Recall Roundup: October 27, 2010

Here is today's list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. 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.

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For information on the US Salmonella Enteritidis outbreak and egg recalls, please click here.

For information on the Abbott infant formula powder recall, please click here.

United States

• Food Safety Recall: Good Earth Tea (Montvale, NJ) recalls a limited amount of Good Earth Caffeine Free Original blend after routine microbial testing determined that a minor ingredient was contaminated with Salmonella. The affected blend was only distributed to a limited number of Costco retail locations in California (25-coount, and as part of the Costco 3-pack) and Trader Joe's (18-count; best by 19AUG12, 31AUG12 & 02SEP12) retail locations in Northern California, Oregon, Washington State, Northern Nevada and Chelsea (NY).
• Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: Sandoz Inc. recalls all 50mg/2mL and 250mg/10mL vials of Sandoz and Parenta brand Methotrexate Injection, USP Product, after Sandoz quality control finds small glass flakes in a limited number of vials and lots. As a precaution, Sandoz is recalling all 24 lots distributed in the USA.
• FDA Enforcement Action: U.S. Marshals, acting under a court order sought by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, today seized an estimated $700,000 worth of rice and other packaged food products from a rodent-infested warehouse in East Point, GA. The FDA-regulated food products were stored in a warehouse operated by Sun Hong Kai Holding Inc., which does business as United Food Service. An FDA inspection of United Food Service’s facility between Sept. 22, 2010, and Oct. 1, 2010, revealed “an active and widespread rodent infestation, including live and dead rodents within the warehouse where food products are stored,” according to the complaint.
• FDA Enforcement Action: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that Peng Bandith, owner of the Lao Trading Company of Nashville has signed a consent decree that permanently prohibits Lao Trading Company from distributing food held under insanitary conditions in interstate commerce. The Lao Trading Company distributes food through its retail store and food stores throughout the Middle Tennessee area, including the cities of Nashville, LaVergne, Smyrna, and Murfreesboro. Among the types of food distributed by the company are seafood items, tofu, canned fruits, vegetables and drinks, rice, rice sticks, fruit juice drinks, coconut milk, fish sauce and soy sauce. Under the consent decree, Lao Trading Co. agreed to follow appropriate pest control practices, maintain its facility in a sanitary condition and undergo routine inspections to ensure continued compliance.
• FDA Enforcement Action: At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals seized articles of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drug products from Tri-Med Laboratories Inc. in Somerset, NJ earlier this month. The seizure warrant, issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey and unsealed this week, shows the drugs are unapproved and adulterated new drugs.

Canada

• Cosmetic Product Safety Advisory (Update): Health Canada is informing Canadians that Brazilian Blowout Solution manufactured by Brazilian Blowout of California has been confirmed to contain unacceptable levels of formaldehyde. Note that at this time, this advisory pertains only to the Brazilian Blowout Solution. Testing conducted by Health Canada has determined that the product contains 42 times the acceptable limit of formaldehyde.

Europe

• Food Safety Recall (Finland): Finnfrost Ltd. recalls Dujardin Pakastepinaatista (frozen spinach), 1kg package (Batch 101 1904 0218; expiration date 06/08/2010), due to elevated levels of Escherichia coli. The recalled product was manufactured by Unifrost NV of Belgium.
• Nutritional Supplement Warning (Denmark): Consumers are warned against buying a number of dietary supplements from the website bodyoutlet.dk / bodyoutlet.net, because the supplements contain extracts from several plants that can cause a variety of central nervous system side effects, and liver damage.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.1452): Mercury in frozen swordfish from Spain; distributed to Spain and Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.1453): Beta hemolytic streptococci and Arcanobacterium pyogenes detected in purulent abscess in fresh pork from Germany; distributed to Italy.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.1454): Histamine in organic salami from Germany; distributed to Germany.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.1455): Aflatoxins in dried figs from Turkey; distributed to Denmark.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.1456): Aflatoxins in dried fruit mix from Turkey; distributed to Denmark.
• Food Safety Notification (EU #2010.1457): Acetamiprid in dried organic goji berries (Lycium barbarium) from China; distributed to France.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• OTC Pharmaceutical Product Recall (Hong Kong): The Department of Health has instructed Synco (HK) Limited to recall Batch #08013004 of Bicolax Tablet 5mg (HK-05074,) as the product was found to have failed to comply with the approved specifications in Singapore.

Australia and New Zealand

• Consumer Safety Advisory (Australia): The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) is aware that some Australian consumers have purchased the products So Hard for Men, Shaguar and Pulse8 For Women over the internet or from an Australian retailer. The labels of each these three products claim them to be 100% herbal in origin. However, analyses undertaken by the TGA in Australia and the Institute of Environmental Science & Research Limited in New Zealand have confirmed the presence of therapeutic quantities of the drug tadalafil in each of these products. Consumers are advised that tadalafil is a prescription-only medicine in Australia, and may be harmful if taken without the supervision of a medical professional, particularly in patients with history of cardiovascular disease.

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
• 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
  
• WinCo Foods
• Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc.
  

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