The Need for Food Operations to Have a Photography Policy

Someone taking pictures or videos is an ongoing concern for food operations, especially in light of the high use of cellphones.  Then there is  the question of whether an inspector can take photos.  An article in Food Safety Magazine discusses the need to develop a policy regarding taking photos and video in food operations.

Food Safety Magazine
https://www.food-safety.com/articles/8916-establishing-and-implementing-a-facility-photography-policy?oly_enc_id=5289D4251556E4J
Establishing and Implementing a Facility Photography Policy
By Richard Stier

WI Spice Company Recalls Sesame Inadvertently Added to Jars Resulting in An Undeclared Sesame Allergen

Penzeys Spices of Wauwatosa, WI, is voluntarily recalling some of its 2.2-ounce Jars of Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle (SKU/Item Number 20756) because they may contain undeclared sesame seeds.  The voluntary recall was initiated after it was discovered that a small sample of a similar item containing sesame seeds was unintentionally added to the “Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle” during bottling. An investigation identified that the problem was caused by an error in the company's production/packaging processes and corrective action has been taken.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/penzeys-spices-issues-allergy-alert-undeclared-sesame-seeds-brady-street-cheese-sprinkle
Penzeys Spices Issues Allergy Alert on Undeclared Sesame Seeds in "Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle"
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  September 28, 2023
FDA Publish Date:  September 28, 2023
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared sesame seeds
Company Name:  Penzeys Spices
Brand Name:  Brady Street
Product Description:  Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle, 2.2 oz jar

CA Firm Recalls Ginger Snap Chocolate After Peanut Butter Product Discovered in Package

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate of Eureka, California is recalling “Ginger Snap Milk Chocolate” batch 23194 because they were mis-packaged and are Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate bars in Ginger Snap wrappers and contain undeclared peanuts.   The recall was initiated after it was discovered that the peanut-containing product was sold to two customers in our factory store who returned it saying it tasted like peanut butter.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/dick-taylor-craft-chocolate-issues-recall-allergy-allert-undeclared-peanuts-ginger-snap-milk
Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate Issues Recall for Allergy Alert on Undeclared Peanuts in “Ginger Snap Milk Chocolate”
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  September 28, 2023
FDA Publish Date:  September 28, 2023
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Undeclared peanuts
Company Name:  Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
Brand Name:  Dick Taylor
Product Description:  Ginger Snap Milk Chocolate Bar, 2 oz.

Pork Chicharrones Imported from USDA-Ineligible Country of Honduras Recalled

Del Valle Import and Export, LLC, a distributor and importer located in Kenner, La., is recalling approximately 1,271 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) pork chicharrones product (fried pork rind) that was imported from Honduras, a country ineligible to export pork products to the United States.  The problem was discovered during a routine FSIS surveillance activity at a retail store where the agency found the pork chicharrones product from Honduras. Honduras is not eligible to export pork products to the U.S.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/del-valle-import-and-export-llc-recalls-ineligible-pork-chicharrones-product
Del Valle Import and Export, LLC, Recalls Ineligible Pork Chicharrones Product Imported From Honduras

FSIS Announcement

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2023 – Del Valle Import and Export, LLC, a distributor and importer located in Kenner, La., is recalling approximately 1,271 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) pork chicharrones product that was imported from Honduras, a country ineligible to export pork products to the United States, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

AZ Distributor Recalls Whole Cantaloupes After FDA Testing Finds Salmonella

Eagle Produce LLC Scottsdale, AZ is initiating a voluntary recall of 6,456 cases of whole cantaloupe with the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella following a test conducted on cantaloupe in a distribution center by the FDA.  The products were distributed between September 5th -16th in California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington D.C. and sold in various retail supermarkets.  There have been no reported illnesses attributed to the recalled items as of September 27th, 2023


https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/eagle-produce-llc-recalls-whole-cantaloupe-because-possible-health-risk
Eagle Produce LLC Recalls Whole Cantaloupe Because of Possible Health Risk
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  September 27, 2023
FDA Publish Date:  September 28, 2023
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Potential Foodborne Illness
Company Name:  Eagle Produce, LLC
Brand Name:  Kandy
Product Description:  Whole Cantaloupe

Diced Butternut Squash Recalled After Testing Finds E. coli O45

Safeway Fresh Foods of Vineland, NJ, is recalling its 32-oz. Diced Organic Butternut Squash product as it has the potential to be contaminated with Escherichia coli O45.  The 32-oz. diced Butternut was distributed only to Costco in the following states, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.  The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing by the company detected the presence of E. coli O45.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/safeway-fresh-foods-recalls-sunnyside-farms-organic-butternut-squash-because-possible-health-risk
Safeway Fresh Foods Recalls Sunnyside Farms Organic Butternut Squash Because of Possible Health Risk
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  September 25, 2023
FDA Publish Date:  September 25, 2023
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Potential Escherichia coli O45 contamination
Company Name:  Safeway Fresh Foods
Brand Name:  Sunnyside Farms
Product Description:  Diced Organic Butternut Squash

The Brain-infecting Rat Lungworm Identified in Georgia Rats

The CDC is reporting  (https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/29/10/23-0706_article) that the parasite Angiostrongylus cantonensis, aka, Ratlung worm, has been identified in dead rats at the Atlanta Zoo. Originating in Asia, this parasite cycles between rats and snails and may have made its way here through rats or snails.  People can become infected with the parasite if they come in contact with it, in which case, it can cause eosinophilic meningoencephalitis, an infection of the brain.

Researchers are concerned that the parasite may be established in the SE US.  It has already been found in other SE locations including TX, FL, and LA.

CDC recommendation - "Prevention of A. cantonensis infections involves educating persons residing in or traveling to areas where the parasite is found about not ingesting raw or undercooked snails and slugs, freshwater shrimp, land crabs, frogs, and monitor lizards, or potentially contaminated vegetables, or vegetable juice. Removing snails, slugs, and rats found near houses and gardens should also help reduce risk. Thoroughly washing hands and utensils after preparing raw snails or slugs is also recommended. Vegetables should be thoroughly washed if eaten raw."  

Also, do not drink out of a garden house where a snail may have crawled in.

https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2023/09/27/parasitic-brain-worm-found-rats-zoo-atlanta-cdc-study-says/
Parasitic brain worm found in rats at Zoo Atlanta, CDC study says
By Hope Dean
Published: Sep. 27, 2023 at 3:52 PM EDT|Updated: 13 hours ago

FDA Releases Guidance on Allergen Management as Part of Hazards Guide

The FDA Hazards Guide is a document intended to help with the compliance of meeting specific Preventive Controls for Human Food regulations. It has been an ongoing effort, with FDA releasing sections as they are completed. This week, FDA released two new sections, one of those focused on allergen control. Chapter 12, Food Allergen Program, sets out to "is to explain how to establish and implement a food allergen program".

The Guidance can be found here - https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/draft-guidance-industry-hazard-analysis-and-risk-based-preventive-controls-human-food

From this Draft Guidance [https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/draft-guidance-industry-hazard-analysis-and-risk-based-preventive-controls-human-food]:

A food allergen program could include, as appropriate to the facility and its food products:

• CGMP measures that you take to comply with the requirements of part 117, subpart B, to prevent allergen cross-contact due to personnel, design and construction of the plant, sanitary operations, equipment and utensils, raw materials and other ingredients, manufacturing operations, and warehousing and distribution. Your hazard analysis should consider how your CGMP measures prevent allergen cross-contact, and the preventive controls that you establish and implement to address a food allergen hazard should complement and enhance your CGMP measures for preventing allergen cross-contact.
• Food allergen controls to provide assurances that any food allergen hazards requiring a preventive control will be significantly minimized or prevented. (See 21 CFR 117.135(a) and (c)(2).) Food allergen controls include procedures, processes, and practices that are: 
• Allergen cross-contact controls – i.e., procedures, practices, and processes employed for ensuring protection of food from allergen cross-contact, including during storage, handling, and use (21 CFR 117.135(c)(2)(i)); and 
• Label controls – i.e., procedures, practices, and processes employed for labeling the finished food, including ensuring that the finished food is not misbranded under section 403(w) of the FD&C Act (21 U.S.C. 343(w)). (21 CFR 117.135(c)(2)(ii).)
• A supply-chain program as required by part 117, subpart G for those raw materials and other ingredients for which a manufacturing/processing facility has identified a food allergen hazard that is controlled before its receipt. (See 21 CFR 117.405(a)(1).) See Chapter 15 for comprehensive guidance on how to comply with the requirements of part 117, subpart G for all hazards, not just food allergen hazards.

Breaking this down
A facility will have GMP measures that will mitigate, or apply basic control. One would take these into account as they conduct the hazard analysis. These measures will taken into account as one conducts their hazard analysis.

The Food Allergen Program
There are four primary areas to address.

Oregon - State Agency Rules that Cannabis Can Be Sold with Mold (Aspergillus)

An Oregon State Court ruled that cannabis product that was being withheld from sale due to mold fungus (Aspergillus) contamination, could be sold.  

https://www.opb.org/article/2023/09/25/oregon-cannabis-products-marijuana-mold-recall/
Oregon cannabis products recalled over Aspergillus contamination will soon be sold
By Nathan Wilk (KLCC)
Sept. 25, 2023 1:36 p.m.
Oregon cannabis products recalled over a pathogenic mold will soon be approved for sale.

Last month, a court suspended state restrictions on four strains of the fungus Aspergillus in marijuana. The cannabis industry had argued that the mold was too common to avoid.

The decision left over 2,000 pounds and 60,000 pre-rolls of recalled cannabis in limbo, as the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission awaited further guidance from the Oregon Health Authority.

On Sept. 20, the OLCC announced it would begin clearing those recalled products for sale.

“OLCC is working to coordinate the release of any such items that have been on hold in [the state’s Cannabis Tracking System],” the agency wrote in a press release.

Mike Getlin, the Board Chair for the Cannabis Industry Alliance of Oregon, celebrated the news but said the wait has been frustrating.

“This should have been done within a matter of days, if not, frankly, hours of the judge’s ruling,” Getlin said. “There are potentially businesses failing even though the court has ordered that this impediment be lifted.”

The suspension of the state’s restrictions will expire in February, giving the Oregon Court of Appeals time to review arguments.

Aspergillus spores can cause fungal infections in the immunocompromised, but no cases in Oregon have been linked to cannabis.