CA Winery Forced to Destroy Wine Illegally Aged in the Ocean

A California winery had to destroy 2,000 bottles of ocean-aged wine (aging bottles of wine in the ocean) after found guilty for...never getting permission to put wine bottles in the ocean, and then selling wine without proper licensing.

People were paying $500 per bottle for this wine.  "In an interview with the Santa Barbara Independent, Hahn was still hopeful that Ocean Fathoms could eventually return — and get back to aging its wines in the ocean (with the proper permits this time). “The demand has never been higher,” he told the outlet. “The environment is perfect, and it’s a nice day trip [to Santa Barbara].” "


Wine and Spirits
A California Wine Company Had to Destroy 2,000 Bottles of Wine After Illegally Aging Them at the Bottom of the Ocean
Story by Jelisa Castrodale •
8/15/23

On its website, California wine company Ocean Fathoms praises the waters of the Santa Barbara channel as “the perfect environment” for aging its wines. “[T]he set of special characteristics of the Channel Islands’ environment gives Ocean Fathoms a superior product,” the company claims, before praising the abundant underwater flora and fauna that attach itself to each bottle.

Maine Firm Recalls Peanut Butter Malt Balls After Incorrect Ingredient Label Applied

Stonewall Kitchen of York, Maine is recalling a limited amount of their Peanut Butter Maltballs (6oz.) because the product contains undeclared allergens: Soy, Wheat, Peanuts.  The issue was discovered by a Stonewall Kitchen store staff member.  From the picture posted on the FDA website, it appears the back ingredient label was incorrect in that it did not match the front label or more importantly, the product inside the package.

This rookie mistake is way too common.  An Allergen Preventive Control for label application would need to implement robust monitoring and verification of this operation.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/stonewall-kitchen-issues-allergy-alert-undeclared-soy-wheat-and-peanuts-peanut-butter-maltballs-6oz
Stonewall Kitchen Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Soy, Wheat, and Peanuts in Peanut Butter Maltballs (6oz.)
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  August 14, 2023
FDA Publish Date:  August 14, 2023
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared soy, wheat, peanut allergens
Company Name:  Stonewall Kitchen
Brand Name:  Stonewall Kitchen
Product Description:  Peanut Butter Maltballs

NJ Establishment Recalls Meat Products Produced Without Inspection

E.N.A. Meat Packing Inc., a Paterson, N.J. establishment, is recalling approximately 58,721 pounds of frozen, raw halal beef tripe, beef feet, and lamb tripe products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection.  The problem was discovered during FSIS surveillance activities. FSIS determined that the firm produced the beef and lamb products without the benefit of federal inspection.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/e-n-a--meat-packing-inc--recalls-frozen-raw-beef-and-lamb-products-produced-without
E.N.A. Meat Packing Inc. Recalls Frozen, Raw Beef and Lamb Products Produced Without Benefit of Inspection
E.N.A. MEAT PACKING INC.

FSIS Announcement

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2023 – E.N.A. Meat Packing Inc., a Paterson, N.J. establishment, is recalling approximately 58,721 pounds of frozen, raw halal beef tripe, beef feet, and lamb tripe products that were produced without the benefit of federal inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

Chocolate Cookie Dough Recalled for Foreign Material - Wood Fragments

Nestlé USA is initiating a voluntary recall of a limited quantity of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough “break and bake” Bar (16.5 oz) products due to the potential presence of wood fragments.  Nestle stated that they "are confident that this is an isolated issue and we have taken action to address."  

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/nestle-usa-announces-voluntary-recall-limited-quantity-nestler-toll-houser-chocolate-chip-cookie
Nestlé USA Announces Voluntary Recall of Limited Quantity of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar (16.5 Oz) Due to Potential Presence of Foreign Material
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  August 10, 2023
FDA Publish Date:  August 11, 2023
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Potential presence of wood fragments
Company Name:  Nestle USA
Brand Name:  NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE®
Product Description:  Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

Company Announcement

ARLINGTON, VA., August 10, 2023 — Nestlé USA is initiating a voluntary recall of a limited quantity of NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough “break and bake” Bar (16.5 oz) products due to the potential presence of wood fragments.

Soup Mix Packets Recalled for Undeclared Egg

Unilever United States Inc. is voluntarily recalling select Knorr Sopa Soup Mix products because the products may contain egg, which is not listed as an ingredient on the label.  The recalled products were distributed nationwide. No other Unilever or Knorr products are affected by this recall. To date, the company has not received any reports of consumer complaints or allergic reactions associated with this product

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/unilever-us-voluntarily-recalls-select-knorr-sopa-soup-mix-products-due-potential-undeclared-egg
Unilever U.S. Voluntarily Recalls Select Knorr Sopa Soup Mix Products Due to Potential Undeclared Egg Allergen
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  August 10, 2023
FDA Publish Date:  August 10, 2023
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared egg
Company Name: Unilever United States Inc.
Brand Name:  Knorr
Product Description:  Knorr Sopa Soup Mix products

NY Firm Recalls Ice Cream After Two Ill from Listeria

Real Kosher Ice Cream of Brooklyn, NY is recalling soft serve on the go ice cream and sorbet cups, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.  To date, two cases of illness have been reported in this outbreak in two states (NY and PA). Both individuals were hospitalized but no deaths have been reported to date.   The recall is the result of an individual becoming ill and reporting to have eaten this product. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture tested samples of product and one sample tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/real-kosher-ice-cream-recalls-soft-serve-go-cups-because-possible-health-risk
Real Kosher Ice Cream Recalls Soft Serve on the Go Cups Because of Possible Health Risk
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  August 09, 2023
FDA Publish Date:  August 09, 2023
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination
Company Name: Real Kosher Ice Cream
Brand Name: Soft serve on the go
Product Description: Soft serve ice cream and sorbet cups

Articles on Shelf-life Dating Fail to Educate

Expiration dates and food waste....the current arguments that food expiration dates lead to food waste is one that is so singular in focus that blame food company practices for being  responsible instead of purchaser of the food who fails to manage properly.  In an article Is It Really Expired? The Truth About Food ‘Expiration’ Dates, we see many of the same complaints about code dating, but a failure to recognize the real issue...failure to manage according to those dates.

Face it, when you spend $3.00 on a bag of chips, your expectation is that the bag of chips within code date is going to meet your expectations...100% of the time.  Not 50% of the time.  A manufacturer does not want to disappoint a customer and have them return the product (which in the end costs the manufacturer for that bag... at retail price, and the potential of a lost customer).  The date that is set is that guarantee of that quality.  But there are those that say....well, that bag of chips is still safe past that date, but may not be as good.  What is that probability?  Maybe 5 days past the code date it is 90%....two weeks 80%.   Quality continues to deteriorate by the day, and while still safe, 80% quality was certainly not worth 100% of the $3.00 you spent on the bag of chips.

Products, and the processes that produce these products, are all different.  The conditions in which products are distributed and then stored also vary greatly, impacting the deterioration of product.  The manufacturer has an interest to set that code date out as far as they can, for distribution purposes, but to a point where they can guarantee that the quality is still acceptable 100% of the time.  There are  numerous factors taken into account when setting a date.  No one can do this but the manufacturer because in the end, their livelihood is dependent upon it.

But instead of us focusing on educating people on using food in a timely fashion, we look to force companies to potentially sell products that have a chance to fail before they are consumed.   Food is a expensive resource that must be used wisely.  Along with that, we should have a system that can capture any remaining value for product that is not exactly at the standard it was when paid for at full price.  

For the consumer, it should come down to managing the resource properly.  Use food before it gets close to date...buy only what you can use in a reasonable time period....only prepare what you plan to consume immediately or within a few days if not adverse to eating leftovers.

Do not make me buy something at full price that does not meet 100% of my expectations.  Do not put in regulations forcing companies to set dates where product failure is a possibility just because somebody may misplace a food item on the shelf only to find it 3 months later.

There is agreement that there needs to be better adherence to code dating standards. A standard was initiated by Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA, now the CBA).  "The new voluntary initiative streamlines the myriad date labels on consumer products packaging down to just two standard phrases. “BEST If Used By” describes product quality, where the product may not taste or perform as expected but is safe to use or consume. “USE By” applies to the few products that are highly perishable and/or have a food safety concern over time; these products should be consumed by the date listed on the package – and disposed of after that date."

Educate people on the correct reason for these dates and for the need to use food wisely.  And then give them a way to handle this product if it has not used wisely to start (with the understanding that it is not as good from a quality perspective as it once was).  In the end, it comes down to the consumer for managing their food and using that resource in a mindful way.

EcoWatch
https://www.ecowatch.com/food-expiration-labels-dates-safety-ecowatch.html

Is It Really Expired? The Truth About Food ‘Expiration’ Dates

Forgot about that container of yogurt in the back of the fridge? A bag of granola lost in the pantry? A glance at the expiration date might tell you that it’s time to toss it, but in fact, “expired” food might still be perfectly safe and enjoyable to eat..

CDC MMWR - 2021 Salmonella Outbreak in Canada Linked to RTE Tofu

In CDC MMWR, a report on a 2021 Salmonella outbreak linked to tofu.  "During May–July 2021, an outbreak of S. Typhimurium involving 38 cases in 10 public health districts in Ontario, Canada was linked to consumption of tofu, suggesting a novel outbreak-associated S. Typhimurium food vehicle. Lapses in sanitation and recommended heat processing likely resulted in product contamination."

While tofu had not previously been the source of a Salmonella outbreak, it is not a stretch to think it could be.  So with that, a food safety plan would need to address Salmonella on the soybeans used to make the tofu, and then as a contaminant in the environment.  For the latter, sanitation controls, hygienic controls, and verification by environmental monitoring.

From the report:

• "Food safety investigations revealed that seasoned tofu from the same manufacturer was served across all 14 restaurants. The tofu was identified as a ready-to-eat food product that was produced by a manufacturer in Ontario and commercially sold in 250-g (8.8-oz) and 500-g (17.6-oz) packages. Restaurants purchased the product as a 500-g vacuum-sealed package."
• "Food safety investigations identified the absence of a heat treatment process after the addition of seasoning to the packaged 500-g product, which was also sold online to other provinces including Quebec; the 250-g packaged product did undergo additional heat treatment. No illnesses were linked to the 250-g packaged product. Several infractions were observed at the manufacturing plant, including poor sanitation of the processing equipment and the absence of a food safety plan or a food sampling program."
• "Tofu was identified as the source of an outbreak of S. Typhimurium in Ontario in 2021. Investigators hypothesized that unsanitary conditions at the production facility could have led to contamination of the tofu after production and before packaging, but the absence of an additional heating step during production likely resulted in failure to eliminate the pathogen. "
• "Tofu is a novel outbreak-associated food vehicle for this pathogen and has not been implicated in previous outbreaks. Soy products, including tofu, are uncommon vehicles for foodborne illnesses. Among previously published outbreaks linked to soy products, only one outbreak involved Salmonella (Salmonella enterica paratyphi) (2). "
• "Although tofu has been implicated in outbreaks associated with other pathogens, there are no published reports of tofu-associated nontyphoidal Salmonella outbreaks (3,4); however, the growth or presence of S. Typhimurium on soy products has been detected in microbiological food studies (5,6)."

CDC - MMWR

https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7232a1.htm
An Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Linked to Ready-To-Eat Tofu in Multiple Health Districts — Ontario, Canada, May–July 2021
Weekly / August 11, 2023 / 72(32);855–858

FDA Issues Warning Letter to Foreign Firm, a Manufacturer of RTE Mouth Fresheners

FDA issued a Warning Letter to STC India Private Limited, an Indian manufacturer of RTE mouth fresheners called Mukhwas.  In the report, FDA cited Preventive Control issues, specifically around the control of pathogens in a RTE food, and GMP issues, including pest control and cleaning issues.

According to Wikipedia,  "Mukhwas is a colorful Indian Ayurvedic[1] after-meal snack or digestive aid widely used as a breath freshener, especially after meals." They "can be made of various seeds and nuts, often fennel, anise, coconut, coriander, and sesame. They are sweet in flavor and highly aromatic due to added sugar and the addition of various essential oils, including peppermint oil. The seeds can be savory or sweet—coated in sugar and brightly colored."

FDA Warning Letter

https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/stc-india-private-limited-661775-07212023
STC India Private Limited
MARCS-CMS 661775 — JULY 21, 2023