Recall Roundup: December 31, 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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United States

• Allergy Alert: Mexicantown Wholesale (Detroit, MI) recalls all lots of cuernos (croissants) manufactured between 6/27/2010 and 12/28/2010 because they may contain undeclared milk. The recalled croissants were sold in retail stores in Michigan only.
• Allergy Alert: Bach Cúc Beef Jerky, Inc. (South El Monte, CA) recalls Bach Cúc Teriyaki Beef Jerky produced between January 2010 and December 29, 2010 due to the presence of undeclared wheat.
• Allergy Alert: Pilgrim's Pride (Boaz, AL) recalls Pierce Chicken Uncooked Hot & Spicy Breaded Chicken Wings Drummettes and Wing Portions and Sweet Georgia Brand Uncooked Hot & Spicy Breaded Chicken Wings 1st and 2nd Sections produced between January 1, 2010 and October 6, 2010 because the product contains undeclared egg. The recalled Chicken Wings were distributed to food service distribution centers nationwide for further distribution to restaurants.
• Allergy Alert: Kroger recalls La Ranchera Wheat Tortillas Original, 33 oz. because the product contains undeclared milk. The recalled tortillas were sold in Kroger stores in Texas and Louisiana.
• Food Safety Recall: Tiny Greens (Urbana, IL) recalls all Alfalfa Sprouts and Spicy Sprouts from November 1st through December 21st, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The sprouts were distributed through various distributors in Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri for redistribution to restaurants and supermarkets near those areas.
• Food Safety Recall: First Class Foods, Inc. (Hawthorne, CA) recalls Nature's Harvest Organic Ground Beef Brick (16 oz. pkg; Use or freeze by 12/30/10 or 01/08/11), Organic Harvest Organic Ground Beef Brick (16 oz. pkg; Use or freeze by 12/28/10 or 01/06/11) and Nature's Harvest Ground Patty (16 oz. pkg; Use or freeze by 12/30/10 or 01/08/11), because the products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The ground beef products were shipped to retail establishments in California, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Wisconsin and Washington State. Some of the Nature's Harvest ground beef was sold in Harris Teeter supermarkets.
• Food Safety Recall: Wegmans recalls some packages of Wegmans Food You Feel Good About brand Italian Parsley, Curly Parsley and Cilantro, sold in 0.25-ounce packages in Wegmans stores in the Syracuse (NY), Rochester (NY), Buffalo (NY), Hornell (NY), Geneseo (NY), Erie (PA) and West Erie (PA). The herbs were recalled by J&D Produce (further packed by Boncheff for Wegmans), because they may be contaminated with Salmonella.
• Food Safety Recall: BAVAN Food Company (Sacramento, CA) recalls BAVAN Brand Sugar Reori candy imported from India, because the candy contains unacceptable levels of lead.
• Food Safety Recall: Raley's Family of Fine Stores (West Sacramento, CA) recalls HDC Whole Cantaloupes (available in-store from Dec 14 to Dec 17, 2010), because the cantaloupes may be contaminated with Salmonella. The cantaloupes were sold in Raley's, Bel Air, Nob Hill, and Food Source stores in California.
• Food Safety Recall: Giant Food Stores advises customers that Terranetti - Roll Steak 6 count, 14 oz. has been recalled because of potential foreign material.
• Food Safety Recall: Bethel Livestock Farm (Swan Lake, NY) expands its earlier recall of milk products to include Bethel Creamery Pasteurized Whole Organic Milk (Kosher Cholov Yisroel), packaged in half-gallon containers with a use by date of JAN 11 2011), because the milk was improperly pasteurized.
• Food Safety Advisory: The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) and Pepin Heights Orchard are advising consumers to avoid drinking certain lot codes of Pepin Heights Orchard brand apple cider after MDA laboratory tests found the product may be contaminated with a type of mold toxin called patulin. The recalled cider was sold and distributed in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Arizona, Texas and Florida.
• Food Safety Alert: The Missouri Department of Agriculture's Meat and Poultry Inspection program has temporarily halted custom exempt processing operations at Brinks Meat Processing (Salem, MO) due to unsanitary practices.
• Dietary Supplement Safety Recall: PRock Marketing LLC (Kissimmee, FL) recalls all lots of Fruta Planta and Reduce Weight Fruta Planta weight loss products, after FDA tests confirm that Fruta Planta contains sibutramine. FDA has received multiple reports of adverse effects associated with use of Fruta Planta.
• OTC Pharmaceutical Product Safety Recall: Bausch + Lomb recalls Soothe® Xtra Hydration (XH) eye drops after receiving consumer reports of possible foreign matter in the tips of the bottles. Lab tests conducted by Bausch + Lomb have identified the foreign matter as mold. The recalled eye drops were distributed only in the USA.

Canada

• Allergy Alert: Health Canada advises consumers that four probiotic natural health products have been recalled because they contain undeclared milk and/or soy protein.
• Food Safety Recall: Boncheff Greenhouses (Toronto, ON) recalls Boncheff brand Fresh Cilantro, Fresh Dill, Fresh Curly Parsley and Fresh Italian Parsley, because the herbs may be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled fresh herbs were distributed in Ontario. The herbs were supplied to Boncheff by J&D Produce Inc (Texas) and have been recalled by J&D.
• Consumer Product Safety Recall: Sears Canada recalls reusable shopping bags after testing reveals high levels of lead in the items.

Europe

• Food Safety Recall: Finnfrost Ltd. recalls Dujardin brand frozen spinach (expiration date 10/25/2012), manufactured by Unifrost NV of Belgium, because the product contains elevated E. coli levels.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

• Personal Care Product Safety Recall (Singapore): The Health Sciences Authority alerts consumers to the recall by distributors of Care Wipes (Tai Sun Paper Products Pte Ltd), Trihexid Chlorhexidine 0.2% Mouth Rinse (Trident Pharm Pte Ltd) and Perlie White Fluorinze Fluoride Mouth Rinse (Corlison Pte Ltd), because certain batches were found to be contaminated with Burkholderia cepacia bacteria.

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*
  
• Lucky Supermarkets
• Price Chopper
  
• Publix
• 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.

Probiotic Pickles

September 30, 2009

Probiotic: A microbe that protects its host and prevents disease. (www.medterms.com)

It doesn't take much more than a stroll down the supermarket dairy case aisle to realize that probiotics are hot. A quick glance at the yogurt display reveals competing claims by two major international dairy brands, Dannon (Danone in France) and Yoplait.

Nor is the marketing of probiotic foods limited to the dairy industry. Even sour pickles are getting into the act, as we discovered during our recent stroll through the San Francisco Farmer's Market.

The Happy Girl Kitchen Co. is a Central California packing company that specializes in preserving and packing local organic produce. The company sells its wares over the Internet as well as at Farmer's Markets in Santa Cruz and in the San Francisco Bay area.

While the Company's web site makes no probiotic claims for its dill pickles – or any other of its fermented products – the Happy Girl who we met at the Farmer's Market told us the following:

Happy Girl is not alone in claiming health benefits for fermented dill pickles and other fermented non-dairy foods, such as sauerkraut and various ethnic pickled vegetables. A quick Google search turns up numerous blogs, web sites and other articles on the subject.

While some of the claims may be exaggerated, the fundamental principles are sound. Yogurts, other fermented dairy products (e.g., cheeses, buttermilk and kefir), pickles and sauerkraut result from the growth of lactic acid-producing bacteria – notably Lactobacillus. The benefits of consuming foods that have been fermented by lactic acid bacteria are several:

• Lactic acid is a natural preservative
• While growing, Lactobacillus produces compounds (known as prebiotics) that encourage the development of helpful bacteria in the intestinal tract
• Many Lactobacillus bacteria produce natural anti-microbial compounds (known as bacteriocins) that act against pathogens such as Listeria monocytogenes
• The presence in the intestines of probiotic bacteria – including many Lactobacillus bacteria – aids digestion and helps lactose-intolerant individuals to digest dairy-based products

Unfortunately, not all Lactobacillus are created equal. Not all strains produce effective bacteriocins. And some strains are better able than others to survive the harsh acid environment of the stomach and take up residence in the intestines. In a completely natural fermentation, there is no way to predict which strains of lactic acid bacteria will take charge.

Despite these caveats, the health benefits of prebiotics and probiotics are well established, and the role of Lactobacillus strains and other lactic acid bacteria in aiding digestion has been recognized for many years. And whether or not a particular batch of pickles contains a strongly probiotic Lactobacillus strain, it still can be counted on for some prebiotic benefits.

Happy Girl's customers can keep on smiling.