Organic Food Fraud - Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison, Farmers Also Sentenced

From a Washington Post article, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for organic food fraud.  He worked with a few farmers to take conventionally grown food and call it organic.  "The farmers grew traditional corn and soybeans, mixed them with a small amount of certified organic grains, and falsely marketed them all as certified organic by the U.S. Department of  Agriculture. Most of the grains were sold as animal feed to companies that marketed organic meat and meat products."

Of course because they were labeled as organic, they were able to charge much more for the crop items and thus incurred a higher return.  "The farmers reaped more than $120 million in proceeds from sales of the tainted grain. The  scheme may have involved up to 7 percent of organic corn grown in the U.S. in 2016 and 8 percent of the organic soybeans, prosecutors said."

The farmers were also sentenced with up to 2 years in prison.

Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/farmers-to-be-sentenced-in-largest-us-organic-fraud-case/2019/08/16/ef533078-c031-11e9-a8b0-7ed8a0d5dc5d_story.html
Leader of largest US organic food fraud gets 10-year term
By Ryan J. Foley | AP
August 16

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A judge on Friday sentenced the mastermind of the largest known organic food fraud scheme in U.S. history to 10 years in prison, saying he cheated thousands of customers into buying products they didn’t want.

Canada - Listeria Outbreak Linked to Frozen Cooked Diced Chicken, Seven Cases of Illness

Canadian authorities are investigating a Listeria outbreak linked to Rosemount brand cooked diced chicken. Rosemount cooked diced chicken was supplied to institutions (including cafeterias, hospitals and nursing homes - higher risk populations).

"As of August 18, 2019, there have been 7 confirmed cases of Listeria monocytogenes illness in three provinces: British Columbia (1), Manitoba (1) and Ontario (5). Individuals became sick between November 2017 and June 2019. Six individuals have been hospitalized. Individuals who became ill are between 51 and 97 years of age. The majority of cases (86%) are female."

In November of 2017, there were 2 cases, and then starting in April of 2019 through June, there were 5 more cases.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/public-health-notice-outbreak-of-listeria-infections-linked-to-rosemount-brand-cooked-diced-chicken-835486323.html
Public Health Notice - Outbreak of Listeria infections linked to Rosemount brand cooked diced chicken Français
News provided by
Public Health Agency of Canada
Aug 19, 2019, 12:27 ET

Study Indicates Potential for Increasing Mercury Levels in Seafood Due to Overfishing and Global Warming

A study published in Nature indicates that the level of methylmecury (MeHg, a potent neurotoxic substance) in predatory fish that we eat (including tuna, cod and swordfish) may be increasing due to global warming and overfishing.  Basically there is a change in the dietary patterns of these fish where the fish are eating organisms such as  squid and other cephalopods which exhibit higher MeHg concentrations than many other prey fish.

Inorganic mercury (Hg) is emitted to the atmosphere from both natural and human sources and this is deposited in the ocean where some is converted by microorganisms to MeHg.  This MeHg accumulates in small organisms but concentrations are amplified in the flesh of predatory fish as they eat the smaller organisms.  

Darn that global warming.

Nature

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1468-9
Climate change and overfishing increase neurotoxicant in marine predators
Amina T. Schartup, Colin P. Thackray, Asif Qureshi, Clifton Dassuncao, Kyle Gillespie, Alex Hanke & Elsie M. Sunderland
Published: 07 August 2019

Chicken Patties Recalled Due to Unidentified Foreign Materials (UFMs)

Tyson Foods Inc., a Pine Bluff, Ark. establishment, is recalling approximately 39,078 pounds of Weaver brand frozen chicken patty product that may be contaminated with extraneous materials.  The problem was discovered after the recalling firm notified FSIS of consumer complaints.  No specific mention of what the material was or how it got into the product.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2019/recall-084-2019-release
Tyson Foods, Inc. Recalls Weaver Brand Ready-To-Eat Chicken Patty Products due to Possible Foreign Matter Contamination
Class I Recall 
084-2019 
Health Risk: High 
Aug 15, 2019 

Caviar Recalled Due to Improper Processing That May Lead to C. botulinum Growth

A Washington State seafood company is recalling its caviar after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency tested and found the product was low in salt concentration.  The issue was stated as potential Clostridium botulinum potential.


Article Citation:
A. H. W. HAUSCHILD and R. HILSHEIMER (1979) Effect of Salt Content and pH on Toxigenesis by Clostridium botulinum in Caviar. Journal of Food Protection: March 1979, Vol. 42, No. 3, pp. 245-248. https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X-42.3.245

Effect of Salt Content and pH on Toxigenesis by Clostridium botulinum in Caviar
A. H. W. HAUSCHILD* and R. HILSHEIMER
Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Health Protection Branch, Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A 0L2

Bottled lumpfish caviar was prepared with different salt (NaCl) concentrations and pH, and injected with spores of Clostridium botulinum. Under abusive storage conditions (30 C), outgrowth and toxigenesis occurred at combinations of ≤ 3.95% salt in the water phase and pH ≥ 5.2, and of ≤ 4.67% salt and pH ≥ 5.6. No toxin was formed at salt concentrations of ≥ 5.56% or at pH ≤ 5.0. A survey of commercial caviar products showed that most of these had salt-pH combinations which would effectively inhibit C. botulinum at abusive temperatures during storage.


https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/awers-inc-recalls-grained-salmon-caviar-95g-because-possible-health-risk
AWERS, Inc. Recalls Grained Salmon Caviar 95g Because of Possible Health Risk
Summary
Company Announcement Date: August 15, 2019
FDA Publish Date: August 15, 2019
Product Type:Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement: Potential Clostridium Botulinum Contamination
Company Name:AWERS, Inc.
Brand Name:AWERS
Product Description: Grained Salmon Caviar
 

FDA Issues Warning for Raw Pet Food, Company Recalls 35 Lots After Product Tests Positive for Salmonella and Listeria

FDA issued a warning regarding Texas Tripe Raw pet food in that certain lots of Texas Tripe Inc. raw pet food after samples from some of these lots tested positive for Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono).   Texas Tripe Inc. has recalled 35 lots for each of 23 product varieties.  The concern is that the pets can spread the pathogen or people can become infected with the pathogen when handling the food.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/fda-cautions-pet-owners-not-feed-texas-tripe-inc-raw-pet-food-due-salmonella-listeria-monocytogenes
FDA Cautions Pet Owners Not to Feed Texas Tripe Inc. Raw Pet Food Due to Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes
Summary
Company Announcement Date: August 14, 2019
FDA Publish Date:August 15, 2019
Product Type:Animal & Veterinary
Pet Food Reason for Announcement:  Potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes
Company Name:Texas Tripe Inc.
Brand Name:  Texas Tripe
Product Description:  Raw frozen pet food

Training for FSMA Sanitary Transport Rule

An article in Fleet Owner magazine highlights an online training course for complying with the FDA's Sanitary Transport Rule.  (yes, shameless self-promotion.)

Fleet Owner
https://www.fleetowner.com/regulations/helping-companies-meet-food-transportation-law
Helping companies meet food transportation law

Fleet Owner Staff | Aug 09, 2019
An online course now offered by Penn State Extension aims to help transportation personnel nationwide meet federal food safety requirements when transporting human and animal foods.

The course, “Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food,” can help shippers, loaders, carriers by motor or rail vehicle, and receivers involved in transporting human and animal foods understand the Sanitary Transportation Regulation, which is part of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act — often referred to as FSMA.

The goal of FSMA’s Sanitary Transportation Regulation is to prevent practices during transportation that create food safety risks, such as failure to properly refrigerate food, inadequate cleaning of vehicles between loads and failure to properly protect food. The Penn State Extension course breaks down the regulation in a user-friendly format that provides an overview of food hazards and how the risk of those hazards can be minimized.

Using easy-to-follow videos and short readings, the self-paced, interactive course outlines how to safely transport food in all stages of the transportation process. Participants will learn about regulations, hazards associated with food during transportation, basic safety procedures, and company procedures and documentation. To receive certification, participants must pass four short quizzes with a minimum score of 80%.

FDA Issues First Warning Letter to Company on FSVP Requirements

FDA issued a Warning Letter to an importer that had imported tahini product that was linked to 6 cases of Salmonella infection  in June of 2019.  This was the first warning letter regarding FSVP (Foreign Supplier Verification Program) requirements as part of FDA's FSMA regulation.

The FSVP regulation requires that importers perform certain risk-based activities to verify that human and/or animal food they import into the United States has been produced in a manner that meets applicable U.S. food safety standards.  This means that importer must have proof that the foreign processor has a Preventive Control Plan and can successfully controlled potential hazards.  In the case of tahini, the supplier must have process and environmental controls to prevent contamination from Salmonella.

In this report, FDA found that the firm had not developed an FSVP for sesame paste tahini manufactured by their supplier Karawan Tahini and Halva in the West Bank, but even more of an issue was that the firm was not familiar with FSVP requirements.

https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/brodt-zenatti-holdings-llc-583679-07302019
FDA Warning Letter
Brodt Zenatti Holdings LLC
MARCS-CMS 583679 — Jul 30, 2019

FDA Releases 2019 Testing Report for Yuma AZ Leafy Greens - No Pathogenic E.coli Found

FDA released the results of 2019 sampling of lettuce from the Yuma AZ region, which was the site of the 2018 E. coli outbreak (where over 200 become ill from eating contaminated Romaine lettuce).   In the 2019 sampling which began in mid-December of 2018, FDA "collected and tested 118 samples for each pathogen, with STEC and Salmonella spp. selected because they are the two pathogens most closely associated with leafy vegetables.[2], [3] Each sample consisted of 10 subsamples, and each subsample consisted of one head or two hearts (i.e., the center leaves) of romaine. The FDA did not detect any STEC of concern to human health, though it did find one non-pathogenic STEC strain. The FDA did not detect Salmonella spp. in any of the samples."

"The findings of this assignment suggest that there was no widespread Salmonella or STEC contamination of romaine lettuce from the Yuma growing region during the period when sampling occurred. As a next step, the FDA is working with leafy green stakeholders in the Yuma region to consider a longer-term environmental study to identify and control risks that will prevent future outbreaks, with the ultimate goal of protecting consumers."

https://www.fda.gov/food/sampling-protect-food-supply/microbiological-surveillance-sampling-fy19-romaine-lettuce-commercial-coolers-yuma-arizona
Microbiological Surveillance Sampling: FY19 Romaine Lettuce at Commercial Coolers in Yuma, Arizona

Content current as of:  08/14/2019