergy alerts. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please click here or submit your request using the sidebar link. Please include "subscribe eFoodAlert" in the subject line.

United States

• Food Safety Recall: Wholesome Spice of Brooklyn, NY is recalling all lots of 25 lb boxes of Crushed Red Pepper sold between 4/6/09 and 1/20/10, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Wholesome Spice was one of two suppliers of pepper to Daniele International, Inc., whose salami products have been linked to a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella illnesses.
• Food Safety Recall: Thumb Oilseed Producers' Cooperative of Ubly, MI. has recalled certain shipments of soybean grits and flour because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
• Food Safety Recall: Trader Joe's Company of Monrovia, California is voluntarily expanding the recall of the Trader Joe's Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars (SKU 82818) to include all code dates, manufactured by Bloomfield Bakery, a subsidiary of Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
• Food Safety Recall: American Pecan Co. of Yancey, Texas, is recalling 1 lb. bags of Pecan Pieces, small, medium, and large sizes, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
• Food Safety Recall (Retail Distribution): USDA posts updated retail distribution list for meat recalled by Huntington Meat Packing Inc.
• Food Safety Recall (Retail Distribution): USDA posts updated retail distribution list for meat recalled by Daniele International, Inc.
• Medical Device Safety Recall: LifeScan, Inc. is conducting a voluntary recall in the United States of eight lots of OneTouch® SureStep® Test Strips, used by people with diabetes to measure their blood glucose levels at home. The test strips are being recalled because they may provide falsely low glucose results when the glucose level is higher than 400 mg/dL.

Europe

• Food Safety Recall (Denmark): Dagrofa S Wholesale A / S recalls minced beef after Salmonella is discovered in a sample of the meat.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket's recall web site.

• A&P
• Big Y® World Class Market®
  
• BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
  
• Bloom
  
• Brookshire's
  
• Costco Wholesale Corporation (US stores)
  
• Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
  
• EDEKA (Germany)
• Food City
  
• Food Lion
  
• Giant Food LLC
• Gros Cidac (Italy)
• Hannaford Brothers Co.
  
• Harris Teeter
  
• Harvey's Supermarket
  
• H-E-B
• The Kroger Company*
  
• Price Chopper
  
• Raley's
• Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc.
  
• Sainsbury's
  
• ShopRite
  
• Stop & Shop
• Sweetbay Supermarkets
• Target
  
• Top Food & Drug
• Tops Friendly Markets
  
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
  
• Wegmans
  
• Whole Foods Market
  
• Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
  

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.

Posts From The Past: Myanmar Eyewitness Report

With national elections "promised" by Myanmar's government for an unspecified date in 2010, I thought it would be interesting to revisit an Eyewitness Report from a Burmese citizen who traveled back to his home in the wake of Cyclone Nargis last year. Originally posted in two parts in July 2008, the entire article is consolidated here into a single report.

We haven't been hearing much about Myanmar recently. Its tragedy has been replaced by other – more recent – news: the electoral sham in Zimbabwe, China's preparation for the 2008 Olympics, world food shortages, and escalating petroleum prices.

But lack of media attention doesn't equate to an absence of news – or mean that Myanmar's problems have disappeared in some magical way. The status quo is still very much in place.

The difficulties encountered by the United Nations, international aid organizations, and foreign governments who wanted to assist survivors of Cyclone Nargis have been reported in great detail. The military junta, which rules Myanmar, first denied needing outside help, then welcomed foreign aid supplies, but insisted on distributing the aid itself.

In spite of predictions of a public health disaster – published elsewhere as well as on this blog – major outbreaks of dysentery and cholera appear to have been averted. Or, any spike in illnesses following the Cyclone might have been masked by the normal level of diarrheal disease in that region.

But some of the credit for staving off sickness and starvation must go to the citizens of Myanmar who banded together – in the face of government disapproval and obstruction – to assemble and deliver aid to their compatriots in the Ayeyarwaddy Delta. These volunteers returned from their visits to the Delta with tales of homeless storm victims, rotten rice, and confiscated aid supplies.

The Myanmar government has denied all of the reports of mismanagement and malfeasance that have emanated from the cyclone-stricken area, saying in one article that "...the rumours are invented and spread by certain Western countries with negative attitude towards our country."

This statement, however, is belied by eyewitness reports from aid workers and others who have visited the Ayeyarwaddy Delta and seen the misery that remains. I have been corresponding with one such eyewitness, whom I shall call "U" – a Myanmar honorific, which is roughly equivalent to the Japanese "San".

U recently returned from a three-week visit to Myanmar. He has consented to sharing his observations with eFoodAlert readers. His report is dated 6/12/2008. I have deleted all references that might identify him or his family, some of whom still live in Myanmar. My deletions are shown in red.

On May 2, 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, first attacking the southern part of Irrawaddy Division, then passing through Rangoon (Yangon) and the delta areas. In its wake, the cyclone left 133,000 people dead or missing. According to the United Nations, 2.4 million people required emergency aid, but five weeks after the storm, there are still one million people who have yet to receive any help at all.

Fortunately for me, I was living in [deleted], working for [deleted]. My family in Rangoon was not so fortunate, and they had to endure several hours of intense rain and wind as the storm made its way across Burma. As it was, I was out of [deleted] at a conference, and I wasn’t even aware that a cyclone had hit Burma until the morning of May 4th, when I received many phone calls from my friends in the United States, all enquiring about my family. I was shocked to hear the news and it took me a while to absorb the fact that my family could be in danger.

Even in normal times, communications between the U.S. and Burma can be difficult, with email and telephone calls not easy to get through. This time, it took two days, until May 6th, with the help of the [deleted] Embassy and the [deleted] Embassy in Rangoon, I finally received the news that my family had survived and our house suffered only minor damage to the roof, but it had been quickly repaired. While many were equally fortunate, a great number more suffered far worse conditions and had nothing left but the clothes on their backs. Some did not even have that: the storm blew them off while they clung to trees for survival as the cyclone tore away their homes and their families.

The Burmese government’s response to the storm has left a lot to be desired and can be described as neglect. Their reaction afterwards was even worse. The first to help those who had suffered, to clear roads and debris so that people who needed help could be reached, and to provide shelter for those in need, was not the government, but those living in the cyclone-hit regions who were fortunate enough to have something left to help others.

Many aid workers and experts with the experience, knowledge and skills necessary to help rebuild the lives of the victims and prevent the death toll from rising higher and higher were subject to bureaucratic delays or denied access altogether. The longer aid supplies and relief workers were kept waiting, the higher the chance that the death toll would continue to climb. While people were suffering and at risk of disease and death, the junta chose to give priority to the referendum it wished to see passed. While the world debated what to do about the situation, the government continued to value its own political goals over the needs of the victims.

While I was relieved to know that my own family was safe, I could not just stay in [deleted] while people were suffering in Burma. The government banned visas to many foreign aid workers who wanted to help the victims of the cyclone. Only Westerners with Burmese citizenship were allowed into the country. As a Burmese citizen, I was able to take that advantage and go back to Burma with two suitcases full of water purification tablets, other medical supplies and some donations from friends.

I spent three weeks in Burma and it was an unforgettable experience. Together with my neighbors, we went to seven villages and distributed about 1400 food bags/supplies to victims of the cyclone. We were not alone: in the absence of an organized relief effort by the government, many Burmese volunteers organized their own deliveries to the delta to help people who had not received any aid.

Life is slowly returning to normal in Rangoon. The streets, once filled with beautiful, green trees, today are littered with torn and twisted tree limbs, but most of the fallen trunks have been pushed to one side, so traffic is flowing. Some shops and offices are open again.

In the Irrawaddy delta, half a day's journey from Rangoon, life is far from normal. This is a desperately poor region where hundreds of thousands of people live in tiny settlements scattered amongst low-lying islands.

Instead of welcoming help and granting improved access to the Irrawaddy Delta area, the Burmese military government is still using red tape to obstruct some relief efforts. At each checkpoint on the way to delta areas, we encountered not only police, but also immigration officers searching out any foreigners who might be coming in with locals. Even Burmese citizens are being restricted by the security forces. At some checkpoints, the officials wanted us to leave our supplies with them for distribution. We refused, since we knew that, if we had done so, the supplies would not get to the victims, and might even end up on the black market. Then they asked if we wanted to distribute aid ourselves. We said yes, so they asked us to give them money.

I wanted to use my small video camera to make a record of our aid distribution to show my friends; in some places we were allowed to do so, but not in others, where we were requested not to take pictures. In [deleted] village, my video camera was taken by the check point officer. After talking with him for about 30 minutes, explaining it was just for my family to see, and after offering him money, he agreed to gave me back the camera—but without the tape.

On our way to [deleted village name], we saw dead buffalo and cows floating. There is still a bad smell swirling around. Villagers in that area said that there were still bloated bodies lying uncollected near their villages.

Cyclone victims from villages between Kunchangone in Rangoon Division and Irrawaddy's Dadaye Township are keeping a daily roadside vigil in the hope of receiving aid. Villagers continued to flock to the main highways because aid workers had not been able to access the more remote villages. The villagers go back to their villages in boats at the end of the day, after they have received food for their family from the aid workers. Their buffaloes and cows were killed by the storm, so it is very unlikely that they will be able to resume their routine jobs this year.

As for living conditions, they don’t even have enough plastic sheets to make roofs for their shacks. They are using coconut leaves for roofs. After distributing food supplies in [deleted village name], we came back in the heavy rain and saw many, many people crouched by the side of the road, holding their children in their arms and covering themselves with plastic sheets.

A week before I came back to [deleted], the Myanmar Jewish community hosted an interfaith prayer ceremony for the victims of the cyclone at the Rangoon Synagogue. Leaders from the Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Bahai’ and Hindu communities were invited to attend. About 100 people assembled for the ceremony and it was beautiful to see all the different religions gather together for a common cause affecting all of our people, regardless of their individual faiths.

Wherever we went to distribute food bags, plastic shelters and clothing, I could see the faces of the cyclone victims light up. It was very rewarding to see smiles on the faces of people who had suffered so much. And in every cyclone-hit region I went to in Burma, I shared with the victims I met there that there are passionate people in the outside world who care about the Burmese people and whose hearts go out to them during this very difficult time.

An explanatory note: The entire Burmese (Myanmar) Jewish community consisted of no more than 20 families when we visited the country in January 2008.

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FLASH: Daniele Supplier Recalls Crushed Red Pepper

FDA today posted the following recall notice:

Wholesome Spice of Brooklyn, NY is recalling all lots of 25 lb boxes of Crushed Red Pepper sold between 4/6/09 and 1/20/10, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

The 25 lb boxes of Crushed Red pepper were distributed in the Northeastern U.S.. The product was not sold on the retail level to consumers.

The Crushed Red Pepper product is packaged in a clear plastic bag which is placed inside of a cardboard box with an adhesive white label with a blue border and blue and black lettering. The brand name on the product labels is WHOLESOME SPICES. The product name is listed as CRUSHED RED PEPPER.

It cannot be determined at this time if this product has been related to any illnesses to date.

The firm was informed that samples of its product have tested positive for Salmonella. The firm is currently working with the FDA to determine how the contamination occurred.

Manufacturers who have purchased 25 lb boxes of WHOLESOME SPICES brand Crushed Red Pepper are urged not to use the product and to recall any product they further distributed. Manufacturers with questions may contact the firm via telephone at (718) 388-1549. Our hours of operation are from Monday to Friday 8:30-4:30pm Eastern Standard Time.

Wholesome Spice was the first of two pepper suppliers implicated in the Daniele Salmonella outbreak. Contaminated salami products have been blamed for at least 238 cases of Salmonella Montevideo in 44 states since July 1, 2009; six cases of Salmonella Senftenberg in at least two states (California and Illinois) also may be part of this same outbreak.

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Posts From The Past: Organic Pastures, Happy Cows & E. coli O157:H7

The raw milk debate continues unabated, more than 18 months after I first posted this article.

When a large, multi-state food poisoning outbreak is in progress, it's easy for a second outbreak to go virtually unnoticed, especially when the same microbe – in this case E. coli O157:H7 – is responsible for both. That's what would have happened in 2006, except for the vigilance of California's health authorities and the technology of microbiological "fingerprinting".

On September 8, 2006, Wisconsin health authorities reported to CDC that they had identified a small cluster of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses – all due to the identical strain of the microbe. Within a week, Oregon and New Mexico were added to the list of affected states, and the source of the outbreaks had been traced to bagged spinach.

The 2006 spinach outbreak had begun. Ultimately, 199 people in 26 states would report an illness with the outbreak strain. Just over one-half (102) of the victims would be hospitalized, and 31 would develop kidney failure and other consequences of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Three people would die.

While the spinach outbreak was in full bloom, the California Department of Health Services received reports of five children who had been infected with E. coli O157:H7. Two of the children were hospitalized, one of them suffering from HUS. A sixth child was also hospitalized with HUS, but E. coli O157:H7 was not lab-confirmed.

The E. coli O157:H7 cultures obtained from the five lab-confirmed victims matched each other, but had a different molecular fingerprint from the microbe that was behind the spinach outbreak. When investigators questioned the victims and their parents, they quickly found a common link. All six children had consumed raw milk or (in one case) raw colostrum from Organic Pastures Dairy Co., California's largest producer of organic raw milk for retail sale.

The California Department of Food and Agriculture, on September 21st, ordered a state-wide recall of Organic Pastures' whole and skim raw milk, raw cream and raw colostrum, and barred the company from producing raw milk. The production quarantine was lifted on September 29th, but the company was still forbidden from bottling its milk and cream for retail sale.

The owner of Organic Pastures, Mark McAfee, has always denied that his dairy was responsible for the six illnesses. In a telephone interview reported by SignOnSanDiego.com at the time of the outbreak, McAfee claimed he had been told that some of the children had eaten spinach and undercooked hamburger. And he contended that one of those foods had made them ill – despite the lab evidence that the children were infected with a different strain of E. coli O157:H7 than the one responsible for the spinach outbreak.

But Mark McAfee is an honorable man, and we should believe him.
The Organic Pastures web site boasts that "In more than 32 million servings, and more than five years of intensive testing, not one single pathogen has been found or detected. Not one person has complained to the state of CA that they have become sickened by an OPDC product."

Yet victims of the 2006 outbreak specifically reported drinking Organic Pastures raw milk and raw colostrum. And California ordered a recall of Organic Pastures raw cream in 2007 after finding Listeria monocytogenes in a sample.

But Mark McAfee is an honorable man, and we should believe him.
After California lifted its quarantine order, McAfee celebrated his exoneration. In his opinion, without the State having found the outbreak strain in his milk, in his dairy environment, or in his cows, there was no evidence that Organic Pastures was responsible for the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak.

According to the CDC report released this week, however, the production lot that was linked to the outbreak was no longer available for testing. Also, non-outbreak strains of the microbe were recovered from the dairy herd.

But Mark McAfee is an honorable man, and we should believe him.
Organic Pastures claims that the total bacterial counts in its raw milk are consistently below the State's limit of 15,000 bacteria per milliliter – even during the period covered by the 2006 outbreak. The State lab, though, found numerous samples containing counts in excess of the 15,000 limit – several of them in excess of 1,000,000 per milliliter.

Organic Pastures implies that its products have been negative for E. coli O157:H7 since 2002; however, the pdf file accessed from the same web page shows that testing for the pathogen only began about one month before the start of the 2006 outbreak.

But Mark McAfee is an honorable man, and we should believe him.
FDA prohibits the interstate sale of raw milk for human consumption. Organic Pastures says on its web site that it does not ship raw milk to customers outside of California. McAfee has exploited a loophole in the FDA regulations, which treat raw colostrum as a “non-dairy dietary supplement." Organic Pastures' Superlite Colostrum, containing 95% raw milk and 5% raw colostrum, is shipped to customers nationwide.

But Mark McAfee is an honorable man, and we should believe him.

Or should we believe the families of five children who were sickened in the 2006 outbreak and who have filed lawsuits against Mark McAfee?

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Recall Roundup: February 23, 2010

Here is today's list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals and allergy alerts. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please click here or submit your request using the sidebar link. Please include "subscribe eFoodAlert" in the subject line.

Canada

• Allergy Alert: True World Foods, Inc. recalls two Maruchan brand instant noodle products because they contain undeclared fish and egg proteins.
• Allergy Alert: Loblaw Companies Limited recalls President's Choice Organics Chocolate Digestive Biscuits because the product contains undeclared milk protein.

Europe

• Food Safety Alert (UK): The Food Standards Agency has alerted consumers that The Smoke House Hot Smoked Mackeral products were produced on unapproved premises in Northern Ireland and should not be eaten, as they may represent a health risk.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Food Safety Recall (Hong Kong): The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) warns residents and visitors not to consume certain batches of organic peanut, apple and wildberry granola bars manufactured by Lovin Oven which are suspected of being contaminated with Salmonella. CFS has ascertained that one of the recalled items, Organic Wildberry Chewy Granola Bars, had been on sale in SOGO and Apita UNY in Hong Kong. Supermarkets have been ordered to remove the product from store shelves.

Australia and New Zealand

• Allergy Alert (New Zealand): Vitaco Health (NZ) Limited recalls Berry Light Cereal Healtheries Simple. Due to a labeling/packaging error, the packages contain a different cereal. As a result, the contents contain undeclared gluten.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket's recall web site.

• A&P
• Big Y® World Class Market®
  
• BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
  
• Bloom
  
• Brookshire's
  
• Costco Wholesale Corporation (US stores)
  
• Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
  
• EDEKA (Germany)
• Food City
  
• Food Lion
  
• Giant Food LLC
• Gros Cidac (Italy)
• Hannaford Brothers Co.
  
• Harris Teeter
  
• Harvey's Supermarket
  
• H-E-B
• The Kroger Company*
  
• Price Chopper
  
• Raley's
• Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc.
  
• Sainsbury's
  
• ShopRite
  
• Stop & Shop
• Sweetbay Supermarkets
• Target
  
• Top Food & Drug
• Tops Friendly Markets
  
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
  
• Wegmans
  
• Whole Foods Market
  
• Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
  

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.

Recall Roundup: February 20, 2010

Here is today's list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals and allergy alerts. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please click here or submit your request using the sidebar link. Please include "subscribe eFoodAlert" in the subject line.

United States

• Food Safety Recall: Lovin Oven LLC recalls certain Health Valley Organic Peanut Crunch, Dutch Apple and Wildberry Chewy Granola Bars because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The bars contain organic toasted soy grits supplied by Thumb Oilseed Producers Cooperative of Ubly, MI which is the subject of an FDA investigation concerning recent Salmonella outbreaks.
• Food Safety Recall: Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Inc. recalls all date codes of fresh&easy™ Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars as a result of a recall initiated by Thumb Oilseed Producers. This company supplies an ingredient that has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.
• Food Safety Recall: Trader Joe's expands earlier recall to include all date codes of Trader Joe’s Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars after being alerted by a supplier that the granola bars may be contaminated with Salmonella.
• Food Safety Recall: Queseria Bendita recalls Queso Fresco, Panela, and Requeson soft cheeses due to contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. At least five cases of listeriosis in Oregon and Washington states may be linked to consumption of these pasteurized milk cheeses.

Canada

• Allergy Alert: Private Stock Sauce Company (Markham, ON) recalls Private Stock Chef Robert brand Honey Ginger Teriyaki due to the presence of undeclared wheat.

Europe

• Allergy Alert: Antartic 2 recalls Top Budget brand puffed rice with powdered chocolate due to the presence of undeclared gluten.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket's recall web site.

• A&P
• Big Y® World Class Market®
  
• BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
  
• Bloom
  
• Brookshire's
  
• Costco Wholesale Corporation (US stores)
  
• Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
  
• EDEKA (Germany)
• Food City
  
• Food Lion
  
• Giant Food LLC
• Gros Cidac (Italy)
• Hannaford Brothers Co.
  
• Harris Teeter
  
• Harvey's Supermarket
  
• H-E-B
• The Kroger Company*
  
• Price Chopper
  
• Raley's
• Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc.
  
• Sainsbury's
  
• ShopRite
  
• Stop & Shop
• Sweetbay Supermarkets
• Target
  
• Top Food & Drug
• Tops Friendly Markets
  
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
  
• Wegmans
  
• Whole Foods Market
  
• Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
  

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.

Recall Roundup: February 18, 2010

Here is today's list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals and allergy alerts. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please click here or submit your request using the sidebar link. Please include "subscribe eFoodAlert" in the subject line.

United States

• Allergy Alert: Walong Marketing, Inc. recalls Flying Horse Black and White Sesame Chewy Candy due to undeclared peanuts.
• Food Safety Recall: Estrella Family Creamery expands its earlier recall to include Brewleggio, Domino, and Wynoochee River Blue cheeses, because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
• Food Safety Recall: Daniele International, Inc. expands its earlier recalls to include an additional 115,000 pounds of salami products that may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Europe

• Allergy Alert (UK): Asda recalls Asda Extra Special Double Chocolate Cookies, 200g because the packaging is mislabeled and the contents contain undeclared hazelnuts.
• Allergy Alert (UK): KTC Edibles has withdrawn all of its Lasco brand Coconut Cream Powder, because the product contains milk, which is mentioned in the ingredients list only as sodium caseinate.
• Allergy Alert (UK): TRS Wholesale has withdrawn all of its Cocomi brand coconut milk powder, because it contains milk, which is not mentioned on the label.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket's recall web site.

• A&P
• Big Y® World Class Market®
  
• BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
  
• Bloom
  
• Brookshire's
  
• Costco Wholesale Corporation (US stores)
  
• Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
  
• EDEKA (Germany)
• Food City
  
• Food Lion
  
• Giant Food LLC
• Gros Cidac (Italy)
• Hannaford Brothers Co.
  
• Harris Teeter
  
• Harvey's Supermarket
  
• H-E-B
• The Kroger Company*
  
• Price Chopper
  
• Raley's
• Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc.
  
• Sainsbury's
  
• ShopRite
  
• Stop & Shop
• Sweetbay Supermarkets
• Target
  
• Top Food & Drug
• Tops Friendly Markets
  
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
  
• Wegmans
  
• Whole Foods Market
  
• Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
  

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.

Posts From The Past: It's A Dog's Breakfast

The following article first appeared on March 16, 2008 as Part 5 in a series of articles on raw pet foods. In light of the recent recall of some raw pet food products announced by Nature's Variety, I chose to begin my Posts From The Past with this article. I invite you to read the entire seven-part series, It's A Dog's Breakfast.

While I was gathering information for this series of articles, a reader pointed me towards Stella and Chewy's, of Muskego, WI, a small company that has adopted some innovative technology to produce its raw pet foods.

The founders of Stella and Chewy's, Marie Moody and Doug Siegal, consulted Dr. James Marsden of Kansas State University, who developed the company’s food safety processes. With Dr. Marsden’s guidance, Stella and Chewy’s have put in place a series of firewalls to help ensure the quality and safety of its products.

Human Grade Ingredients
All of the meat and poultry that goes into the company’s products comes from USDA-inspected plants, and are fit for human consumption.

Hygienic Operating Conditions
Devices that continuously produce an oxidizing vapor are located strategically in the processing area and freeze-dryers. The oxidizing vapor, which kills bacteria but is non-toxic to people, prevents a build-up of contaminants in the air and on work surfaces. In addition, the surfaces of incoming raw materials – especially the meat – are disinfected by exposure to ultraviolet light before further processing.
High Pressure Processing
This technology takes advantage of the relative sensitivity of bacteria and viruses to high pressure, such as is found in the depths of the ocean. High pressure processing kills microbes without using either heat or irradiation, leaving heat-sensitive nutrients intact.

HACCP
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) programs have been a mandatory part of many food processing operations for at least two decades. USDA has required the meat and poultry industry to develop and implement HACCP in federally inspected plants since the 1990s; this program, however is not mandatory for pet food manufacturers, which come under FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine. Under HACCP, a processor must identify every microbiological or chemical hazard that may be associated with each product (Hazard Analysis), determine when and how that hazard can be eliminated or controlled (Critical Control Points), and establish ways to document that the hazard has been controlled in every production batch.


Stella and Chewy’s “4-H” approach is supplemented by a sampling program that includes microbiological testing of every production batch for Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 by an independent lab. The test results for each production batch are posted on the company’s web site. According to Dr. Marsden, who wrote Stella and Chewy’s HACCP program and developed their food safety processes, the company’s program “...is one of the most innovative and well designed in the nation.”

I haven’t had the opportunity to visit Stella and Chewy’s pet food facility. And, since I no longer have a microbiology lab, I can’t test their products for microbiological contamination myself. Nevertheless, I believe this company is trying hard to produce raw pet food products that are microbiologically safe.

But microbiologically safe raw food is expensive. A 6-ounce package of 12 freeze-dried “steaks” sells for approximately $11.00 (the price varies to a minor degree, depending on the retailer). A one-pound package, which contains 32 “steaks”, costs almost $26.00.

Pet owners who are trying to choose a healthy diet for their four-legged companions are confronted with a confusing smorgasbord of competing claims and dogmas. Canned food or kibble? Raw food or cooked? White rice or brown? How much fat? How much fiber? How to decide?

In presenting this series of articles, I have tried to help clarify some of the confusion over the nutritional and safety issues surrounding raw pet food diets. I welcome your questions and comments, and will be happy to answer them in follow-up articles.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please click here or submit your request using the sidebar link. Please include "subscribe eFoodAlert" in the subject line.

FDA to Kellogg Company: Leggo Your Listeria

FDA discloses Listeria monocytogenes findings at Kellogg's Eggo plant

American consumers now know what was behind last fall's Eggo drought, courtesy of a warning letter that FDA released to the public today.

On September 2, 2009, the Georgia Department of Agriculture announced having found Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of Kellogg’s Buttermilk Eggo Waffles, taken during a routine inspection of Kellogg's 5601 Bucknell Dr. SW, Atlanta. The finding triggered a product recall and an FDA inspection.

During the course of its week-long inspection, FDA found several violations of sanitation standards and current Good Manufacturing Practices. In addition, FDA labs recovered Listeria monocytogenes from five locations in the manufacturing plant. Three of the locations were contaminated with the identical strain of Listeria monocytogenes that Georgia had found in the Eggo sample.

FDA's warning letter to Kellogg's reads, in part,

During the FDA inspection, investigators collected environmental samples from various areas in your facility. Five environmental swabs tested positive for L. monocytogenes. Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) testing results determined that three of the environmental swabs had a PFGE pattern that was indistinguishable from the positive sample collected by the GDA. This is significant because these three swabs were taken from three different locations in your facility and the swabs' indistinguishable PFGE pattern was found in your firm's finished product, Eggo Buttermilk Waffles. The PFGE results reveal that L. monocytogenes may have been transported throughout your facility and may have established niche areas to colonize. One of the aforementioned environmental swabs was taken from the wheels on a forklift observed in the packaging area. The presence of L. monocytogenes on the wheels of a forklift is a concern as the organism is likely to spread when the forklift moves throughout the facility.

Two of the positive environmental swabs had PFGE patterns that were distinguishable from the other three environmental swabs and the positive sample collected by the GDA. One of these samples was collected from the floor at the walk-through door to the battery changing room. The other sample was collected from the bottom of a grey tote located at the end of the (b)(4) conveyor.

The warning letter acknowledges Kellogg's response to FDA's initial findings, but underlines that there is much more to be done. The company has been given 15 days from date of receipt of the letter to outline how and when it will correct all outstanding violations.

The letter makes interesting reading, especially while munching on an Eggo.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please click here or submit your request using the sidebar link. Please include "subscribe eFoodAlert" in the subject line.

Recall Roundup: February 16, 2010

Here is today's list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals and allergy alerts. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please click here or submit your request using the sidebar link. Please include "subscribe eFoodAlert" in the subject line.

United States

• FDA Warning Letter: FDA warns Kellogg Company that an October 2009 inspection of the company's frozen food manufacturing facility in Atlanta, GA revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in the facility, as well as significant deviations from current Good Manufacturing Practices.

Europe

• Allergy Alert (UK): Grace Foods recalls coconut milk powder because the product contains milk, which is mentioned in the ingredients list only as sodium caseinate without additional reference to 'milk'.
• Food Safety Recall (Belgium): Kathy Confiserie recalls Regenboog - Arc en Ciel – Fruchtdrops - Rainbow (200g bags) with an expiry date of 28/08/11 and 16/02/11 after a small particle of metal was discovered in one piece of candy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.0176): Salmonella in frozen sparrows from Tunisia; distributed in Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.0177): Ethephon (pesticide residue) in fresh figs from Brazil, via Austria; distributed in Austria and Germany.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.0178): Mercury in sliced swordfish (Xiphias gladius) from France; distributed in Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.0179): Unlabelled irradiation of tea from China, via Hungary; distributed in Finland.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.0180): Salmonella Isangui and Salmonella typhimurium in fresh whole chicken from Germany; distributed in Denmark.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.0181): Ethion and thiophanate-methyl (pesticide residues) in strawberries from Egypt; distributed in Hungary.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.0182): Mercury (1.41 mg/kg - ppm) in smeriglio fish (Lamna Nasus) from Senegal, via Germany; distributed in Italy.

Some supermarket chains post recall notices on their web sites for the convenience of customers. To see whether a recalled food was carried by your favorite supermarket, follow the live link to the supermarket's recall web site.

• A&P
• Big Y® World Class Market®
  
• BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
  
• Bloom
  
• Brookshire's
  
• Costco Wholesale Corporation (US stores)
  
• Costco Wholesale Canada Ltd.
  
• EDEKA (Germany)
• Food City
  
• Food Lion
  
• Giant Food LLC
• Gros Cidac (Italy)
• Hannaford Brothers Co.
  
• Harris Teeter
  
• Harvey's Supermarket
  
• H-E-B
• The Kroger Company*
  
• Price Chopper
  
• Raley's
• Roundy's Supermarkets, Inc.
  
• Sainsbury's
  
• ShopRite
  
• Stop & Shop
• Sweetbay Supermarkets
• Target
  
• Top Food & Drug
• Tops Friendly Markets
  
• Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
  
• Wegmans
  
• Whole Foods Market
  
• Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
  

*The Kroger umbrella encompasses numerous supermarket, marketplace and convenience store chains, listed on the Kroger corporate home page.