Wrong Packaging of Bread Lead to Recall For Unlabeled Milk Allergen

Flowers Foods, Inc. (NYSE: FLO) is voluntarily recalling 3,000 loaves of Nature’s Own Honey Wheat bread sold in six states due to the presence of undeclared milk. The recall was initiated after discovering that loaves of Nature’s Own Butterbread containing milk were inadvertently packaged in Nature’s Own Honey Wheat bread packaging, which does not include milk in the ingredient statement.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/flowers-foods-issues-voluntary-recall-limited-quantity-natures-own-honey-wheat-bread-sold-six-states
Flowers Foods Issues Voluntary Recall of a Limited Quantity of Nature’s Own Honey Wheat Bread Sold in Six States Due to the Presence of Undeclared Milk
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  December 17, 2021
FDA Publish Date:  December 20, 2021
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared Milk
Company Name:  Flowers Foods, Inc.
Brand Name:  Nature’s Own
Product Description:  Honey Wheat Bread (Single and 2 Pack)

WA Bakery Recalls Bread Items for Unlabeled Allergens

Bosket Bread Company LLC of Leavenworth, Washington is recalling 54 units total of the 15 bread products, because it may contain undeclared soy, wheat, milk, sesame, or egg.  Bosket Bread’s affected products were distributed to Dan’s Food Market, Sage Mt. Foods, and Rhubarb Market in Leavenworth, WA and Wenatchee, WA.   It appears that they did not have any allergen labeling on the packages...I guess they missed the memo.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/bosket-bread-company-issues-allergy-alert-undeclared-soy-wheat-milk-sesame-egg-bread
Bosket Bread Company Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Soy, Wheat, Milk, Sesame, Egg in Bread
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  December 18, 2021
FDA Publish Date:  December 18, 2021
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared soy, wheat, milk, sesame, or egg.
Company Name:  Bosket Bread Company
Brand Name:  Bosket Bread
Product Description:  Bread products

Pints of Butter Almond Ice Cream Pints Recalled Due to Undeclared Soy and Wheat Due to Container Mix-up

Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA) announces the immediate recall of one lot of Howling Cow Butter Almond Ice Cream Pints due to undeclared soy and wheat.  The issue was discovered when MVDA was notified by consumers that containers of the Howling Cow Butter Almond Ice Cream contained Cookie Dough Ice Cream. 

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/voluntary-recall-howling-cow-butter-almond-ice-cream-due-undeclared-soy-and-wheat

Voluntary Recall of Howling Cow Butter Almond Ice Cream Due to Undeclared Soy and Wheat
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  December 11, 2021
FDA Publish Date:  December 13, 2021
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared Soy, Wheat
Company Name:  Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association
Band Name: Howling Cow
Product Description:  Howling Cow Butter Almond Ice Cream Pints

Pepperoni Product Recalled After Testing Finds B. cereus Issue

Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp., doing business as Margherita Meats, Inc., an Omaha, Neb. establishment, is recalling approximately 10,990 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) pepperoni products that may be adulterated with Bacillus cereus (B. cereus). The problem was discovered when the Department of Defense notified FSIS that they found B. cereus during routine product testing.

This is a bit interesting because one would expect to find some B. cereus in cooked meat products. B. cereus is a sporeformer and can be found in raw meat and probably more so in the spices. As a sporeformer, the spores of this organism would survive the heat processes commonly used for cooked meat products (thus the need for rapid cooling afterwards) and with pepperoni, one would not expect limited growth in the product due to antimicrobial properties (e.g., low Aw, lower pH, chemical preservatives). 

So was the number of organisms high (as determine though enumeration) or was the specification on the product tight with regard to B. cereus (absence/sample).?

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/smithfield-packaged-meats-corp.-dba-margherita-meats-inc.-recalls-pepperoni-products
Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp. Dba Margherita Meats Inc. Recalls Pepperoni Products Due To Possible Bacillus Cereus Contamination
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2021 – Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp., doing business as Margherita Meats, Inc., an Omaha, Neb. establishment, is recalling approximately 10,990 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) pepperoni products that may be adulterated with Bacillus cereus (B. cereus), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

MI Establishment Expands Recall of RTE Pork and Pepperoni Product For Potential Listeria Contamination Risk

Alexander & Hornung expanded their recall of fully cooked ham and pepperoni products for potential Listeria contamination.  The recall was  initially posted on Dec 5th, 2021 for 234,391 pounds of product, but now is close to ten times that amount, or 2,320,774 pounds.  The recall was first issued when  the company notified FSIS that product sampling reported positive Listeria monocytogenes results.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/alexander-hornung-recalls-fully-cooked-pork-products-due-possible-listeria
Alexander & Hornung Recalls Fully Cooked Pork Products Due to Possible Listeria Contamination
FSIS Announcement

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dec. 11, 2021: This product recall has been expanded from 234,391 pounds to 2,320,774 pounds, with an expanded list of fully cooked ham and pepperoni products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The expanded list of products are highlighted in the product list found below, as well as highlighted updates to sell by dates.

Dried Apricots Recalled for Undeclared Sulfites

Bokhary Foods Inc. (d.b.a EKTA Foods) of Lawrence, MA is recalling GODAVARI brand dried apricots, because they may contain undeclared sulfites.  The recall was initiated after routine sampling at retail by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets revealed the presence of sulfites in the 14oz packages of GODAVARI brand dried apricots, which were not declared on the la

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/bokhary-foods-inc-dba-ekta-foods-issues-alert-undeclared-sulfites-godavari-dried-apricots
Bokhary Foods Inc. (d.b.a EKTA Foods) Issues Alert on Undeclared Sulfites in Godavari Dried Apricots
Summary
Company Announcement Date: December 10, 2021
FDA Publish Date:  December 10, 2021
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared Sulfites
Company Name:  Bokhary Foods Inc.
Brand Name:  GODAVARI
Product Description:  Dried Apricots

FDA Warning Letter - VA Hummus Manufacturing Facility

FDA conducted an inspection of Sabra's ready-to-eat (RTE) hummus manufacturing facility located at in South Chesterfield, Virginia. The inspection was initiated after "FDA Investigators collected a sample of Sabra Classic Hummus from retail and subsequent testing revealed the sample contained Salmonella enterica serovar Havana Group G (hereinafter Salmonella Havana). "  A recall of the product was initiated after being notified by FDA in March 26, 2021.

The Hazard Analysis was not properly completed -  FDA stated, the company did "not clearly indicate whether you determined that a hazard you have identified and evaluated requires a preventive control (except at limited steps where you have identified a CCP). You include an evaluation of identified potential hazards to assess “likelihood/severity” and their specific “risk” (e.g., “low risk,” “high risk”), but your forms do not specifically indicate whether you have determined that a hazard requires a preventive control. Your hazard analysis worksheets, under the column header “Specific control measure to eliminate or acceptably reduce the hazard,” list measures that you call “Pre-Requisite Programs.”....some of the prerequisite programs listed are verification activities rather than preventive control measures for specific hazards (e.g., COA verification, test ingredient). "

The HA "did not clearly indicate whether you determined that pathogens such as Salmonella in your tahini ingredient are a hazard requiring a preventive control. Your facility manufactures various RTE hummus products using ingredients such as tahini that are considered RTE and do not undergo further processing in your facility to significantly minimize pathogens prior to inclusion into your finished product."  "Tahini has a known history of contamination with Salmonella, and you should have identified it as a hazard that requires a preventive control, i.e., a supply-chain control, as required by 21 CFR 117.405(a)(1) for a hazard that is controlled by a supplier. It is not clear whether your evaluation of the hazards at the tahini receiving step determined the need for required preventive controls."

The company "did not identify and evaluate whether environmental pathogens are a hazard requiring a preventive control, in accordance with 21 CFR 117.130(c)(ii). You manufacture RTE food products (multiple varieties of hummus) that are exposed to the environment at filling where the food could be contaminated with environmental pathogens, such as L. monocytogenes or Salmonella, and the food does not receive a treatment or otherwise include a control measure (such as a formulation lethal to the pathogen) that would significantly minimize the pathogen."

Other issues included issues with verification and verification actions associated with the environmental monitoring program and some GMP items.

https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/sabra-dipping-company-llc-615938-12012021
Sabra Dipping Company, LLC
MARCS-CMS 615938 — DECEMBER 01, 2021

England - Chef Responsible for Death of Elderly Woman Due to Improperly Handled Meat in Shepperd's Pie

In England, a Chef was charged in the death of one elderly woman and sickness in 31 others due to his shoddy handling of meat used in a shepperd's pie.  “Croucher was the chef that night. The mince was not cooked properly and was placed into a pan with iced water. Croucher needed to leave, so put the mince in cling film and put it in the fridge overnight. Having left it, he cooked it again and added warm mashed potato. He did not take the temperature when it was served.”

The pathogenic organism was Clostridium perfringens.  Generally, cases involving this organism occur when product like meat are temperature abused, allowing the organism to grow in the food product.  "In most instances, the actual cause of poisoning by this organism is temperature abuse of cooked

foods. Small numbers of the organism often are present after the food is cooked, due to

germination of its spores, which can survive high heat and can multiply rapidly as a result of a

fast doubling time (<10 minutes for vegetative cells), depending on temperature and food matrix.

Therefore, during cool-down (109-113°F) and storage of prepared foods, this organism can reach

levels that cause food poisoning much more quickly than can other bacteria." Disease results from ingestion of large numbers of C. perfringens  (FDA).

The Independent

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/food-poisoning-death-crewe-arms-b1972384.html
Pub chef sentenced after under-cooked shepherd’s pie kills woman and leaves 31 ill

SD Firm Recalls Chicken Salad Croissants for Allergen Labeling Issue

Dakota Toms of Corsica, SD is recalling Chicken Salad Croissant, because it may contain undeclared EGG and MILK allergen.  The recall was initiated after it was discovered that product containing egg and milk was distributed in packaging that did not reveal the presence of egg and milk. Subsequent investigation indicates the problem was caused by a temporary breakdown in the production and packaging processes.


https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/dakota-toms-issues-allergy-alert-undeclared-egg-and-milk-chicken-salad-croissant
Dakota Toms Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Egg and Milk in Chicken Salad Croissant
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  December 07, 2021
FDA Publish Date:  December 07, 2021
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared egg and milk
Company Name:  Dakota Toms
Brand Name:  Dakota Toms
Product Description:  Chicken Salad Croissant