Food Club, Giant Eagle Hash Browns Recalled

Listeria monocytogenes confirmed in some products

More recalls to follow?

Giant Eagle has recalled the following frozen, loose hash brown products after an independent testing lab confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in some of the products.

• Giant Eagle Country Style Hash Browns (UPC 300341086)
• Giant Eagle Western Style Hash Browns (UPC 3003401076)
• Giant Eagle Southern Hash Browns (UPC 3003401075)
• Giant Eagle Diced Hash Browns (UPC 300341087)
• Giant Eagle Shredded Hash Browns (UPC 300341088)
• Food Club Shredded Hash Browns (UPC 3680006530)

The regional supermarket chain announced this voluntary recall late yesterday (January 18, 2010). According to the Company's news release, it has received no reports of illness, and no other Giant Eagle products are affected.

Giant Eagle is a regional supermarket chain with 222 supermarkets and 154 fuel and convenience stores in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, north central West Virginia and Maryland.

Food Club and Giant Eagle Hash Browns are manufactured by Mr. Dell Foods, Inc. (Kearney, MO) on behalf of Topco Associates. Mr. Dell also manufactures the Mr. Dell's and O'Brien's brands of frozen hash browns – both of which have been the subject of supermarket-level recalls since January 1st.

Topco Associates (Skokie, IL) is a member-owned company that provides exclusive procurement, quality assurance, packaging, and other services to its member-owners, including supermarket retailers, wholesalers, and foodservice companies. Members include more than 50 well-known regional supermarket chains such as Price Chopper, Winn-Dixie, Giant Eagle, Stater Bros., andMeijer.

Shop-Rite (not a Topco member) was the first to recall frozen Hash Browns, advising its customers on January 4th that it had recalled ShopRite Southern Style Hash Browns (32 oz.UPC: 41190-40059), after "... routine testing by a regulatory agency..." determined that "... there is the potential of contamination with Listeria Monocytogenes." Recalls of Food City Hash Browns came next, followed by Mr. Dell's and O'Briens.

I contacted Mr. Dell Foods by telephone and email on January 13th for comment on the initial series of recalls. The Company declined to respond to my verbal and written requests for information.

Listeria monocytogenes infections produce nothing worse than mild gastrointestinal or flu-like symptoms in most otherwise healthy adults. But elderly individuals, young children, people with reduced immunity and pregnant women are susceptible to more severe – sometimes fatal – illness. Pregnant women who are infected with this microbe may miscarry or give birth to an infected baby. A 2008 Canadian outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes resulted in 22 deaths.

Thorough cooking to an internal temperature of 145ºF should kill Listeria monocytogenes, just as it kills Salmonella or E. coli O157:H7. Microwave cooking is not reliable, as it is uneven – producing "cold spots" in which the pathogen might survive. Foods such as frozen Hash Browns are meant to be cooked thoroughly before being eaten. Never taste uncooked Hash Browns – whether thawed or still frozen – right out of the package.

Listeria monocytogenes has a highly variable and very long incubation period. While mild illnesses usually will begin within a few days after infection, it can take more than two months before symptoms of severe illness show themselves.

If you think that you or a family member is suffering from symptoms of a Listeria monocytogenes infection, please seek medical attention. If you believe that you might have become infected as a result of consuming uncooked or undercooked frozen Hash Browns, report this to FDA and to your local or state health authorities.

Now that Listeria monocytogenes has been recovered from multiple samples, I expect that a full FDA investigation – and more recalls – will follow shortly. Please check back for updates.

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ALERT: Listeria monocytogenes Prompts Hash Brown Potato Recalls

Mr. Dell's, O'Briens, ShopRite, Food Club and Giant Eagle brands all affected.

Frozen hash brown potato products recalled after a state regulatory agency finds Listeria monocytogenes in a product sample during routine testing.

Since the beginning of 2010, several supermarket chains have recalled frozen hash brown potato products, in most cases due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

Neither FDA nor any state agencies have posted recall notices or consumer advisories.

The recalls cover at least six varieties of frozen hash brown potatoes, distributed in as many as 17 states.

ShopRite – with stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland – advised its customers of the recall on January 4th. According to the Company's website, ShopRite Southern Style Hash Browns –32 oz. (UPC: 41190-40059) was being removed from sale because "... routine testing by a regulatory agency ..." revealed potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. ShopRite directed customers to return the product to the store for a refund.

Food City - with stores in Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee – notified customers on January 5th of the recall of Food Club Shredded Hash Browns (30 oz Pouch).

Giant Eagle – with stores in Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia – recalled on January 8th five varieties of Giant Eagle brand hash brown potato products, in addition to Food Club Shredded Hash Browns, due to "possible bacterial contamination." In response to my email query, Giant Eagle promptly provided the following additional information.

"Our supplier of Giant Eagle and Food Club Frozen Loose Hash Browns has made us aware of the presence of a bacterium in product produced in the same facility as these items. While it has not yet been confirmed that either of these items are affected, Giant Eagle is performing a market recall as a precautionary measure. There are no reported cases of customer illness due to consumption of these items, and no other Giant Eagle potato product is affected, including Giant Eagle Frozen Hash Brown Patties.

"We are testing a sampling of Giant Eagle and Food Club Frozen Loose Hash Browns. It is important to note that any potential health risk is negated if the product is cooked as directed. However, should any customer want to return the previously purchased product, he or she can return the product to their local Giant Eagle and receive the double your money back guarantee upheld for all Giant Eagle brand products."

Brookshire's Food & Pharmacy – with stores in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas – recalled on January 11th Food Club 30 oz. Shredded Hash Browns (UPC-3680006530) and 28 oz. O’Brien Potatoes (UPC-3680006299) because an "... unrelated (non Food Club brand) sample tested positive for the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes from the same manufacturer."

King Soopers (part of The Kroger Co.) – with stores in Colorado and Wyoming – recalled on January 11th Mr. Dell's brand Shredded Hash Browns, 64 oz., because the product "... may contain Listeria monocytogenes..."

Based on the supermarket recall notices and their areas of operation, the recalled frozen hash brown potato products may have been distributed in: Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

According to Mike Dizon – Director of Corporate Communications for Topco Associates – Food Club and Giant Eagle brands of Shredded Hash Brown potato products were recalled as a precautionary measure after a state regulatory agency detected Listeria in a single sample during routine testing. Dizon confirmed that Mr. Dell Foods, Inc. is the manufacturer of both the Food City and the Giant Eagle Shredded Hash Brown potatoes, but could not comment on the Mr. Dell's, O'Briens, and ShopRite recalls, as these are not part of Topco's portfolio of products.

Topco Associates is a member-owned company that provides procurement, quality assurance, packaging and other services for its members, which include supermarket retailers, wholesalers and foodservice companies.

Mr. Dell Foods Inc. is based in Kearney, Missouri and has been producing frozen hash brown potato products since 1975. The company's retail products include Mr. Dell's Shredded Hash Browns, Mr. Dell's O'Brien Hash Browns and Mr. Dell's Southern Style Hash Browns. The company also produces the Chef's Choice line of hash brown potatoes for food service operators.

Anyone who has purchased the recalled brands of frozen hash brown potatoes, should return them to the store for a refund.

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Listeria monocytogenes: On The Loose In 2010

Presence of Pathogen Prompts Recalls in United States, Canada and France

During the first week of January, Listeria monocytogenes has been behind the recall of processed meats in Canada, cheese trays in France, and peanut butter, dips, salsas, spreads and hash-browned potatoes in the United States. Yet, according to the recall notices, "No illnesses have been reported."

Canada

On January 5th, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Olymel S.E.C. announced that the company had expanded its earlier recall of processed meats to include additional distribution information. The initial recall notice (issued in December 2009) advised that the recalled meats were sold in Ontario and Quebec. The revised notice added that some of the products may also have been distributed in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The notice should have added Maine to that distribution list, since 312 pounds of Olymel hams were shipped to Associated Grocers of Maine, which issued its own December 2009 recall notice.

France

On January 7th, France notified its EU trading partners that an unnamed French company had detected a very high level of Listeria monocytogenes (3,600/gram) in its cheese trays, and had initiated a product recall. The cheese trays were distributed in France and Germany. No news of this recall has appeared on any French government web sites. To put the level of contamination into perspective, the most liberal allowed level of Listeria monocytogenes in a ready-to-eat food 100/gram; US requirements are more stringent – mandating that the pathogen not be detectable in a 25-gram sample.

United States

Southern Style Hash Browned Potatoes turned up on ShopRite's product recall page on January 4th. Even though the reason for the recall was a risk of Listeria monocytogenes, the hazard was downplayed. According to the ShopRite notice, the recall was initiated when a regulatory agency found the pathogen after routine testing. Food City and Giant Eagle supermarket chains subsequently posted recall notices for one or more varieties of hash browned potatoes, too.

Although neither chain mentioned Listeria monocytogenes as the reason for the recall, Giant Eagle mentioned "bacterial contamination." Food Club, ShopRite and Giant Eagle brands have been listed in one or more of the recall notices. So far, no corresponding recall has been posted on the FDA web site or on any state web site. A call to the telephone number provided on the Food City web site took me directly to "QA," where I was told that this was a "product withdrawal" and not a "product recall." The gentleman who spoke to me revealed nothing else – not his name, not his company's name, and not the reason for the product "withdrawal".

Yesterday's recall announced by Parkers Farm is completely unrelated to the hash brown potatoes recall. According to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Parkers Farm has recalled the following products after the state agency found Listeria monocytogenes in some of the Company's finished products:

• 16-ounce peanut butter in square plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including creamy, crunchy, honey creamy and honey crunchy varieties with sell-by dates between 11/14/2010 and 12/31/2010;
• 34-ounce peanut butter in round plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including creamy and crunchy varieties with sell-by dates between 8/11/2010 and 9/30/2010;
• 7-ounce bagel spreads in white plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including garden veggie, wild berry, strawberry, apple cinnamon, and honey walnut varieties with sell-by dates between 5/13/2010 and 6/30/2010;
• 14-ounce dips and spreads in square plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including jalapeno nacho, pimento and salsa con queso varieties with sell-by dates between 8/11/2010 and 9/30/2010;
• 8-ounce, 12 ounce and 16 ounce cold pack cheese in round or square plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including sharp cheddar, bacon, onion, smoked cheddar, swiss almond, horseradish, garlic, port wine and swiss and cheddar varieties with sell-by dates between 11/14/2010 and 12/31/2010; and
• 16-ounce salsa in square plastic containers (tub with snap-on lid), including hot, mild, garlic, black bean and fire-roasted varieties, with sell-by dates between 3/14/2010 and 4/30/2010.

The recalled products are distributed across the United States under the Parkers and Parkers Farm labels in the following grocery chains: Hy-Vee, Cub, Rainbow, Lunds/Byerly’s, Target, Whole Foods, Jewel, Dominicks or Marsh stores. Parkers Farm also distributes its foods under private label brands, and supplies the food service industry. One of the private label customers is Kroger Co., which has recalled three Kroger brand cold pack cheeses, sold in certain Kroger, Dillons, Jay C and Shelbyville stores. Other store-brand recalls are likely to follow.

As Canadians learned in 2008, Listeria monocytogenes outbreaks can be difficult to detect. The microbe has a long incubation period – as long as 70 days – and rarely causes a serious illness unless the victim is very young, very old, immuno-compromised, or pregnant. But when it infects a susceptible individual, it can be deadly.

Anyone who has eaten one of these foods within the last two months and begins to feel unwell should seek immediate medical attention and mention the possible association with a Listeria monocytogenes-contaminated food.

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