CDC Issues 2019 FoodNet Report

CDC issued their FoodNet Report for 2019 which looks at data from 10 sites in the US over time.
"The report summarizes preliminary 2019 data and describes changes in incidence compared with that during 2016–2018. The incidence of enteric infections caused by these eight pathogens reported by FoodNet sites in 2019 continued to increase or remained unchanged, indicating progress in controlling major foodborne pathogens in the United States has stalled. "
 But they also state, "Recent increases in foodborne illness might be due, in part, to increased testing and improved technologies. Quick and easy culture-independent diagnostic tests continue to reveal infections that might not have been diagnosed in the past because of limited testing. At the same time, whole genome sequencing and other new laboratory technologies have enhanced our ability to identify outbreaks, emerging strains, and sources of infection."

So comparing year to year may not be valid because more tests are being completed and the tests are more accurate.    Table 1 from that document gives number of infections which shows Campylobacter and Salmonella as the two most prevalent types of foodborne pathogens.

FDA Issues Warning Letters to Companies Selling COVID-19 Remedies - The New Era of Snake Oil Salespeople

FDA has been issuing a number of Warning Letters to companies which are marketing and selling products with claims that it can prevent or treat the novel Coronavirus.  Here is a few of the Warning Letters which were issued over the past few days.

• Dr. Dhole's Sushanti Homeopathy Clinic -  claims homeopathy medicine which is selected as Genus Epidemicus is given to healthy people to prevent Coronavirus
• Honey Colony LLC - sell a chealated silver product with claims as a prevention from coronavirus.
• Antroids.com and Foxroids.com - offers lopinavir + ritonavir, marketed as “Lopimune 200mg/50mg,” under the heading “Coronavirus Treatment.” While there are FDA-approved versions of lopinavir + ritonavir on the market in the U.S., there are no approved drug applications offered by either company  In addition, no drug has yet been approved by the FDA for use in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, mitigation, or cure of COVID-19
• Hopewell Essential Oils - Claims that using essential oils to make breathing easier with Coronavirus related pneumonia.
• Santiste Labs LLC - Created a transdermal patch with that claims to boost your immune system and provide antiviral support all day,
• Prefense LLC - marketing and online sales for hand sanitizers with claims that it works against COVID-19 and that the sanitizer lasts all day.

Claims and FDA Issues for Each with Links

Probiotic Fiber Product Recalled For Potential of Plastic Pieces from Bottle Cap

GSK Consumer Healthcare is voluntarily recalling five lots (listed below) of Benefiber Healthy Shape Prebiotic Fiber Supplement powder and Benefiber Prebiotic Fiber Supplement powder due to the potential for green plastic pieces or shavings from bottle caps to be present in the product.  As of the date of the recall announcement, GSK Consumer Healthcare has received one consumer complaint of a green particle observed inside a bottle of product.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/gsk-consumer-healthcare-recalls-benefiber-healthy-shape-prebiotic-fiber-supplement-and-benefiber
GSK Consumer Healthcare Recalls Benefiber Healthy Shape Prebiotic Fiber Supplement and Benefiber Prebiotic Fiber Supplement Due to Possible Plastic Contamination from the Bottle Cap
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  April 28, 2020
FDA Publish Date:  April 28, 2020
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Potential for plastic pieces or shavings
Company Name:  GSK Consumer Healthcare
Brand Name:  Benefiber
Product Description:  Prebiotic Fiber Supplement

This Week in Mislabeled Product for Week Ending May 2, 2020

Traces of Milk Detected by Customer - Medifast, Inc. of Baltimore, Md., is recalling 24,923 boxes of OPTAVIA Essential Old Fashioned Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal because the product may contain undeclared traces of milk.  The recall was initiated after discovering that certain lots of OPTAVIA Essential Old Fashioned Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal packets inadvertently contain undeclared traces of milk. The issue was discovered when the company was contacted by a customer. 

Wrong Outer Case - Peanut Crackers In Cheese Boxes - Mondelēz Global LLC announced today a voluntary recall of a limited quantity of RITZ Cheese Cracker Sandwiches Family Size (21.6 oz. carton) product in the United States. This recall is being conducted because the outer packaging indicates that the product is Cheese variety, while the individually-wrapped product contained in the package is Peanut Butter variety. The outer carton does, however, provide an allergen advisory statement indicating that the product “May contain peanuts.” In addition, the inner package contains 16, 1.35oz. individually-wrapped six-cracker sandwiches that are properly labeled as RITZ Peanut Butter Cracker Sandwiches and declare peanut as an ingredient. The recall was initiated after it was discovered that the product containing peanut was distributed in outer packaging that did not list “peanut butter” in the ingredient statement. Corrective actions are being taken to help ensure that this issue does not recur.

Wrong Chicken Ingredient Contains Soy - Condies Foods of Kearns, UT is recalling 165 units of roll chicken salad on croissant single item# 43237 “USE THRU” 03/6/2020 - 05/6/2020, and sndw chicken sandwich on white single item.  After an inhouse audit of our ingredients by our Quality Assurance Manager it was discovered that the wrong ingredient had been purchased and used, it was decided to initiate a voluntary recall to ensure that our public would not get further exposure to an erroneous product.

Do Less Recalls During COVID-19 Mean Our Food Is Less Safe? No.

In an article from "The Hill", they ask if food is safe during the COVID-19 pandemic because they were not seeing many recalls.  They state, "Recalls, though, were flowing in regularly before February, with five in January, four in December, four in November and three in October."

I am not sure I would call this flowing when you look at the amount of product that is made by thousands of establishments across the country.  And when we look at the type of recalls over the past 6 months, only a few were due to foodborne pathogens.  Most recalls were due to foreign material (often one to three complaints, normally plastic) or allergen-related.

So to assert that our product is less safe because we are not seeing recalls because inspectors are distracted due to COVID-19, that is plain phooey.  As we have tracked recalls over the past decade, we have seen a steady decrease in the serious pathogen-related recalls, and that is because the industry is focused on food safety improvement.  

I would like to have seen one of these quoted academics actually say, 'based on the types recalls we've not seen over the past years, the meat industry has been doing a great job.'  Because it has.

Are people less likely to complain about that piece of plastic in their burrito because they are worried that someone with COVID-19 breathed on the packaging?  Probably.  I will give them that.

https://thehill.com/business-a-lobbying/business-a-lobbying/493423-usda-under-pressure-as-food-safety-concerns-grow
USDA under pressure as food safety concerns grow
By Alex Gangitano - 04/19/20 06:00 AM EDT

This Week in Mislabeled Product for Week Ending April 25, 2020

Undeclared Suflites in Compot - ROYAL INTERNATIONAL TRADING Inc of Brooklyn, NY is recalling its 500g (17.63oz) packages of "TAINY BOCTOKA DRY FRUITS MIX COMPOT APPLE" because they contain undeclared sulfites. The recall was initiated after routine sampling be New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors and subsequent analysis by Food Laboratory personnel revealed the presence of sulfites in the500g (17.63oz) packages of "TAINY BOCTOKA DRY FRUITS MIX COMPOT APPLE" which were not declared on the label.

Undeclared Sulfites in Juice - Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is recalling a single production lot of 5.5oz cans of Pink Lite Cranberry Juice Drink (listed below) because it may contain undeclared sulfites, which were erroneously added by a contract manufacturer. Sulfites are a common preservative added to many food products; however, consumers who have sensitivity to sulfites run the risk of allergic reactions if consumed.

Flounder Missing Allergens - Buckhead Meat and Seafood of Houston, Inc., a Sysco Company, is voluntarily recalling a small quantity of frozen Flounder Stuffed with Seafood because its labeling inadvertently did not identify the following allergens in the product: wheat, soy, milk, fish, and eggs.

European Study on Listeria Outbreak Linked to Frozen Vegetables

A piece by the European Food Safety Authority on Listeria issues with blanched and frozen vegetables shows the importance of Listeria control in the post-processing environment. Also shows that the 100/gm level for Listeria may have issues. This comes after a long, ongoing "multi‐country outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes ST6 that caused 53 cases and 10 deaths over the period 2015–2018, was linked in 2018 to frozen vegetables."
We have known both of these items for some time.  With blanched vegetables, we are never sure the consumer is going to properly handle and cook the vegetables.  Therefore, low levels of Listeria can be problematic even if the product will not support growth during frozen storage.

In the US, as part of the Preventive Controls for Human Foods regulation, this is controlled as part of  the Sanitation Preventive Controls if that product is considered ready-to-eat.  And we have a zero-tolerance policy.

European Food Safety Authority
EFSA Journal
https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2020.6092
The public health risk posed by Listeria monocytogenes in frozen fruit and vegetables including herbs, blanched during processing

Chipotle Agrees to $25 Million Fine for Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

 As part of the series of foodborne illness outbreaks linked to Chipotle, the company has agreed to pay 25 million fine according to the US Department of Justice.  As part of the agreement, the company "agreed to a three-year deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) that will allow it to avoid conviction if it complies with an improved food safety program."

"Chipotle was implicated in at least five foodborne illness outbreaks between 2015 and 2018 connected to restaurants in the Los Angeles area, Boston, Virginia and Ohio. These incidents primarily stemmed from store-level employees’ failure to follow company food safety protocols at company-owned restaurants, including a Chipotle policy requiring the exclusion of employees who were sick or recently had been sick."

Although the company had a substantial loss in stock value along with drop in sales, they have been doing well as of recent.  "Chipotle reported financial results for its fiscal first quarter, clocking a 7.8% increase in revenue, to $1.4 billion, compared with the same period a year ago. Comparable restaurant sales increased 3.3%, even with a 1.4% decrease in the number of transactions, and inspite of a 16.0% decline in comparable restaurant sales in the month of March."

Meatingplace.com
Industry News - AM
https://www.meatingplace.com/Industry/News/Details/91665
Chipotle to pay $25M to settle food safety case
By Lisa M. Keefe on 4/22/2020

CDC MMWR - An Increase in Chemical Contamination Issues Associated with Cleaning Chemicals During COVID-19 Pandemic

There has been a marked increase in the number of chemical contamination issues since March 2020 due to misuse of chemical cleaners and disinfectants due in large part to consumers reacting to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Young children represented a large percentage of the cases.  Bleaches accounted for the largest percentage increase among cleaners whereas nonalcohol disinfectants and hand sanitizers accounted for the largest percentages of the increase among disinfectants.  Inhalation represented the largest percentage increase for exposure routes.

"The daily number of calls to poison centers increased sharply at the beginning of March 2020 for exposures to both cleaners and disinfectants (Figure). The increase in total calls was seen across all age groups; however, exposures among children aged ≤5 years consistently represented a large percentage of total calls in the 3-month study period for each year (range = 39.9%– 47.3%) (Table). Further analysis of the increase in calls from 2019 to 2020 (3,137 for cleaners, 4,591 for disinfectants), showed that among all cleaner categories, bleaches accounted for the largest percentage of the increase (1,949; 62.1%), whereas nonalcohol disinfectants (1,684; 36.7%) and hand sanitizers (1,684; 36.7%) accounted for the largest percentages of the increase among disinfectant categories. Inhalation represented the largest percentage increase from 2019 to 2020 among all exposure routes, with an increase of 35.3% (from 4,713 to 6,379) for all cleaners and an increase of 108.8% (from 569 to 1,188) for all disinfectants.

The two cases used to showcase the issue:

1. "An adult woman heard on the news to clean all recently purchased groceries before consuming them. She filled a sink with a mixture of 10% bleach solution, vinegar, and hot water, and soaked her produce. While cleaning her other groceries, she noted a noxious smell described as “chlorine” in her kitchen. She developed difficulty breathing, coughing, and wheezing, and called 911." 
2. "A preschool-aged child was found unresponsive at home and transported to the ED via ambulance. A 64-ounce bottle of ethanol-based hand sanitizer was found open on the kitchen table. According to her family, she became dizzy after ingesting an unknown amount, fell and hit her head. She vomited while being transported to the ED, where she was poorly responsive. Her blood alcohol level was elevated at 273 mg/dL (most state laws define a limit of 80 mg/dL for driving under the influence); neuroimaging did not indicate traumatic injuries."

Keys:

• Do not mix chemicals
• Follow label instructions
• Keep chemcials out of the reach of children (or adults who don't read instructions).

CDC MMWR

Cleaning and Disinfectant Chemical Exposures and Temporal Associations with COVID-19 — National Poison Data System, United States, January 1, 2020– March 31, 2020