eFoodAlert.com: Recalls and Alerts: July 9, 2011

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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.

United States

Allergy Alert: Posh Bakery recalls Whole Foods Market Butter Mini Croissants and Chocolate Mini-Croissants due to an egg wash that was undeclared on the product label.

Consumer Product Safety Recall: Mizuno USA Inc. recalls Mizuno Supreme Series and Ballpark Pro baseball and softball gloves, because some of the gloves were found to contain a variety of molds.

Canada

Food Safety Recall: Albion Fisheries Ltd. (Vancouver, BC) recalls Mussel N/ Shell Honey Mussels (5 lb; Lot #181951), due to the presence of marine biotoxins. The recalled mussels were distributed to hotels, restaurants and institutional customers in Alberta and British Columbia.

Pharmaceutical Product Health Advisory: Health Canada reminds the public, particularly women of child-bearing age, of the risks to children whose mothers take a valproate drug, used to treat epilepsy, while pregnant. There is a rare, but well known risk of birth defects in children whose mothers took a valproate drug while pregnant. Also, some recent studies have found that children whose mothers took a valproate drug tend to score lower on cognitive tests than children whose mothers took other anti-epileptic medications.

Europe

Allergy Alert (Ireland and UK): The Food Safety Authority of Ireland and the UK Food Standards Agency announce the recall of Donegal Catch Limited Edition Fish Fillets in a Golden Breadcrumb (Best Before Sept. 2012; Batch Number L 1 066), because a packaging error has resulted in some packs containing product with undeclared milk.

Food Safety Recall (Belgium): AFSCA has ordered the recall of Nicola Spanish potatoes (2.5Kg bags), sold in Lidl stores, because these potatoes contain an elevated level of fosthiazate, a chemical used to control nematodes.

Food Safety Recall (Denmark): Ren-Diet recalls Fenugreek seeds (125g bags; Expiry 24 May 2012; Lot #28551), because the bags contain seeds from the same batches of fenugreek seeds from Egypt believed to be the source of E. coli O104:H4 outbreaks in Germany and France.

Food Safety Recall (Finland): Inex Partners Oy recalls Weibulls Mix seeds for sprouting (55/75g bags; Expiration date 09/30/2013 or 30/09/2014), because the product contains fenugreek seeds originating in Egypt.

Food Safety Recall (Netherlands): The Food Safety Authority announces a recall of Sperli brand fenugreek seeds or mixed seeds containing fenugreek bought at two garden centers, because the packages contain seeds potentially contaminated with EHEC (E. coli O104:H4).

Food Safety Recall Update (Italy): Carrefour recalls several production lots of Prosciutto cotto affettato di alta qualità alla brace 150g (please navigate to il fatto alimentare for affected production lot details), because the prosciutto may contain unacceptable levels of Listeria monocytogenes.

OTC Product Safety Recall (France): Laboratoire Pierre Fabre Medicament recalls Laboratoire Pierre Fabre Medicament Cliptol Gel, 50g (Topical preparation; Lot #G00123 to G00136, inclusive, G00139, G00142 and G00143), because of an error in the precautions for use labeling.

Outbreak Alert (Switzerland): Thirty-five military recruits are suspected to have been infected with norovirus and are receiving medical assistance in the infirmary.

Outbreak Alert Update (France): Four people remain hospitalized in Chu de Bordeaux after becoming infected with E. coli O104:H4. In all, about 10 people have been hospitalized during this outbreak due to either bloody diarrhea or hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Outbreak Alert Update (France): Steak Country brand frozen hamburger steaks sold in Lidl stores are now believed to have caused 19 cases of hemolytic uremic syndrome across France - 18 of them in the Nord - Pas-de-Calais - Picardie regions. One case has been reported from Strasbourg.

Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0904): Salmonella Saint Paul in chilled duck breast pepper and pepper skewers from France; distributed to Belgium and France.

Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0905): Fosthiazate in nicola potatoes from Spain; distributed to Belgium.

Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0906): Diarrhoeic shellfish poisoning toxins in whole queen scallops from the UK; distributed to Spain and the United Kingdom.

Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0907): High Enterobacteriaceae count in vanilla ice cream from Italy; distributed to Hungary, Italy and Sweden.

Food Safety Notification (EU #2011.0908): Enterococcus in bottled natural mineral water from Italy; distributed to Germany.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

Food Safety Alert (PRC): Authorities have halted the sale of 31 brands of water after they failed safety standard tests, including excessively high total bacterial or coliform counts.

Food Safety Enforcement Notice (Japan): The Tottori Prefectural Government will ban restaurants and butchers from serving or selling raw beef liver after recent deadly food poisoning cases involving raw beef served at Korean-style barbecue restaurants.

Food Safety Alert (Japan): More than six times the legal limit of radioactive caesium has been found in beef from Fukushima prefecture. The meat was sampled from one of 11 cows shipped to Tokyo.

Outbreak Alert (PRC): Forty-two kindergarteners in Zhejiang Province have been sickened in an alleged case of food poisoning at an unlicensed kindergarten.

Australia and New Zealand

Water Safety Alert (New Zealand): Auckland Council has identified two toxic sea slugs on rocks at Matiatia Bay on Waiheke Island. Beachgoers should avoid touching or handling sea slugs at beaches across the Auckland region. Toxic sea slugs killed several dogs on beaches of Auckland's North Shore during the past two winters.

Weight Loss Product Safety Alert (Australia): The Therapeutic Goods Administration warns the public that OxyELITE Pro capsules - marketed as having super weightloss properties - contains therapeutic quantities of the prohibited prescription-only substanct, Yohimbine. In Australia, supply of OxyELITE Pro capsules is illegal.

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.