Executives of Egg Company Ordered to Begin Serving Sentences for 2010 Salmonella Outbreak

A father and son, owners of an Iowa egg company, have been mandated to report to prison.  They were found guilty in 2014 to the 2010 Salmonella outbreak associated with eggs where close to 2000 people became infected.  They appealed their sentences, but those were upheld.

According to the news release, business groups had supported the appeal, arguing "that it is unfair to send corporate executives to prison for violations that they were either unaware of or that were committed by subordinates. The groups said it's highly unusual to attach a criminal penalty and prison time to executives when there is no proof of intention or knowledge of wrongdoing."  If you believe that food safety starts at the top, which I do, then it is important the executives should not only be aware, but also support food safety.

WRCBTV / Associated Press
http://www.wrcbtv.com/story/35760192/egg-executives-in-salmonella-case-must-report-to-pris
Egg executives in salmonella case must report to prison

Posted: Jun 27, 2017 12:53 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 27, 2017 1:13 PM

Chicken Tenders Recalled After Complaints of Bone Fragments

A California company is recalling over 50,000 lbs of chicken bites because the firm received consumer complaints involving foreign objects in the form of bone.  There have been no injuries.

The primary target market for this product is children.



USDA Recall Notice
https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2017/recall-078-2017-release
Overhill Farms, Inc. Recalls Chicken Products Due To Possible Foreign Matter Contamination
Class I Recall 078-2017
Health Risk: High
Jun 24, 2017

US Stops Imported Beef from Brazil for Food Safety Concerns

The US has stopped all importation of fresh beef from Brazil for food safety concerns.  Brazil is the fifth largest exporter of beef to the US.  Since an investigation into the Brazilian meat industry in March, the US has been inspecting all meat products from that country, refusing 11% of those shipments due to "public health concerns, sanitary conditions, and animal health issues."

USA Today
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/06/23/us-bans-beef-imports-brazil-due-food-safety-concerns/422865001/
US bans Brazil beef imports over food safety concerns
Roger Yu , USA TODAY

Published 8:39 a.m. ET June 23, 2017 | Updated 0 minutes ago

Drain Decontamination Using Chlorine Dioxide Pods

Our good friend Dr. Mark Berrang shared his recent research on decontaminating floor drains with chlorine dioxide pods.  This may be useful for many facilities beyond the poultry processing facilities where the research was conducted, especially those facilities that have problems with drain backups. This method was able to achieve a 8.7 log reduction in the drain water and 6.7 log reduction of cells attached to drain piping.

Contact me if you want a copy of the paper or the supplier contact used in this research. (we of course, are not endorsing any one supplier).


JAPR Research Report

Self-contained chlorine dioxide generation and delivery pods for decontamination of floor drains

NY Nut and Fruit Processor Source of Listeria Related Recalls

Over the past several days, many of the listeria - nut/dried fruit recalls have been linked to a company called HVF, Inc. AKA - Hudson Valley Farms. This includes the recent hummus recall due to pine nuts from HVF as well as other recalls such as protein bars from GoMarco, granola products from New England Bakers, and Protein Bars and Bits from Bulletproof 360. It is hard to tell what the ultimate source of these recalls, but clearly HVF is a major link, if not the primary source.

Here again is what appears to be an ingredient supply issue that triggers recalls among a number of further processing facilities.  In this case, the ingredient was produced by a very small processing facility - what kind of supplier controls were in place?  How legitimate is this supplier?

One concern was that the supplier information was not readily available online.  No website was present - was it there and taken down, or was there never one to start?  Wouldn't it be better to have a supplier who is there when there is an issue and to state the nature of the issue on their website?

It was difficult to tell the scope of the operation. According to a story in the Miami Herald, HVF is a company of 10 people or less. Looking further, it appears to be part of a larger group with the parent appearing to be a company called Bedemco, an importer of nut and fruit products.  HVF may just be a packing facility for this family run company.

Hummus Product Recalled For Potential Listeria in Pinenut Topping

 A TN company, House of Taller, is recalling hummus product with pine nut toppings after the pine nut topping after they were notified by the pine nut supplier that Listeria may be present on that ingredient.   The supplier is HVF (Hudson Valley Farms) /Bedemco.

Recalled House of Taller product is under the Marketside label which is sold at Walmart, the Fresh Foods Market Artisan brand and Latana brand. (What qualifies something as artisan? Nothing really, just our next overused marketing label.)
 
FDA Recall Notice
https://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm563822.htm
House of Thaller Recalls Selected Pine Nut Hummus Products Because of Possible Health Risk
For Immediate Release
June 19, 2017

CDC Report - National Botulism Surveillance Summary 2015

CDC released the summary of botulism cases for 2015.  Botulism is the disease caused by the toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum.  The toxin is a neurotoxin that stops neurotransmission resulting in paralysis, or loss in muscle function.  Botulism poisoning can result in death if not treated.  In most cases, it will result in hospitalization with the patient on a breathing apparatus due to loss in the ability to breath (paralysis of diaphragm).

The type we are most familiar is foodborne botulism where the organism grows in the food producing toxin.  But there is also infant botulism where the organism becomes part of the intestinal microflora of an infant.  A similar issue can happen in adults when their intestine is subject to colonization due to illness associated with antibiotic administration and decline of normal intestinal microflora.  Wound botulism occurs when the organism gets into a would and begins to grow.

The largest amount of cases reported in 2015 were infant botulism (141).  No deaths were reported.

There were 39 confirmed cases of foodborne botulism.  The one outbreak occurred when improperly canned potatoes were used to make potato salad at a church potluck dinner.  This resulted in 27 cases.
Another outbreak was associated with fermented seal flipper (4 cases), and then another was associated with beets roasted in aluminum foil and kept at room temperature for several days then made into a soup (2 cases).

National Botulism Surveillance Summary 2015
An overview of national botulism surveillance is available at:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncezid/dfwed/PDFs/bot-overview_508c.pdf

Pet Treats Recall Expanded to Include Private Label Products - Controlling Overseas Co-packers

United Pets is expanding their initial recall of raw hide pet treats to now include private label products including Companion, Dentley's, Enzadent or Dentahex, Essential Everyday, Exer-Hides, Good Lovin' or Petco, Hill Country Fare, and Priority Pet.  The products are being recalled because the foreign manufacturing facility sanitized the product with quaternary ammonium or Quat.  Quat is a surface sanitizer and is not made to be used directly on food for dogs (or humans).

This case points out the concerns for companies who have another company co-pack their product in facilities outside the country.  One would have expected contracted company, in this case United Pet, would have been controlling those facilities to a point where product produced was compliant with US regulations, or even generally accepted practices.  As the purchasing clients, completing a hazard analysis to take into account unexpected, unacceptable practices can be difficult to impossible without an onsite visit by a trusted, knowledgeable auditor.

FDA Recall Notice
https://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm563544.htm

United Pet Group Expands Voluntary Recall of Multiple Brands of Rawhide Chew Products for Dogs to Also Include Private Label Brands Due to Possible Chemical Contamination
For Immediate Release
June 16, 2017

Amazon Acquires Whole Foods

Amazon.com announced that it was purchasing Whole Foods Markets today.   The food landscape continues to change in surprising ways.

Produce News
http://theproducenews.com/the-produce-news-today-s-headlines/21623-amazon-to-acquire-whole-foods-in-13-7-billion-deal
Amazon to acquire Whole Foods in $13.7 billion deal

June 16, 2017