Protein Bar Recalled After Contract Laboratory Finds Pathogenic E. coli

Built Brands, LLC. of American Fork, UT, is recalling 4,196 individual bars of its “Banana Cream Pie Puffs” protein bar because they have the potential to be contaminated with pathogenic Escherichia coli. Although the exact strain has yet to be determined customers must not eat this product as it may pose a serious health risk.  The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing conducted by an accredited third-party laboratory at the request of Built Brands detected the presence of Escherichia coli.

Let's take a look at the ingredients from Company website:

Nothing here shouts E. coli as a hazard...maybe the Collagen Protein, but that should have received ample process.  Best to check that strain against ones used in the laboratory.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/built-brands-voluntarily-recalls-banana-cream-pie-puffs-protein-bar-because-possible-health-risk
Built Brands Voluntarily Recalls "Banana Cream Pie Puffs" Protein Bar Because of a Possible Health Risk
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  June 10, 2022
FDA Publish Date:  June 14, 2022
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Potential Pathogenic E. Coli
Company Name:  Built Brands, LLC
Brand Name:  Built
Product Description:  Protein Bar – Banana Cream Pie Puffs

Sandwiches Recalled After Not Declaring Egg Allergen Contained in the Mayonnaise

Gourmondo Co. of Seattle, WA is recalling “Asparagus & Feta Sandwiches” Net Weight 11.04 oz / 313 g with best bv dates of 6/5 and 6/7, due to undeclared egg (allergen). During a routine inspection, WSDA discovered that a printing error on the stickers for the “Asparagus and Feta Sandwich” did not contain the sub ingredients for “mayonnaise”, one of which being whole eggs. Eggs were also omitted in the list of allergens on the mislabeled stickers.

This is a label design issue where one of ingredients, mayonnaise, was not broken down to show the sub ingredients, and with that, egg.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/gourmondo-cafes-and-catering-co-issues-allergy-alert-undeclared-egg-asparagus-and-feta-sandwich

Gourmondo Cafes and Catering Co. Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Egg in Asparagus and Feta Sandwich

Summary
Company Announcement Date:  June 09, 2022
FDA Publish Date:  June 09, 2022
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared eggs
Company Name:  Gourmondo Co.
Brand Name:  Gourmondo Co.
Product Description:  Asparagus & Feta Sandwiches

Beer Recalled After Consumer Videos Show Product Thick Like Snot

Molson Coors is recalling Coors Light and Keystone Light beer because of quality reasons...it appears as a viscous liquid. While the report states that it is not a safety issues, there is something is clearly wrong.


Food & Wine
https://www.foodandwine.com/news/coors-keystone-light-beer-can-recall-2022
Some Coors Light and Keystone Light Cans Are Being Pulled from Store Shelves

The voluntary withdrawal seems to coincide with a social media videos showing cans of Coors Light and Keystone light pouring a thick-looking liquid.

Cost of Jif Peanut Butter Recall

 According to the article Jif recall may cost Smucker $125M written in Food Dive, the Jif peanut butter recall may cost the company $125 million in product recovery, manufacturing downtime, and consumer refunds.  The company predicts the recall will stubract @5 from total sales.  "Jif is the nation’s biggest peanut butter brand, with 117.3 million people eating it in 2020, according to statistics compiled by Statista, the U.S. Census Bureau and Simmons National Consumers Survey, reported by Eat This, Not That. Nearly three in 10 of those consumers — more than 33.5 million Americans — ate at least one jar of Jif peanut butter that year."  The recalled product was manufactured in their Lexington faculty, one of the largest peanut butter producing plants in world.

Minn Establishment Recalls RTE Salads After Discovering Listeria in a Sample

Northern Tier Bakery, LLC, a St. Paul Park, Minn. establishment, is recalling approximately 905 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) salad products that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes.  The problem was discovered when the company notified FSIS that the firm’s product sampling resulted in a positive for Listeria monocytogenes.  There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/northern-tier-bakery-llc-recalls-ready-eat-salad-products-due-possible-listeria
Northern Tier Bakery, LLC Recalls Ready-To-Eat Salad Products Due to Possible Listeria Contamination
NORTHERN TIER BAKERY, LLC

FSIS Announcement

WASHINGTON, June 9, 2022 – Northern Tier Bakery, LLC, a St. Paul Park, Minn. establishment, is recalling approximately 905 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) salad products that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

Monkeypox in the US - CDC Reports

CDC issued an Outbreak Report on Monkeypox in the US.  To this point in time, there have been 17 cases in 9 states.

The virus belongs to the family Poxviridae which are generally enveloped (externally although the intracellular mature virion form of the virus, which contains different envelope, is also infectious.) " The virion is exceptionally large, its size is around 200 nm in diameter and 300 nm in length and carries its genome in a single, linear, double-stranded segment of DNA"

• In humans, the symptoms of monkeypox are similar to but milder than the symptoms of smallpox. Monkeypox begins with fever, headache, muscle aches, and exhaustion. The main difference between symptoms of smallpox and monkeypox is that monkeypox causes lymph nodes to swell (lymphadenopathy) while smallpox does not.
• The incubation period (time from infection to symptoms) for monkeypox is usually 7−14 days but can range from 5−21 days.
• Within 1 to 3 days (sometimes longer) after the appearance of fever, the patient develops a rash, often beginning on the face then spreading to other parts of the body.
• Lesions progress through the following stages before falling off:
• The illness typically lasts for 2−4 weeks
• Human-to-human transmission occurs by direct contact with infected body fluids or lesions, via infectious fomites, or through respiratory secretions, that typically require prolonged interaction
• A person is considered infectious from the onset of illness until all lesions have crusted over, those crusts have separated, and a fresh layer of healthy skin has formed under the crust
• Prevention - Avoid contact with animals or humans that could harbor the virus (including animals that are sick or that have been found dead in areas where monkeypox occurs).
• Avoid contact with any materials, such as bedding, that has been in contact with a sick animal.
• Isolate infected patients from others who could be at risk for infection.
• Practice good hand hygiene after contact with infected animals or humans. For example, washing your hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Use personal protective equipment (PPE) when caring for patients.

FDA Issues Warning Letter to Juice Processor for HACCP Related Items

FDA issued a Warning Letter to a juice processor for issues associated with their HACCP plan.  One was the failure to take appropriate corrective action to a process deviation, and the other was inadequate validation of their process.

1)  The firm failed to take corrective actions when a deviation from a critical limit occurred during the manufacture of cold pressed citrus juice - 

"Review of your (b)(4) recording charts that monitor the (b)(4) critical limit of your citrus fruit (b)(4) treatment that uses (b)(4) to achieve a minimum 5-log reduction in the pertinent microorganism, revealed deviations from the critical limits identified in your Juice HACCP plan for cold pressed citrus juice with no corrective actions on November 11, 12, 15, and 16, 2021."

2) The firm did not validate that the HACCP plan is adequate to control food hazards when a change in the process occurred that could have affected the hazard analysis or altered the HACCP plan in any way, as required by 21 CFR 120.11(b). 

"Specifically, you had an outside laboratory perform a process validation study, dated March 21, 2021, to determine whether the (b)(4) is an effective (b)(4) treatment critical control point (CCP) to achieve a minimum 5-log reduction for the control of (b)(4). The validation concluded that (b)(4) provides a minimum 5-log reduction in lemons, mandarins, limes, and oranges; a (b)(4) is required for grapefruit. The validation further stated that verification of the (b)(4) is an important part of this CCP. Your firm started producing (b)(4) treated citrus juice in April 2021 without adequate verification of the (b)(4) treatment as performed at your facility."

https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/russ-davis-wholesale-inc-628195-04282022
WARNING LETTER

Russ Davis Wholesale Inc
MARCS-CMS 628195 — APRIL 28, 2022

FDA Issues Warning Letters to Two Foreign Seafood Processors

FDA issued Warning Letters to two seafood processors, both located in China.  

One processor, Hainan Golden Spring Foods Co. Ltd., failed to do the appropriate level of drug testing on tilapia grown in aquaculture systems (I personally avoid eating tilapia because of these types of issues.)
The other firm, Zhoushan Haichang Co. Ltd, did not have a HACCP plan in place for swimming crab.

https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/hainan-golden-spring-foods-co-ltd-629972-05042022
WARNING LETTER

Hainan Golden Spring Foods Co. Ltd.
MARCS-CMS 629972 — MAY 04, 2022

Additional Companies Issue Recalls After Using Recalled JIF Peanut Butter

These companies issued recalls for thier products where JIF peanut butter was used.  These come more than two weeks after the JIF peanut butter was initially recalled.

Taharka Brothers Ice Cream of Baltimore, Maryland is recalling its Peanut Butter Cup ice cream, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Affected Peanut Butter Cup ice cream was distributed between 03/01/2022 and 05/28/2022 to the Maryland and DC area through grocery stores, scoop shops, restaurants, and direct to consumer delivery. JIF brand peanut butter was used in the production of Peanut Butter Cup ice cream until 05/28/2022 and distributed to multiple retailers.

F&S Produce Co of Vineland, NJ is recalling a limited quantity of Protein Power Snack, because it contains a cup of 0.75oz JIF peanut butter which has the potential of being contaminated with Salmonella.

Prairie City Bakery of Vernon Hills, IL is voluntarily recalling select lots of Prairie City Bakery® Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ooey Gooey Butter Cake. The product contains Jif® peanut butter that was voluntarily recalled by the J.M. Smucker company on May 20, 2022, due to the potential for Salmonella contamination.