Florida’s Marjon Specialty Foods Inc., based in Plant City, has recalled 119 cases of sliced apples after a sample tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.
Recalled are apples packaged in 2 oz. single serving packages by Marjon Specialty Foods Inc. with used by dates of 7-20-10 and 7-21-10.
The recalled apples were sold to three Florida food service distributors for further sales to institutional and food service establishments. Those buyers may in turn have removed the apples from their original package. In a statement Marjon claims those products have been successfully accounted for and destroyed by customers.
No illnesses have been associated with this recall.
Production was briefly halted by Marjon, which is working with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The Agriculture Department conducted an inspection on July 6 and cleared Marjon to resume production.
Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Listeria infection also can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.
Marjon Specialty Foods, Inc. took immediate precautionary measures to protect public health by requesting that the three distributors involved locate, recall, and destroy all product involved in this recall. The distributors acted promptly to gather the product being recalled.
For additional details, please contact Marjon Specialty Foods, Inc. at 813-752-3482, M-F 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. EST.
Dairy farms in Wisconsin and Washington state received warning letters in June about alleged abuse of animal drugs, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has disclosed.
The first of three letters went out June 15 to Elmwood, WS dairy farmer John Skogen about misuse of the heat-stable antibiotic gentamicin.
In the letter, FDA said a dairy cow sold for slaughter as food last Sept. 9 by Skogen was subjected to tissue sampling by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Gentamicin was found in the edible tissue of the animal, and there is no tolerance level for this particular antibiotic in food.
“We also found that you adulterated the new animal drugs gentamicin sulfate solution, sulfadimethoxine injection, flunixin meglumine, penicillin G procaine injectable suspension, oxytetracycline hydrochloride injection, and penicillin G benzathine and penicillin G procaine injectable suspension,” the letter continued. “Specifically, our investigation revealed that you did not use these drugs as directed by their approved labeling.”
Keith and Patricia Haldiman own the other Wisconsin dairy farm receiving a warning letter from FDA. Theirs went out June 30.
They also sold a dairy cow for slaughter as food where FSIS testing found animal drugs remaining in edible tissues at higher than acceptable levels for the animal antibiotic drug sulfamethazine.
Samples from the cow from the Hibert, WS dairy farm came back at 37.280 parts per million (ppm) in the liver tissue, and 65.57 ppm in the muscle tissue.
The tolerance level for sulfamethazine is 0.1 ppm.
“However, this tolerance does not apply to sulfamethazine in lactating dairy cattle, the warning letter said. There is no acceptable level of sulfamethazine residue in lactating dairy cattle. There is also no acceptable level of phenylbutazone residue in lactating dairy cattle.”
FDA said the presence of those drugs in edible tissue mean the meat is “adulterated” under federal laws and regulations.
“Our investigation also found that you hold animals under conditions that are so inadequate that medicated animals bearing potentially harmful drug residues are likely to enter the food supply,” the warning said.
FDA said the dairy farm’s treatment and inventory records are inadequate for taking care of medicated animals.
The third warning letter went to Coldstream Farm, LLC, located near Deming, WA on June 21. FDA said the farm offered animals for sale for slaughter as food that were adulterated.
FDA said Coldstream sold a dairy cow for slaughter for use as human food on July 8, 2009 that “analysis of tissue samples collected from this animal identified the presence of penicillin in the kidney at 0.39 parts per million (ppm). FDA has established a tolerance of 0.05 ppm for residues of penicillin in the uncooked edible tissues of cattle…”
Further results from cow sold last Nov. 19 returned, “USDA/FSIS analysis of tissue samples collected from this animal identified the presence of flunixin in the liver at 0.3279 ppm. FDA has established a tolerance of 0.125 ppm for residues of flunixin in the liver tissues of cattle, as codified in 21 C.F.R. 556.286. The presence of flunixin in the liver tissue from this animal in this amount causes the food to be adulterated…”
FDA said the dairy was using Penicillin Injection in a manner not consistent with label instructions.
All three dairy operations were asked to respond to FDA within 15 days of the receipt of their individual warning letters.
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Canada has issued a nationwide warning after mussels personally harvested recently from a closed area of New Brunswick resulted in illnesses from Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP).
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) warned the public against consuming personally harvested bivalve shellfish from and around closed harvest areas.
These bivalve shellfish could contain paralytic shellfish toxins that can cause serious and potentially fatal illness if consumed, CFIA said.
The CFIA has determined that the reported illnesses were not associated with a commercial or purchased product.
However, consumers are advised to exercise caution when purchasing shellfish. Consumers can inquire at the point of purchase if the shellfish they are buying has proper documentation to ensure that it was harvested from an approved or open area.
Consumers are also advised that the levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP or red tide) are currently high and several areas are now closed to harvesting bivalve shellfish due to unacceptable PSP levels.
For more information on closures of shellfish harvesting areas, Canadians were advised to call the nearest office of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Paralytic shellfish toxins are a group of natural toxins that sometimes accumulate in bivalve shellfish that include oysters, clams, scallops, mussels and cockles. Non-bivalve shellfish, such as whelks, can also accumulate these toxins.
These toxins can cause PSP if consumed. Symptoms of PSP include tingling and numbness of the lips, tongue, hands, and feet, and difficulty swallowing. In severe situations, this can proceed to difficulty walking, muscle paralysis, respiratory paralysis and death in as quickly as 12 hours.
California’s Ready Pac Foods Inc. has recalled 702 cases of Spinach Temptations, a variety of baby spinach, in 6 oz. bags.
Ready Pac, based in Irwindale, said the baby spinach products might be contaminated with dangerous E. coli O157:H7 bacteria.
The recalled spinach, with use by dates of July 4 and 8, were distributed in California, Washington state, and Arizona. The product codes are 11707B, IR127121 for the group with a use by date of July 4, and 12007B, IR130373 for the use by date of July 8.
No illnesses have been associated with this recall of baby spinach.
Just four years ago, fresh spinach was responsible for an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 that infected at least 204 people in 26 states.
Half of those who became ill required hospitalization and 31 developed the type of kidney failure known as hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) leading to three deaths.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered the E. coli contamination during random sampling at Ready Pac.
E. coli O157:H7 is an organism that may cause diarrheal illness with symptoms that often include bloody stools.
HUS is most likely to occur in young children and the elderly. The condition can lead to serious kidney damage and even death.
In the 2006 outbreak, two elderly women and a two-year-old died from the HUS complications.
Because it is still possible that products bearing the Use-by Dates of July 4 and July 8 with the above product codes could be on store shelves, this recall extends to retailers as well as consumers.
Ready Pac said it is important to alert consumers and retailers who might still possess one of the potentially affected salads to dispose of it immediately.
Ready Pac has notified all of its retail customers who have received the product in question and directed them to remove it from their shelves.
Instructions for Consumers:
Check your refrigerator for Ready Pac Baby Spinach, Spinach Temptations 6 oz. bagged salads with the use-by dates of July 4 and July 8 with the above product codes. The use-by dates are found in the upper left hand corner of the package with the product codes located immediately underneath.
Consumers who may have purchased the affected product are asked to record the use-by date and product code, immediately dispose of the product, and contact the Ready Pac Consumer Affairs representative, toll-free at (800) 8007822, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific Time) to obtain a full refund.
Instructions for Retailers:
All retailers who receive this product are asked to reconfirm with their distribution centers and all individual stores to ensure that no baby spinach with the code dates of July 4 and July 8 with the above product codes remains in their inventory or at store locations.
A separate notification will be forwarded to all relevant Ready Pac retail customers. For additional details, retailers are asked to contact their Ready Pac customer service representative.
A small amount of sliced turkey–just 17.5 pounds–is being recalled by Allentown, PA-based K. Heeps Inc. because the company’s bird meat may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said recalled product is fully cooked turkey breast. The recalled product is:
-17.5-pound package of “K. Heeps Inc. Fully Cooked, Sliced Turkey, Boneless with Broth.”
The label bears the establishment number “EST. 09379A” inside the USDA mark of inspection.
The sliced turkey breast products were produced on June 28, 2010, and distributed to a restaurant in Reading, PA.
The Listeria contamination was discovered through the FSIS microbiological sampling program.
No illnesses have been associated with the Class I, High Health Risk recall.
FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers (including restaurants) of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers.
Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.
High fever, severe headache, neck stiffness, and nausea are among the symptoms of Listeria. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly, and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy. Individuals concerned about an illness should contact a health care provider.
Consumers with questions about the recall should contact company Recall Coordinator Beau Heeps at (610) 530-8010.
