Caviar Processor Expands Recall

A Washington State firm is expanding its recall of canned caviar after Canadian authorities found additional lot samples were low in salt.  The original recall was posted on August 15th.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/voluntarily-recalls-grained-salmon-caviar-95g-because-possible-health-risk
Voluntarily Recalls Grained Salmon Caviar 95g Because of Possible Health Risk

Summary

Company Announcement Date: August 21, 2019

FDA Publish Date:August 21, 2019 

Product Type:Food & Beverages 

Reason for Announcement: Potential Clostridium botulinum contamination

Company Name: AWERS, Inc.

Brand Name: AWERS

Product Description: Grained Salmon Caviar

CT Meat Processor Fakes E. coli Testing and Now Faces Five Years in Prison

The owner of a CT meat processing facility is facing five years in prison after falsifying E. coli test results required by USDA for beef carcasses.  According to authorities,"the company must perform one generic E. coli test swab for every 300 animals slaughtered, and to collect ground-beef samples for testing"...which is not a huge burden compared to the sentence he is facing.

Hartford Business
https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/feds-ct-meat-packer-faked-e-coli-tests
Feds: CT meat packer faked E. coli tests

August 21, 2019 

Wisconsin Brewery Recalls Beer Due to Potential for Exploding Bottles

A Wisconsin brewery is recalling its sour cherry infused beer, My Turn Junk because of the potential for exploding bottles due to wild yeast associated with the cherry.   These yeast may continue fermenting in the bottle, creating excessive gas and with that pressure, causing the bottles to explode, or the caps to come off.  With exploding bottles, glass can be a hazard, or at the least, having beer all over your house.

We get many questions on people wanting to add ingredients or change formulation for traditional fermentation processes..whether that is alcoholic beverages such as beer or wine or with items like kombucha (fermented tea).  The problem is that we never know that the formulation change will do to the traditional fermentation process.  Some ingredients may bring other microorganisms into the reaction, they may bring added sugars which can result in extra gas, or it can impact pH, which may resulting in growth of unwanted bacteria including pathogens. 

We have had some people want to leave the salt out of sauerkraut fermentation to reduce sodium in the product...well, that salt helps to select the right organisms and thus the correct fermentation, and leaving the salt out opens the door to other microorganisms growing.

ABC WISN 12

MILWAUKEE —

Brewery recalls beer because bottles may explode

Lakefront said the "My Turn Junk" kettle sour cherry beer was "deemed too volatile."

WISN 

Updated: 1:48 PM CDT Aug 15, 2019

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