Pumpkin Ice Cream Pies Recalled Because Peanut Ingredient Not Listed on Label

A Buffalo NY establishment, Anderson's Frozen Custard, is recalling Pumpkin Ice Cream pies because the product which contains peanuts did not list peanuts on the label.  So it was an undeclared allergen issue.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm530645.htm
Anderson’s Frozen Custard issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Peanuts in Pumpkin Ice Cream Pies
For Immediate Release
November 22, 2016

Cashew Product Recalled Due to Possible Allergen Contamination with Peanuts

 An Ohio Company is recalling 10 ounce stand-up pouches (SUPs) of cashews after it was determined that there could be peanuts present.

While peanuts and cashews are both allergens, they are not the same allergens.  Thus this is an allergen issue and requires corrective action.  There can be some cross-reactivity - people who are allergic to one can  be allergic to the other.  

Cross contact of peanuts and tree nuts can be an issue in facilities that handle both types of nuts.

FDA Recall Notice
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm519248.htm
Kanan Enterprises Conducts Voluntary Recall of Cashews with Sea Salt
For Immediate Release
September 3, 2016

More Snack Items Recalled Due to Peanut Allergen Contamination in Flour

Kellogg Company is recalling selected Keebler, Famous Amos, and Kellogg brand items because the flour used to make those items may have peanut allergen.  This is part of the Grain Craft recall of flour that also forced the recall of products by Frito Lay and Hostess last week.  (Frito Lay updated their recall to include additional products.)

 Mars Chocolate also issued a recall for Combos.

FDA Recall Notice
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm506487.htm
Kellogg Company Voluntarily Recalls Certain Snacks for Potential Undeclared Peanut Residue Due to Flour Supplier Recall
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2016

Snack Items Recalled After Supplier's Supplier Has Peanut Allergen Cross Contact Issue

Frito Lay and Hostess announced recalls of a number of their flour containing snacks after their supplier found that peanut allergen may be present in the flour they provided.  That supplier, Grain Craft, announced that the issue came from one of their suppliers, a flour mill in Georgia (where there are plenty of peanuts).  Hostess has reported two potential allergen issues, Frito Lay has not had any reports of issues.
 Grain Craft stated in their press release:

"These recent recalls bring to light the challenge of agricultural cross-contact, which is the result of customary methods of growing, harvesting and shipping of wheat and other agricultural products."

So was Grain Craft managing peanut allergen as a potential hazard?  It was not stated in their press release [attached below].

 

So if your company is buying bulk wheat flour, good time to assess whether peanut allergen can be a risk.  Part of that will be checking with the supplier to see if they are controlling allergens as part of their food safety procedures, especially when they are sourcing their product from various mills.

  

CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/07/health/rold-gold-hostess-recalls-pretzels-snacks/

Rold Gold pretzels, Hostess snacks recalled for possible peanut contamination

By Debra Goldschmidt, CNN

Updated 7:01 PM ET, Tue June 7, 2016

 

PCA CEO Gets 28 Years in Prison for Selling Tainted Peanut Butter, QA Manager gets 5 Years

The CEO of PCA, Steward Parnell, received a 28 year prison sentence after being found guilty last September for  knowingly selling tainted peanut butter and falsifying records to deceive customers about the safety of that product.   His brother, Michael Parnell, the production supervisor, received a sentence of 20 years in prison, while the quality control manager, Mary Wilkerson, received a 5-year sentence for obstruction of justice.

While it is easy to focus on Mr. Parnell's sentence, you have to look at Mary Wilkerson, the 41 year old Quality Control Manager.  She started working at PCA as a receptionist and was promoted up to the role of Quality Control Manager.  Did she know better?  Did she have appropriate training?  Was she merely following orders?  Perhaps, but in the end, she was brought down with the owner for carrying out an act that caused people to get sick.  While she may not spend the entire 5 years in prison, it is still an awful cross to bear for an owner who reaped the benefits of running a shady business.

Her story goes to all the quality control, operations, and other supervisory personnel as a reminder that doing the wrong thing because someone told you to do it does not make it okay.

Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/former-peanut-executive-sentenced-to-28-years-in-prison-for-outbreak-that-killed-nine-people-sickened-hundreds/2015/09/21/aba7500e-60a7-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html

Former peanut executive sentenced to 28 years in prison
By Brady Dennis September 21 at 7:53 PM

Former peanut executive Stewart Parnell was sentenced Monday to 28 years in prison for his role in a nationwide salmonella outbreak that killed nine people and sickened hundreds in 2008 and 2009.

The sentence marked the most severe punishment ever for a food-related crime. Prosecutors had sought life in prison for the 61-year-old executive, and the sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands essentially could amount to that.

“These acts were driven simply by the desire to profit and to protect profits notwithstanding the known risks,” the judge said, according to the Associated Press. “This is commonly and accurately referred to as greed.”

Lack of Allergen Control by Spice Supplier's Supplier Results in Recalls

Updated 1/12/14

A PA firm is recalling a wide range of spices because the Cumin ingredient they used may contain peanuts, an issue that originated with their supplier.

There have been two assoicated recalls by food companies because the supplier of the spice had allergen issues.  In this case, a cumin spice may have been contaminated with peanut.  Because it is peanut, it is a Class I recall.

This is not the first time we have seen spice supplier have allergen issues that resulted in downstream recalls.  There was a similar recall in November.  Smaller companies are often challenged because of limited resources to properly vet their suppliers regarding allergen control.  And even with a thorough audit that reveals a decent program, mistakes cans still occur.  



FDA Recall Notice
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm429688.htm
Con Yeager Spice Company Issues a Voluntary Recall for Ground Cumin and Seasoning Blends (containing Ground Cumin) Due to Potential Undeclared Peanut Allergens

Contact:
Consumer:
1-800-222-2460

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — January 9, 2015 — New Castle, PA and Zelienople, PA — Con Yeager Spice Company has issued a voluntary recall for multiple sized packages under multiple brand names of ground cumin and multiple seasoning blends (containing ground cumin) due to undeclared Peanut allergens in the ground cumin.

People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to peanuts run the risk of serious or life threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. To date, there have been no consumer complaints or reports of allergic reactions at this time. Con Yeager Spice Company is asking customers at risk for peanut allergies to discontinue using the product immediately.

Con Yeager Spice Company was notified by the supplier Morris J. Golombeck Inc. that the ground cumin product had tested positive for traces of peanut protein. This spice is used in a variety of Con Yeager Spice Company seasoning blends and sold as a single ingredient product. Product packaging includes clear plastic bag in a box, clear plastic minijar, pint, quart, gallon jug containers and plastic bags. Our product identifiers are the product’s 5 digit item key and 6 digit item lot number beginning with a decimal point located on the labeling.

NM Peanut Farmers Still Impacted by 2012 Peanut Butter Recall

The economic impact resulting from the 2012 Peanut Butter Salmonella outbreak is still being felt by the regional peanut farmers in New Mexico.  Farmers in this region had grown Valencia peanuts to supply to the Sunland Plant.  After the outbreak, the plant was shut down as the company went bankrupt. The plant was subsequently sold to another company, but the plant has yet to reopen.  And so the farmers have had to plant lot less peanuts, and have moved on to other crops.

These outbreaks go far beyond the cost of the recall.  There are the people who suffered from the Salmonella illness, plant workers who lost their jobs,  the transportation/warehouse providers who lost business, the impact on local businesses were the workers shop, and the suppliers, including in this case, the farmers, who lost their customer.


US News and World Report
http://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2014/10/15/peanut-farmers-deal-with-fallout-from-salmonella

New Mexico peanut industry slow to rebound following 2012 salmonella outbreak, production down
Associated Press Oct. 15, 2014 | 4:27 p.m. EDT
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — There will be significantly fewer peanuts pulled from the ground in eastern New Mexico this harvest season because of lingering fallout from the bankruptcy and sale of a peanut-processing plant that was at the heart of a 2012 salmonella outbreak and nationwide recall.

Peanut farmers are expected to bring in 6 million pounds less this year, according to forecasts released this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That represents nearly a 30 percent drop in production in New Mexico from the year before.