About 1,120 cartons of Del Monte cantaloupe is being recalled over concerns of Salmonella contamination. Mercury News announced that Raley’s grocers are recalling the potentially contaminated cantaloupe that was sold in Northern California and Nevada. The recall was initiated after routine testing detected the Salmonella pathogen in the Del Monte cantaloupe, Mercury News said, citing the California Department of Public Health.

Mercury News reported that the recalled cantaloupe was sold throughout the San Francisco Bay Area at Raley’s and at Raley’s subsidiaries: Nob Hill Foods and Food Source. The cantaloupes were purchased between October 5 and October 16; consumers can exchange the recalled cantaloupe for full refund, said Mercury News. (more…)

Some apple and carrot portable pouch baby foods, manufactured by Plum Organics of Emeryville, California, is being recalled over potential botulism contamination, the Associated Press (AP) just announced.

The AP reported that the recalled apple and carrot Plum Organics baby food was sold individually throughout the United States at Toys-R-Us and Babies-R-Us stores. The recalled Plum Organics baby food was sold in 4.22-ounce pouches, with a “best by” date of May 21, 2010, and UPC 890180001221. (more…)

San Diego Meat Company, of San Diego, California is recalling approximately 925 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with the E. coli O157:H7 pathogen, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) just announced.

The ground beef products subject to this recall include:

* 15-pound cases of “SAN DIEGO MEAT, GROUND BEEF PATTIES.”
* 10-pound bags of “SAN DIEGO MEAT, BULK GROUND BEEF.” (more…)

In the ongoing cases involving E. coli contamination linked to Cargill Meat Solutions, a settlement in one lawsuit has been reached. According to Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), the parents of a girl who was hospitalized for over one month as a result of eating E. coli contaminated hamburger meat, reached a settlement last week with Cargill.

The 11-year-old fell ill in 2007 after she ate a contaminated hamburger from Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, said MPR, that contamination led to a massive—845,000 pound—recall of frozen ground beef parties. The girl spent three weeks on kidney dialysis and her family racked up about $350,000 in medical bills, said MPR. It seems that the young girl developed a serious kidney disease that can lead to renal failure and long-term kidney problems. (more…)

Another outbreak of salmonella poisoning has been linked to alfalfa sprouts. This time, the contamination has sickened one dozen people in the state of Michigan. The Associated Press (AP) also reported that the outbreak has resulted in at least two hospitalizations, to date.

According to the AP, the Michigan Departments of Agriculture and Community Health released a public-health alert late last week warning residents in that state to stay away from raw alfalfa sprouts until it can be determined how the outbreak originated. According to officials involved in the outbreak investigation, the 12 cases reported thus far have been of Salmonella Typhimurium and have been confirmed in Bay, Genesee, Kent, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Wayne counties, said the AP. It seems as if the outbreak began August 17 and September 18. (more…)

Today we are reporting on two separate recalls concerning foods potentially contaminated with the dangerous, sometimes deadly, Listeria monocytogenes pathogen, which can result in Listeriosis.

Listeriosis can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms, such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. In pregnant women, Listeriosis can result in miscarriage, stillbirth, or birth of a baby suffering from the infection. Pregnant women are about 20 times likelier than others to be infected, with about one-third of all Listeriosis cases occurring during pregnancy. (more…)

The U.S. Department of Justice, on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Rel’s Foods Inc., of Oakland, California, seeking to stop the company from manufacturing, producing, and selling adulterated food products, the FDA just announced.

According to an FDA press release, the complaint also names Rel’s Vice President, Peder Scott Sorensen, and two managers, Patrick O’Malley and Timothy E. Ault. Rel’s prepares, processes, and distributes a variety of ready-to-eat sandwiches to convenience stores, deli markets, liquor stores, mini-marts, and gas stations in Nevada and California. (more…)

Costco and Tyson Foods have struck an agreement that will allow the retailer to test Tyson’s beef trimmings for E. coli prior to grinding and mixing. The agreement comes just days after The New York Times published an expose detailing gaps in the way ground beef is tested for E. coli.

As we reported earlier this week, the Times reported on Sunday that much of the ground beef consumed in the U.S is made from beef trimmings. These ingredients come from parts of the cow that are most likely to be tainted with E. coli bacteria. Despite this, most meat processors test their ground beef only after trimmings from multiple slaughterhouses have been mixed and ground together. This practice makes it difficult to determine the original source of E. coli should it be found during later testing, or if an outbreak occurs. (more…)

A variety of so-called healthy foods have topped a list of the 10 riskiest foods regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) just reported. The group pointed out that leafy greens, eggs, and tuna top the list and 10 foods are linked to 40 percent of all food borne illness outbreaks connected with FDA-regulated foods.

Tomatoes, cheese, ice cream, sprouts, and berries also made the list, which, said the CSPI is why the United States Senate should pass legislation, as was recently enacted by the House, to reform food safety laws. The CSPI, a nonprofit advocacy group, wrote the report. (more…)

United States Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, told Minnesota Public Radio News that the Obama administration is hard at work improving U.S. food safety and plans on seeking Congressional legislation to allow mandatory tainted food recalls. It seems, said Minnesota Public Radio, that a large New York Times report published this weekend, pointed to some food safety system issues, citing cases in Minnesota.

Vilsack delivered his speech at the University of Minnesota. “If there’s a problem we’d like to be able to respond quickly, rather than rely on a voluntary recall that may not be either timely or fully implemented,” Vilsack said, quoted Minnesota Public Radio. “We’d like to have the power to get the product off the market and out of the market as quickly as possible,” Vilsack added. (more…)