FDA Warning Letters - Two Importers Without FSVP For Imported Goods

FDA issued two Warning Letters this week to food importer for lack of FSVP programs for items that they were importing for sale in the USA.

Tiao Peng Trading, Inc.of Hayward, CA did not have an FSVP for these imported items a) Canned black beans, canned red beans, and canned fruit, b) Fish snack foods, and  c)Custard cake.  They also did bit gave documentation that thermally processed low‐acid foods packaged in hermetically sealed containers (low-acid canned foods) was produced in accordance with Low Acid Food Requirements (21 CFR part 113).

Express Trading International Inc.of San Diego did not have an FSVP for a) Canned Coconut Milk and b)  Aloe Vera Drink Pomegranate.

FSVP (Foreign Supplier Verification Program) are required by importers to demonstrate that product had been produced to US food safety standards.


FDA Warning Letter
https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/tiao-peng-trading-inc-603865-05192020
Tiao Peng Trading, Inc.
MARCS-CMS 603865 — May 19, 2020

Does The Amount of COVID Virus Impact Severity - The Importance of Infecting Dose or Viral Load

There has not been much written about the impact of infecting dose  - the amount of virus (viral load) that a person encounters during an infection event - has on severity of illness.  Or whether a high infecting dose (high viral load received when infected) is more likely to lead to illness in someone not considered high risk.  But that concept would certainly make sense.  A person being infected with hundreds of thousands of viral particles at one time (and all contained in a aerosolized droplet) would be harder for the body to fend off than a few viral particles, and this would also lead to a shorter time needed to reach a critical mass in the body.

While this is not an easy to conduct research, a group at Oxford discusses viral load with regard to healthcare workers based upon case histories....cases where those people working with those who are seriously sick and thus these workers are more likely to encounter high loads of virus spewed out by the highly infected.  The paper shows a number of cases where healthcare workers become sick themselves when working with severely ill.

Could this be why in some cases where those people who become infected and end up at the point of hospitalization, but are seemingly in good immune shape?  Could they have taken in a viral load so large it just overcomes the body's defenses, or in this case, triggers that cytokine storm?

Interesting, a Chinese study found that infected people had the highest viral load in their throat before the onset of symptoms.

More reason for everyone to wear masks.  Masks can reduce how much virus a person emits and then can reduce the amount of virus a healthy person takes in.  People will argue that cotton masks do not prevent a virus from getting through...and that is not the goal.  The goal is reduction.

https://covid19-evidence.paho.org/handle/20.500.12663/1368
SARS-CoV-2 viral load and the severity of COVID-19

CDC - Studies on COVID Seroprevalence Indicate Higher Rates of Past Infection

Two reports were posted by CDC MMWR that look at how many people may have actually been infected with the virus versus cases that are actually reported.  By looking at seroprevalence, whether people had antibodies to the virus, both studies showed that at the time of sampling, the actual level or percent of people infected is far higher than what what had actually been reported.   The Indiana study showed that the actual rate may be close to 10 times higher than reported.

• These studies were conducted in late April / early May, and so, if this same rate of non-reported cases of infection is similar, than we do have a much larger population that has encountered the virus.
• These studies show that the mortality rate is lower when looking at the total number of actual cases versus reported.
• They do not know for sure that the presence of antibodies means the people are actually immune.
• The issue of asymptomatic people spreading the virus is a concern, so precautions like mask wearing and social distancing still must be in place.  Protection of high risk populations is also a must.

It is unfortunate that we do not have more information regarding actual rate of infection.  Knowing this would allow better decision making.  This could impact school and business operations.

However, mitigation strategies are still important.  Even though a larger percentage of the population may be infected than we know, there is even a larger percentage that has not been infected.

At this point, reporting negative cases of current infection tells us little.  Not to say testing is not important, but reporting how many people tested negative is not as important as percent positives there are.  Throw in the length of time it is taking to get results back, in same cases 3 to 7 days...or even longer, then the benefit of testing drops, and the reporting becomes less meaningful.

Have you already been infected?

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6929e1.htm
Population Point Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection Based on a Statewide Random Sample — Indiana, April 25–29, 2020
Early Release / July 21, 2020 / 69

Nasty - Fancy LA Restaurant Scrapes Mold Off of Jams

An LA restaurant was called out for being nasty, including scrapping off mold from improperly preserved jams.   In an LA Times report, 

"Most prominent among the allegations was the claim that Koslow had instructed employees to scrape layers of mold from refrigerated jam buckets, serving the remainder to guests at the restaurant or packaging it in jars for retail distribution"

The owner was evidently a high flyer in the LA restaurant scene, and had taken a Master Food Preserver class.  She even wrote a cookbook on making jams?

Koslow has been nominated for a James Beard Award for her work at Sqirl and was in the second class of the Master Food Preserver cohort in Los Angeles, a program run by the University of California’s Cooperative Extension. She is slated to release her second cookbook, covering the topic of jam making, on July 21.

“All of the retail jam we have ever sold — which is to say the jam in jars that is bought from us and at stores — is pasteurized and canned with the “hot pack” method that makes the growth of mold basically impossible. That same recipe is used in the restaurant, but because the jam is low in sugar and we don’t use chemicals or preservatives, there were occasional instances where mold would develop on the surface."

"The restaurant’s social media statement said that the process for dealing with mold growth was done “under the guidance of preservation mentors and experts like Dr. Patrick Hickey, by discarding jam several inches below the mold, or by discarding containers altogether.”

When contacted, Dr. Hickey backed out of that claim.    In the end, not a good idea to scrape mold off of food surfaces.

The restaurant was said to also have sanitary issues in addition to the mold scraping, including poor cleanliness and vermin.

LA Times
https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-07-14/sqirl-moldy-jam-safety-allegations
Sqirl owner Jessica Koslow addresses moldy jam and food safety allegations as former employees speak out

By GARRETT SNYDERSTAFF WRITER
JULY 14, 20203 AM

This Week in Mislabeled Products for Week Ending July 17, 2020

Printing Error on Packaging Results in Missed Milk - Happy Colon Foods, LLC of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is recalling Happy Colon YUM Shortbread Cookie and Happy Colon Mmmm Chocolate Chip Cookie, because they may contain undeclared milk.  The recall was initiated after it was discovered that Happy Colon YUM Shortbread Cookies and Happy Colon Mmmm Chocolate Chip Cookies containing milk were distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of milk. Subsequent investigation indicates the problem was caused by a printing error on labeling.

Undeclared Nuts in Product - Operational or Supplier Issue?  Flagstone Foods LLC, of Robersonville, NC, is recalling its 16-ounce packages of Wegmans Pecan Blend Trail Mix because they may contain undeclared almonds and walnuts. The recall was initiated after a customer notified the firm that the product contained almonds and walnuts that are not listed in the ingredient statement on the packaging.

This Week in Mislabeled Allergens for Week Ending July 11, 2020

Old Formulation in New Package that Misses Sesame Seed - KIND Healthy Snacks (KIND) is voluntarily recalling a limited number of Oats & Honey Granola with Toasted Coconut pouches due to the presence of sesame seeds, which is not listed as an ingredient in the product. The label does list "sesame seeds" under the "May Contain" statement. KIND recently decided to transition away from using sesame seeds in its Oats & Honey Granola recipe. This limited recall was initiated after KIND discovered that the product's previous recipe was used and placed into new packaging that did not disclose sesame seeds as an ingredient. (The product is mislabeled, although Sesame Seed is not currently included in the allergens that have to be identified on the label)

FDA and CDC Provide Update on Cyclospora Outbreak Linked to Salad with Additional Cases Reported

FDA and CDC updated the ongoing Cyclospora Outbreak linked to Fresh Express's Illinois facility.  In the last update regarding this outbreak issued on June 29, there were 206 cases.  With this latest reporting, there are now 509 cases.  While product had been recalled, the latest sell-by-date was July 14th.  Work continues to make sure all of the product is off of the shelf.

https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-cyclospora-bagged-salads-june-2020
Outbreak Investigation of Cyclospora: Bagged Salads (June 2020)
FDA’s traceback investigation continues. CDC reports additional cases.
Case Counts
Total Illnesses: 509
Hospitalizations: 33
Deaths: 0
Illness Onset Date Range: 5/11/2020 – 7/1/2020
States with Cases: IA (160), IL (151), KS (5), MN (63), MO (46), NE (48), ND (6), WI (30)

After Watching a Food Safety Video, Some People Still Don't Get It

A research article in J. Food Protection looks at trying to get more people to use a thermometer when cooking ground turkey patties. Yep, if people watch a 3 minute USDA food safety video, they were more likely to use a thermometer.

 "Participants who viewed the video were twice as likely to use a thermometer to check the doneness of the turkey patties compared with the participants who were not exposed to the video (75 versus 34%) and twice as likely to place the thermometer in the correct location (52 versus 23%). Sixty-seven percent of participants who watched the video reported that it influenced their behavior in the kitchen.

I think the kicker is the other side of this....in that 25% of the people who watch the video were still not going to use a thermometer, and if they did 48% were not going to do it correctly.  And 33% were not influenced at all regarding kitchen behavior.  Probably the same people who don't wear masks.

https://meridian.allenpress.com/jfp/article-abstract/83/7/1167/426199/An-Observational-Study-of-Thermometer-Use-by?redirectedFrom=fulltext
An Observational Study of Thermometer Use by Consumers When Preparing Ground Turkey Patties
MINH DUONG; ELLEN THOMAS SHUMAKER; SHERYL C CATES; LISA SHELLEY; LYDIA GOODSON; CHRISTOPHER BERNSTEIN; AARON LAVALLEE; MARGARET KIRCHNER; REBECCA GOULTER; LEE-ANN JAYKUS; BENJAMIN CHAPMAN
J Food Prot (2020) 83 (7): 1167–1174.
https://doi.org/10.4315/JFP-19-594

Halloween Planning in the Time of COVID

An article in AdAge discusses a candy makers plan for Halloween 2020 considering we have a COVID issue.  For candy makers, Halloween represents an event that is planned for years in advance, and now, the COVID issue throws a wrench into the whole process.

AdAge
https://adage.com/article/podcast-marketers-brief/mars-wrigley-chief-halloween-officer-tim-lebel-dishes-years-holiday-planning/2266336
Mars Wrigley Chief Halloween Officer Tim LeBel dishes on this year's holiday planning
With COVID-19 reshaping shopping and gatherings months before Halloween, candy marketers must prepare for one of their biggest times of the year
     
By Jessica Wohl. Published on July 08, 2020.