eFoodAlert.com: Recalls and Alerts: June 11, 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: Kom Son Food Co. (Oakland, CA) recalls Kim So'n Cooked Beef Meat Balls With Chicken & Anchovy Flavored Fish Sauce Added (12 oz. packages), Kim So'n Cooked Pork Meat Balls Anchovy Flavored Fish Sauce Added (12 oz. packages), and Kim So'n Cooked Beef & Tendon Meat Balls With Chicken & Anchovy Flavored Fish Sauce Added (5-lb packages), due to the presence of undeclared wheat. The recalled items were produced on December 9, 2010 through June 9, 2011 and shipped to retail establishments and restaurants in Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and California (San Francisco Bay area, only).

Outbreak Alert: The CDC has signaled the presence of a norovirus outbreak in Clanton, Alabama, according to a report in The Clanton Advertiser. Several victims have visited the emergency department of Chilton Medical Center with symptoms of vomiting and/or diarrhea consistent with the viral infection.

Canada

Outbreak Alert: Forty-nine cases of hospital-acquired Clostridium difficile infections were diagnosed between January 1st and May 6th, 2011 in Cape Breton (NS). The majority of the cases were concentrated in Cape Breton Regional Hospital (32 cases) and Glace Bay Hospital (11 cases).

Europe

Food Safety Recall (Netherlands): Van der Plas recalls Rosabi Sprouts® beet sprouts after the Food Safety Authority finds EHEC-E. coli in a sample of the product. The strain of E. coli is different from the E. coli O104:H4 bacterium that has sickened more than 3,000 people, most of them in Germany.

Outbreak Alert (UK): Forty (out of 150) guests at a reception south east of Huddersfield town centre have been stricken with vomiting and diarrhea after eating a meal at the June 3rd event. The source of the outbreak is under investigation.

Asia, Africa and the Pacific Islands

Outbreak Alert (Mongolia): At least 89 members of a construction crew who were building a road to the Oyu Tolgoi Mine from the village of Khanbogd (Umnugobi Province) developed food poisoning after eating chicken supplied by the Nomads restaurant chain. Two of the ill workers are reported to be in serious condition.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Outbreak Alert Update (Haiti): The Pan American Health Organization reports that 2,600 people become infected with cholera weekly in Haiti. An increase in the number of new infections coincided with the onset of rain storms. Only 2% of the population have access to safe drinking water.

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.