Smoked Seafood Processor Shut Down for Insanitary Conditions

A processor of 'high end' smoked seafood products was shut down for unsanitary conditions.  This came after 'a decade' of issues.  This facility's product was used by a number of notable restaurants and the facility had won some awards. (Company website).

Vacuum packaged smoked salmon is a pretty risky product if not done right.  First, it can be a Clostridium botulinum risk if not properly processed, which was one of the issues according to reports..  Listeria is also a risk if it contaminates the product in the time after smoking and before packaging.  The facility had that issue in the past which had resulted in a recall.

This seems to be a good brand to add to the 'do not eat' list.







Portland Press Herald
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/02/14/sullivan-harbor-farm-shut-down-for-seafood-safety-violations/
Maine seafood company shut down for food safety violations

Sullivan Harbor Farm in Hancock had been warned for more than a decade that its manufacturing of smoked salmon was unsanitary, the U.S. Justice Department says.
BY BETH QUIMBY STAFF WRITER
bquimby@pressherald.com | @QuimbyBeth | 207-791-6363

A high-end Hancock seafood company has been shut down for repeated unsanitary conditions and food safety violations, including manufacturing in the presence of rodent excrement, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Canned Stew Product Recalled for Potentially Uncovered Parts form Broken Flashlight

Hormel is recalling 450 lbs of Dinty Moore Beef Stew "After discovering and recovering parts of a flashlight from the production area".  While they captured most of the suspected product, 40 cases seemed to have escaped the facility.  While this case will not get a lot of press, there is a lot that can be learned.

First is escalation of bad luck - bad enough to have a flashlight break and potentially get into product, but then, the failure to capture all the product so it does not get into commerce.  Are you thinking someone went back to count the cases a few weeks latter and discovered that they were a little short?  If it had been shipped the day the issue was discovered, wouldn't the recall have been made the same day. 

Control of tools - not sure if this is a maintenance flashlight or one that belongs to quality, but most probably not someone working in production.  It is important that these support groups understand the importance of accounting for tools as they work.  That includes keeping control of them as they work, and ensuring that they have collected them at the end.

Control of held product - During a corrective action procedure, reconciliation of held product is critical.  That is, the actual amount of tagged in the hold area is consistent with the amount that was supposed to be held?  Interesting to note that two weeks passed from the day of the incident, so was this the first verification?

Escalation of cost - the longer it takes for corrective action, the higher the cost.  We will make some assumptions to demonstrate this point, costs based upon product cost at retail and can weight.

• Breaking a flashlight - less than $10
• Breaking a flashlight and stopping the line before it gets into the can - assuming 500 lbs of product at $0.30/lb for in-process product = $150.  There would be costs associated with shutting the line done for clean up as well.
• Breaking a flashlight and not discovering it until product is in the can - assuming that there were 10 pallets of finished product (60 cases per pallet) at a manufacturing cost of $0.65 per can = $4680.  There would be a disposal cost to include as well. 
• Shipping 40 cases of that product by accident  = So there is the $4368 for the product that was not shipped, but now there are charges for that shipped product at store level.  With a price of $2.08 per can (which the store will charge the company) plus 20% handling fee assessed by the store, and it is unlikely that the store chain will only recover just that particular code once it hits the shelf, so the store will likely remove 3X the amount..so this will cost 3600 on top of the $4368 or a total of $7968.  This does not include any fines the store may charge back to the facility.
• So this went from  a couple hundred dollars to eight thousand dollars or so, and this could very well be an underestimate.
• If the broken flashlight went unnoticed, or no notification was made, and USDA had complaints about foreign objects in canned product - that would result in a recall of at least a day's production. which at that point, would mean that product would all be at store level in terms of distribution.  Costs at this point could range widely, perhaps up to 50K.  Add any costs associated with  injury to a person and the legal fees.  Punitive damages could also be assessed especially if the incident was found to be concealed by plant personnel.

FSIS Recall Notice
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2016/recall-015-2016-release
Hormel Foods Corporation Recalls Beef Products Due To Possible Foreign Matter Contamination
Class II Recall015-2016
Health Risk: LowFeb 9, 2016

En Español
Congressional and Public Affairs Maria Machuca  (202) 720-9113 Press@fsis.usda.gov

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2016 – Hormel Foods Corporation, a Tucker, Ga. establishment, is recalling approximately 450 pounds of beef products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The Dinty Moore Beef Stew items were produced on Jan. 26, 2016. The following product is subject to recall: [View Labels (PDF Only)]
15-oz. cans of “Dinty Moore Hearty Meals No Preservatives Beef Stew” with Best By date Feb. 2019 and production date T01266.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 199G” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to Kroger locations in Texas and Louisiana. Product was available for sale after Feb. 1, 2016.

The problem was discovered during the plant’s routine inspection activities. After discovering and recovering parts of a flashlight from the production area, the company placed all product produced during this timeframe on hold. However, 40 cases had already been shipped into commerce.

Bacon Fritters Recalled After One Complaint for Extraneous Plastic Piece

An Illinois company is recalling 25,000 lbs of bacon fritters due to a consumer complaint for a piece of plastic.  There have been no injuries and it seems to be one complaint.

Hopefully the piece of plastic was verified as coming from the plant and an investigation led to the conclusion that there is a good probability of more plastic being in product.  Otherwise, a knee-jerk reaction by an inspector can be costly.


FSIS Recall Notice
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2016/recall-016-2016-release
McCain Foods USA, Inc. Recalls Pork Products Due To Possible Foreign Matter Contamination
Class I Recall016-2016
Health Risk: HighFeb 12, 2016

Congressional and Public Affairs Benjamin Bell (202) 720-9113 Press@fsis.usda.gov

WASHINGTON, Feb.12, 2016 – McCain Foods USA, Inc., a Lisle, Ill. establishment, is recalling approximately 25,215 pounds of bacon fritters that may be contaminated with extraneous plastic materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The potato, egg, cheese, and bacon fritters were produced on Nov. 11, 2015. The following products are subject to recall:
1,681 cases bearing a batch code 1001487402 containing four 3.75-lb. plastic vacuum-packed packages containing “McCain EARLY RISERS Potato, Egg, Cheese & Bacon Fritters.”

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 18846” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to food service distributors in Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, and Utah.

The problem was discovered after the firm received a consumer complaint and subsequently notified an in-plant FSIS inspector.

Raw Meal Organic Shake Recall Expanded as Ingredient Identified as Salmonella Source

Garden of Life expanded their previous recall of raw meal organic shakes.  The initial recall came a few weeks ago as a number of Salmonella cases were linked to the product.

The company has identified the source as organic Moringa Leaf powder. So what is moringa? Evdently, moringa oleifera, is a plant that is native to northern India, Pakistan, and Africa. It is said to have health benefits and has been used by a number of different cultures in traditional healing.  It is called the 'miracle tree'.  But not the Salmonella tree?  It is not different than other trees where birds land and do what birds do...or doodoo.  Since the leaves are considered raw, there would not be a heat reduction step, but there still should be something considered a bacterial reduction step.  Perhaps an antimicrobial wash?  Or is the leave powder treated?  Whichever, either the treatment was not completed properly, not done at all, or circumvented by post-process contamination.


FDA Recall Notice
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm486234.htm
Garden of Life Expands Voluntary Recall to Include Additional Lots of Raw Meal Products Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination
For Immediate Release
February 13, 2016

Contact
Consumers RawMealRecallInfo@gardenoflife.com  (866)211-9058
Media Rhonda Price (561)371-9407

Announcement

Garden of Life LLC is expanding its January 29th voluntary recall to include additional lots of its Raw Meal Organic Shake & Meal Chocolate, Original, Vanilla and Vanilla Chai products because an ingredient used in certain lots of the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella Virchow. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection withSalmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. If you have symptoms or concerns, please talk to your doctor.

An Adage on the Appreciation of Prevention as Applied to Food Safety

The goal of food safety professionals is to prevent food safety issues for any facility or product in their purview. Unfortunately, these efforts often go unnoticed, and over time, are can be taken for granted. This passage by Thomas Cleary in the introduction to his translation of Sun Tzu's Art of War (The Art of War: Complete Text and Commentaries, 2003) fits this well.

According to an old story, a lord of ancient China once asked his physician, a member of a family of healers, which of them was the most skilled in the art.

The physician, whose reputation was such that his name become synonymous with medical science in in China, replied, “My eldest brother sees the spirit of sickness and removes it before it takes shape, so his name does not get out of the house.”

“My elder brother cures sickness when it is still extremely minute, so is name does not get out of the neighborhood. “

“As for me, I puncture veins, prescribe potions, and massage skin, so from time to time, my names gets out and is heard among the lords.”

Report Summary - Consumer Trends in the Food Industry - Shifting Consumer Value Drivers

A collaboration of industry associations sponsored Deloitte to conduct a survey on consumer food purchasing trends, and now, the report from that survey is making the rounds in the media.  Here is a quick summary of that report, taken directly from the report (Here is the direct link to the that report - http://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/consumer-business/us-fmi-gma-report.pdf).  Commentary is placed in [ ].

• The food and beverage processing industry has exhibited stagnant growth over the past several years.
• Consumer buying decisions on food are not only based upon the traditional drivers of taste, price, and convenience, but now include 'evolving drivers' of  health and wellness, safety, social impact, experience, and transparency.
• There is a general distrust of larger food companies.
• The information [or misinformation] for these evolving drivers likely comes from social media, mobile applications, and digital sources.
• Evolving drivers:
• Of these, wellness and health is most important.  It is also the most complex and varies for each category [understandable if you consider that the information gleaned from the web varies from the scientific to the bat-crap crazy...and can change suddenly as news reports are generated supporting or bashing specific foods or ingredients].  So there is no set definition of wellness.  And consumer will pay more for what they perceive as providing that.
• Safety considers both short-term as well as long term implications, which interplays with wellness and  health.  Certainly free from harmful elements, but also clean labeling and  trustful sourcing.  Retailers will be relied on to play a bigger role in ensuring safety.
• Social impact comes into play as small vocal groups can impact larger groups with their message - commitment to food safety, fair treatment of workers, local, values, environmental responsibility....political views.  About 1/4 of those surveyed indicated their choice are impacted by this - millennials and more wealthy [those who consider themselves a hipster] 
• Experience - people look to have an experience shopping...looking for the new, interesting, and undiscovered.  A term to know is consumer engagement.
• Transparency - people want access to information...in whatever way they want to get that information (website, stores, etc)
• Implications - an increasing fragmented marketplace with people wanting more information, thus putting demands on retailers and desire for smaller [perceived as local] companies.

Better Understanding Needed on Use of Oilfield Water to Irrigate Crops in Drought Stricken California

Questions are being raised about the use of  water from oilfields for irrigation water in California.  California has been in a drought since 2011 and community water systems have had to utilize more of this reclaimed water.  Unfortunately for the fruit industry, activists have publically decried certain brands / producers without much information to support claims.

Clearly, there needs to be more transparency on actual use as well as more knowledge about the actual risks.  One question - why was an extensive study not already completed by a government agency sooner?

Norovirus Sickens Hundreds at Dinner Theatre, Clean-Up Costly

A Kansas City dinner theatre was the site this past month of a huge norovirus outbreak.  Between Jan 15th and Jan 19th, more than 600 attendees and employees became ill.  The theatre company spent some $40,000 to clean/disinfect the location in order to mitigate the virus.

The source of the norovirus is not known, so it could have been a patron or an employee.  Food is served buffet style so the buffet tables could have easily served as a contamination point.

Incidents like this are reminders of how contagious norovirus is and how difficult it can be to control in these types of settings.  (Give me another reason to avoid buffet style service).


Kansas City Star
http://www.kansascity.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/cityscape/article57797308.html
New Theatre Restaurant spends $40,000 on cleanup after more than 600 sickened
February 1, 2016 5:34 PM
By Joyce Smith
jsmith@kcstar.com

CDC Issues Final Report on Chipotle E. coli Outbreak

The CDC issued the final report indicating that there have been no further E. coli O26 illness associated with the outbreak.  Overall, 60 people were infected in 14 states with 22 requiring hospitalization.

 Chipotle has taken a beating, with it stock price dropping 33% over the past year.  It went up 4.8% on Monday.  Chipotle stated that it will close for a few hours (11AM to 3PM) on February 8th in order to do a company wide staff meeting where executives will answer questions.  This does not appear to be a food safety training event as much as it is an opportunity to let employees executives are engaged on food safety.
 

CDC Outbreaks

http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2015/O26-11-15/index.html

Multistate Outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O26 Infections Linked to Chipotle Mexican Grill Restaurants (Final Update)

Posted February 1, 2016 12:00 PM ET