Warning Letter Issued to Iowa Acidified Food Processor

FDA issued a Warning Letter to Midwest Foods, LLC, of Ankeny, IA. a manufacturer of salsas, sauces, dressings, and jams, with some of these products being acidified.
Failed to file scheduled process to FDA for some of the acidified foods

Failed to follow scheduled process for some acidified products.  .
A few other items related to Preventive Controls, misbranding, and labeling.

Overall, nothing really major...probably not killing anyone.

WARNING LETTER
https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/midwest-foods-llc-677464-05212024
Midwest Foods, LLC
MARCS-CMS 677464 — MAY 21, 2024

Research - Environmental Antecedents (Circumstances) of Foodborne Illness Outbreaks, United States, 2017–2019

A published study in the Journal of Food Protection looked at the environmental antecedents, or the circumstances and situations that led to the led to the reason for the outbreak.

"The first set is outbreak contributing factors—the practices that most likely led to contamination, proliferation, or survival of agents in the environment (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). The second set is environmental antecedents, hereafter referred to as antecedents, of the outbreak. Antecedents are the circumstances and situations that led to the contributing factors. For example, an investigation may identify the contributing factor to a norovirus outbreak as contamination of food by an ill employee, and the antecedent as insufficient staffing, which led to the employee not being allowed to stay home while ill."

"Identifying the contributing factors and antecedents is essential to understanding the outbreak’s root cause and implementing sustainable corrective actions to stop the outbreak and future outbreaks (Firestone et al., 2018)."

The two biggest environmental antecedents were 1) lack of training of employees for specific purposes and 2) lack of oversight of employees / enforcement of policies.

From the text, Table 3 and 5 were most interesting.

How the Moon Landing Led to HACCP

This story is always reflected upon at the start of HACCP training.  If you are interested in more of the details on how the HACCP concept originated, here it is.


NASA
https://spinoff.nasa.gov/moon-landing-food-safety
How the Moon Landing Led to Safer Food for Everyone

System created for Apollo astronaut food has become the global standard for hazard prevention

Originally published 11/23/2020

As many Americans prepare for a socially distanced Thanksgiving meal, some may be aware that NASA helped develop the tiny, highly efficient video cameras in the devices that will allow virtual family dinners, and a few may know it was the space agency that first modernized conference calling. But NASA has made an even more important contribution to the holiday: no one is likely to worry about the safety of the food on their table.

Today, outbreaks of food poisoning from packaged supermarket food are exceedingly rare, thanks in part to the food industry’s near-universal adoption of an approach that’s little-known outside the business, called the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system. Even less-known is the fact that HACCP was created for astronaut food in the early days of the Apollo program.

FSIS Issues Health Alert for Salad Kit with Undeclared Allergen Issue Due to Mislabeling

USDA-FSIS is issuing a public health alert for a salad product labeled as Bistro Grande Southwestern Style with Chicken due to misbranding and undeclared allergens. The salad product labeled as Southwestern Style with Chicken may actually contain Chicken Caesar Salad containing wheat and fish (anchovies), known allergens, which are not declared on the product label.  The problem was discovered when the producing establishment notified FSIS that it received a consumer complaint that a salad product labeled as Bistro Grande Southwestern Style with Chicken contained Chicken Caesar Salad.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/fsis-issues-public-health-alert-southwestern-style-salad-bowls-chicken-due
FSIS Issues Public Health Alert For Southwestern Style Salad Bowls With Chicken Due To Misbranding And Undeclared Allergens

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing a public health alert for a salad product labeled as Bistro Grande Southwestern Style with Chicken due to misbranding and undeclared allergens. The salad product labeled as Southwestern Style with Chicken may actually contain Chicken Caesar Salad containing wheat and fish (anchovies), known allergens, which are not declared on the product label. FSIS is issuing this public health alert to ensure that consumers with allergies to wheat and fish are aware that this product should not be consumed. A recall was not requested because the affected product is no longer available for purchase.

Ohio Prepared Sandwich Operation Recalls Product for Listeria Concerns After Positive Environmental Sample

Classic Delight LLC, a St. Mary’s, OH firm is voluntarily recalling a limited number of individually wrapped sandwiches due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.  The recall was initiated after environmental samples tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The company is working in conjunction with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct this recall. The production of these products has been suspended while the FDA and the company continue to investigate the source of the problem.

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/classic-delight-llc-issues-public-health-alert-due-possible-health-risk
Classic Delight LLC Issues Public Health Alert Due to Possible Health Risk
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  June 10, 2024
FDA Publish Date:  June 11, 2024
Product Type:  Food & Beverages
Reason for Announcement:  Potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes
Company Name:  Classic Delight LLC
Brand Name:  Classic Delight, Nutrisystem, Wakefield
Product Description:  Individually wrapped sandwiches

Illinois Feed Facility Expands April Recall of Feed with Elevated Mineral Levels

ADM Animal Nutrition, a division of ADM, is expanding its already expanded recall of animal feed to to elevated levels of magnesium, sodium, calcium, chloride and/or phosphorus.  ADM first issued a recall from produce produced at their manufacturing facility in Quincy Illinois on April 1, 2024 recall from produce produced at their manufacturing facility in Quincy Illinois on April 1, 2024 and then expanded that recall on April 11, 2024.expanded that recall on April 11, 2024.
The expansion was to add additional product lots.

ADM Animal Nutrition Expands Recall to Include Additional Lots of Various Feed Products
Summary
Company Announcement Date:  June 10, 2024
FDA Publish Date:  June 11, 2024
Product Type:  Animal & Veterinary
Reason for Announcement:  Specific lots may contain elevated levels of magnesium, sodium, calcium and/or phosphorus
Company Name: ADM Animal Nutrition
Brand Name:  Grostrong, MoorMan's, MaxLean, Roughage Buster, Pen Pals, Patriot, Goat Power, Juniorglo, Rack Plus, Seniorglo
Product Description:  Animal Feed Products

FDA Issues Health Warning for Bioactive Mushroom-Infused Snacks

FDA issued a health warning after a reported number of cases of adverse reactions linked to bars, cones, and gummies from the brand Diamond Shruumz. This company infuses products with legal bioactive mushrooms such as Lion’s Mane, Reishi, and Chaga, which are not supposed to "induce any of those effects associated with the illegal counterparts and instead have been shown to potentially help with your overall health and cognitive function."

The company uses the term microdosing. According to the website, "Microdosing is designed to elicit subtle effects that enhance your day-to-day activities, meaning you will not face any vivid visions or similar. Instead, the focus is all about helping you to harness your cognitive, emotional, and physical best, unlocking your creativity and sharpening your focus. That is why many people adopt the practice to help them in their professional work and personal lives."  [More information on recommended usage below.]

So it seems that a person is supposed to determine some small level of product that they can take in order to achieve the effect.  From the website - "Individuals can typically anticipate the onset of effects within an average timeframe of 30 minutes to 1 hour after consumption. However, it’s crucial to note that this duration can vary based on unique factors, including the person’s body size and metabolism."

Could it be that people perhaps pounded down more than their body could handle?  Or was there some other compounds present that caused the ill effects.


https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/investigation-illnesses-diamond-shruumz-brand-chocolate-bars-cones-gummies-june-2024
Investigation of Illnesses: Diamond Shruumz-Brand Chocolate Bars, Cones, & Gummies (June 2024)
Do not eat, sell, or serve any flavor of Diamond Shruumz- Brand Chocolate Bars, Cones, and Gummies. FDA’s investigation is ongoing.

Case Counts
Total Illnesses: 12
Hospitalizations: 10
Deaths: 0
Last illness onset: June 9, 2024
States with Cases: AL, AZ, IN, KY, MO, NV, PA, SC
Product Distribution: Nationwide

Current Update
June 11, 2024

The FDA and CDC, in collaboration with America’s Poison Centers and state and local partners, are investigating a series of illnesses associated with eating Diamond Shruumz-brand Chocolate Bars, Cones, and Gummies.

Escherichia albertii - an Emerging Foodborne Pathogen

Escherichia albertii has been identified as an emerging foodborne pathogen that causes watery diarrhea mainly in children and immunocompromised individuals.

• "Current data suggest that E. albertii might play a more significant role in global infectious diarrhea cases than previously assumed and is often overlooked or misidentified."
• "Early indications suggest that children below 10 years and immunosuppressed individuals with multiple commodities might be at higher risk, but outbreaks have also been reported in seemly healthy people Poor hygiene conditions especially during food preparation, consumption of raw or minimally cooked meat particularly poultry, and drinking untreated water seems to increase the likelihood of E. albertii infection."
• "E. albertii has been isolated from the environment, water, packed lunch, lettuce, salad, pork, chicken, giblets, mutton, duck meat, minced meat, and Damietta cheese indicating that this bacterium can be transmitted through food and water.
• "This bacterium is a close relative of Escherichia coli and has been frequently misidentified as enteropathogenic or enterohemorrhagic E. coli due to their similarity in phenotypic and genetic features."
• "Research has shown that E. albertii survives without growth below 4°C and grew rapidly at 20°C and 30°C in foods, especially in meat. E. albertii strains did not grow in well water and seawater at 4°C, 10°C, 20°C, and 30°C"

Recalled Soda with Undeclared Colors Catches Bad Press

A soft drink formulator issued a recall of product because it failed to list colors or sulfites on the label.

Charles Boggini Company, headquartered in Coventry, Conn., voluntarily recalled its “Pink Lemonade,” “Cola Flavoring Base,” “Yellow Lemonade” and “Yellow Lemonade X” — all of which are sold in one- and five-gallon containers to restaurants.  "The recall was announced in an enforcement report issued by the FDA, which was reported by Newsweek and DailyMail.com."

The “Pink Lemonade” was recalled after it was found to contain FD&C Red No. 40, which is a red dye that is used in a range of products including cosmetics, drugs and food. 

The “Yellow Lemonade” and “Yellow Lemonade X” products were found to have FD&C Yellow No. 5 — an artificial food dye that is often found in processed pastries, breakfast cereals and colored candy.

 The FDA requires manufacturers to declare when dye is used as an ingredient in their products.
The “Cola Flavoring Base” product that was recalled by Charles Boggini Company was found to contain sulfites, which are salts that are often used as preservatives in food products.
The company stated that it had "sent new labels to clients to attach to the products already on their shelves."

However, to read the headlines, you think that the company done something much worse.  USA Today and NY Post article was titled "Soda company recalls drinks sold at restaurants for chemicals, dye linked to cancer: FDA".  So the product was not recalled because of what it contained, but the fact that it was not properly labeled.  Many of the foods we eat contain yellow #5 and red #40.  These synthetic dyes are deemed by the FDA as safe for use in regulated amounts.

https://nypost.com/2024/06/05/business/charles-boggini-company-recalls-drinks-that-contain-dye-linked-to-cancer-fda/
Soda company recalls multiple drinks sold in restaurants across US that contain dye linked to cancer: FDA
By Social Links forAriel Zilber
Published June 5, 2024, 3:27 p.m. ET