Earlier this month we reported that yet another food product was recalled due to a potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination.  At that time, Fresca Italia of Brisbane, California recalled Burrata—a type of cheese—as a result of a survey sampling conducted by the California Department of Food & Agriculture.  The agency’s survey revealed that Fresca Italia’s Burrata contained the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.  Effective immediately, that recall—issued May 30—has been expanded to include all lot codes and expiration dates.

Fresca Italia’s Burrata was distributed in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Southern California in retail stores and restaurants.  Fresca Italia’s Burrata weighs approximately 8.8 ounces and is packaged in a white and green plastic wrapper with the manufacturer’s name—“Caseificio Voglie di Latte”—and the product name—“Burrata.”  The original recalled batch was labeled with the expiration date of 24/5/2008.  Fresca Italia announced it had immediately halted further distribution of the Burrata product; however, 606 pounds of the cheese were distributed with Lot Code 24/5/2008, 661 pounds with Lot Code 31/5/2008, and 490 pounds with Lot Code 07/06/2008. (more…)

Fresca Italia of Brisbane, California is recalling Burrata as a result of a survey sampling conducted by the California Department of Food & Agriculture.  The agency’s survey revealed that Fresca Italia’s Burrata contained the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.

Fresca Italia’s Burrata was distributed in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Southern California in retail stores and restaurants.  Fresca Italia’s Burrata weighs approximately 8.8 ounces and is packaged in a white and green plastic wrapper with the manufacturer’s name—“Caseificio Voglie di Latte”—and the product name—“Burrata.”  The recalled batch is labeled with the expiration date of 24/5/2008.  Fresca Italia has immediately halted further distribution of the Burrata product. (more…)

The Food & drug Administration (FDA) yesterday announced two food recalls, one for possible E. coli contamination and the other for possible Listeria contamination.

Orval Kent Foods is voluntarily recalling about 23,000 pounds of Amish Macaroni Salad in response to the results of a test conducted by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Food Safety, for E. coli O157:H7. (more…)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today directed Hope Food Supply Inc., a Pasadena, Texas, food processor, to shut down and immediately recall all products manufactured from its Texas facility since 2007 due to possible food contaminant risks.  The move was made due to Hope Food’s failure to follow a previous consent decree.

The company—under a different name—manufactured dried smoked catfish steaks and other smoked seafood products and was subject to a consent decree of permanent injunction that required it to develop and implement an adequate Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for its fish and fishery products.  The firm never developed this plan, has been shut down because no plan was developed and submitted to the FDA, and is not permitted to resume operations until it implements an FDA-approved HACCP plan. (more…)

Effective immediately, the Sweetwater Valley Farm, Inc. of Philadelphia, Tennessee is recalling its Tennessee Aged Black Pepper Cheese due to a potential Listeria monocytogenes contamination. The food product is listed as Tennessee Aged Black Pepper Cheese, Lot Number 616-361 and was distributed in five-, seven-, and 10-ounce ounce bars through Sweetwater Valley Farm’s retail store in Philadelphia, Tennessee as well as through a winery in Portland, Tennessee.

No more than 100 pounds of the possibly tainted Tennessee Aged Black Pepper Cheese were distributed between December 27, 2007 and May 12, 2008. Although no illnesses have been reported, to date, the recall followed a routine sampling program by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture which revealed that the finished product contained the Listeria moncytogenes bacteria. Sweetwater Valley Farm has halted distribution of the affected lot and continues its investigation into what caused the Listeria contamination. (more…)

The Georgia Department of Agriculture food scientists have discovered Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread, according to Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin. The Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread is manufactured by Bright Water Seafoods, LLC, of Charlotte, North Carolina 28217. The Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread contamination was found in a seven-ounce package marked BEST BY 060608; UPC code 1971100073.

According to Commissioner Irvin, “We have notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of today’s lab findings and we are warning the public about the contamination.” Irvin added, “We discovered this contamination as part of our sampling program. Sampling on a regular basis with a scientific protocol is a very important part of our food safety program.” (more…)

R&R Alsatian Sausage and Products has recalled its beef jerky products that were sold in bulk quantities at its Castroville location on April 25 and later.  The recall has been initiated due to possible contamination with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, according to the Department of State Health Services in Texas.

Laboratory testing of the product conducted as part of a routine health services inspection detected Listeria monocytogenes in samples of the beef jerky.  Consumers who have the product should not eat it and should destroy it or return it to R&R. Packages contain the product name and company name. (more…)

Gourmet Boutique of Queens, New York is recalling about 286,000 pounds of fresh and frozen beef, pork, and poultry products that may be contaminated with listeria, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said this weekend.  The recall is a Class I alert, which carries the highest priority and is only issued when there is a “reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”  The Gourmet Boutique recall affects products sent to supermarkets and food stores nationwide and was the second such action in two months for the company.

The company recalled nearly three-dozen products, including fresh foods sold under the names Gourmet Boutique Curry Chicken Salad, Gourmet Boutique Turkey Club Twister, and Jan’s Buffalo Bob tortilla wrap sandwiches.  Frozen products include Archer Farms mini beef, pulled-pork, and chicken burritos.  Salad products possibly containing contaminated meat were recalled and produced between April 19 and 24; frozen products were produced between October 23 and April 23.  Many of the recalled fresh products bore May 2 or 3 “sell by” or “best before” dates. (more…)

Consumers who bought raw milk from Piney Ridge dairy farm in New Bethlehem, Clarion County, and Clark and Elaine Duncan’s farm in Meadville, Crawford County, after March 10 should discard the raw milk immediately due to the risk of Listeria monocytogenes contamination, according to Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff.

Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized or homogenized and Pennsylvania farms selling raw milk must be permitted and inspected to reduce health risks associated with such products.  Another case of Listeria monocytogenes was found at Piney Ridge dairy last year.  “During routine testing, samples taken at the dairies tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes,” said Wolff.  “If consumers have raw milk from these farms, they should discard it immediately.”  The Department of Agriculture has suspended sales of raw milk at the dairies and is requiring corrective action be taken.  Samples were taken from the farms on March 31 and tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes April 4.  Multiple laboratory samples must test negative before sales can resume. (more…)

Listeria tainted milk has prompted Pennsylvania health officials to issue  a warning about raw milk sold by a dairy in Butler county.   State agriculture officials say the raw milk from the Fisher’s Dairy in Portersville, a town in southwestern Pennsylvania, should be discarded immediately because samples tested positive for the bacteria Listeria.  Raw milk is milk that hasn’t been pasteurized or homogenized.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 2,500 people become seriously ill with listeriosis annually; 500 result in death. Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious although relatively rare infection.  Listeriosis is a type of food poisoning especially dangerous to the elderly, pregnant women, newborns, and those with chronic medical conditions.   (more…)