Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, Plainview, Minnesota, is voluntarily recalling instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers, and gums (thickening agents) that it has manufactured over the past two years, because the products might be contaminated with Salmonella, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced.

The company sells these products to other industry customers, including distributors and manufacturers, who may have incorporated them into their own products. None of Plainview’s recalled products were sold directly to the public. Plainview has stopped production of these products and has notified its customers of the recall. Currently, the Plainview recall is limited to industry customers who received suspect product(s). (more…)

Some packages of Kowalke Organics packaged alfalfa spouts could possibly be contaminated with Salmonella, according to California public health officials, reports the SF Gate. Kowalke Family Sprouts of Culver City also does business as Mike’s Produce Inc. and has voluntarily recalled several raw alfalfa sprouts products, including packaged dinner salad and onion mix, said the SF Gate.

The Department of Public Health said the sprout packages indicate sell-by dates from June 18 to June 30 and were generally distributed at Gelson’s and Whole Foods stores in Southern California, said the SF Gate. According to Kowalke owner, Mike Matthews, just one package—purchased in a “secret shopping” probe conducted by state agents—tested positive for the dangerous, sometimes deadly, Salmonella pathogen, reported the SF Gate. The contaminated package bore a June 21 sell-by date, said Matthews, who explained that the alfalfa products bearing that date have been pulled from store shelves, said the SF Gate. (more…)

A Salmonella threat has prompted the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to warn consumers not to eat pistachios sold under the brand names California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards. According to the FDA, the pistachios were recalled by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc., but received and repacked by Orca Distribution West Inc., of Anaheim, California.

More than 600 pistachio products that originated with Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella have been recalled. Setton began recalling pistachios in March, and the recall eventually expanded to include all roasted shelled pistachios and roasted in-shell pistachios from its 2008 crop due to potential contamination with the Salmonella organism. The company also recalled raw shelled pistachios from the 2008 crop that are not subsequently roasted prior to retail sale. (more…)

Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), the company linked to a Salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds of people and sparked thousands of food recalls earlier this year, is at the center of a massive number of personal injury claims. Now, the deadline to file such claims that was in effect for today, has been extended by over four months to October 31, 2009, reports Chron.com.

About $207 million has been filed in claims against PCA in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Lynchburg, Virginia, said Chron.com. Today was the original deadline for filing claims against PCA; however, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge William E. Anderson granted a U.S. trustee’s motion to extend the claims deadline said Chron.com. Today is the deadline for damage claims from commercial outlets, noted Chron.com. (more…)

A Chinese drywall bill currently under consideration in the Louisiana legislature would require the businesses found responsible for the drywall debacle to foot the entire bill for damages sustained by Louisiana homeowners. According to a report on wwltv.com, the Louisiana state legislature is expected to take up the Chinese drywall bill sometime this morning.

Homeowners in at least 18 states have complained that fumes from Chinese-made drywall produce a “rotten eggs” odor and cause metals, such as air conditioning coils, to corrode. The fumes have also been associated with respiratory and sinus problems in some residents. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, the U.S. imported roughly 309 million square feet of drywall from China during the housing boom from 2004 to 2007. In Louisiana, many homeowners who had to be rebuild following Hurricane Katrina have discovered that the tainted drywall was used in their homes. (more…)

It’s well-known that a bout of food poisoning can have long-term health consequences. Now, a new study has shown that people who have suffered from Salmonella or campylobacter infections are three times more likely to develop Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD).

More than 600,000 Americans have some kind of IBD every year. IBD encompasses a group of disorders, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, that cause the intestines to become inflamed. IBD can cause abdominal cramps and pain, diarrhea, weight loss and bleeding from the intestines. According to WebMD, genetics, environment, diet, abnormal blood vessels, infections, immune-system overreaction, and psychological factors all have been cited as possible causes of IBD. (more…)

In yet another in a series of recalls that began in March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Union International Food Company
(UIFC) is now recalling Lian How Brand White Peppers over Salmonella contamination concerns. UIFC’s pepper products were linked to a multi-state outbreak following the discovery of Salmonella in food samples collected from restaurants and food distributors.

UIFC of City of Industry, California is recalling its Lian How White Peppers packaged in five-pound plastic containers with red labels. The recalled peppers were distributed in Southern California to restaurants and wholesalers from September 2008 to March 2009. No other Lian How Brand White Pepper products are affected by this recall and no illnesses have been reported to date. (more…)

We recently reported that President Barack Obama announced a Cabinet-level food safety group, plans to increase the number of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food inspectors, and plans to bring food safety labs to current standards. Now, according to the Washington Post, proposed food safety legislation was just introduced in the House.

The bill, said the Washington Post, which was introduced by the Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (Democrat-California) and Representative John D. Dingell (Democrat-Michigan), would give the FDA expanded authority such as the ability to recall tainted food—a power the agency does not currently hold. The FDA would also be able to “quarantine” questionable food; impose civil penalties and increase criminal sanctions on violators; and mandate private laboratories hired by food manufacturers report any food contamination to the government, the paper added. (more…)

Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, California, was rife with inspections problems, reported McClatchy Newspapers. The paper said federal food inspectors found a variety of problems at Setton Pistachio, which was linked to one of this year’s Salmonella outbreaks.

Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella is the second-largest supplier of pistachios in the country and sells its nuts to Kraft Foods Inc. and 35 other wholesalers nationwide, making it difficult to determine exactly how may products were affected in the Salmonella Montevideo outbreak. The Montevidio strain is the same strain Kraft Foods found in products supplied by Setton, according to an earlier Wall Street Journal. In late March, Setton recalled certain lots of its pistachios after Kraft Foods identified four Salmonella strains, including the Montevideo isolates, in its pistachios, said CIDRAP. The recall was expanded after federal regulators found Salmonella at Setton’s California facility, resulting in many hundreds of product recalls initiated by companies supplied with Setton Farms’ pistachios. (more…)

Earlier this week we reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that L&M Companies, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina, issued a three-state recall of its whole cantaloupes because of a possible health risk due to concerns of Salmonella contamination. Now, the Packer reports that investigators have been unable to locate additional Salmonella at L&M.

The FDA discovered Salmonella from a test on one farm bin scheduled for distribution to the packinghouse, said The Packer. ABC Research Corporation of Gainesville, Florida—L&M’s third-party auditor—conducted 18 more tests for Salmonella, which all came back negative for the pathogen, according to The Packer. (more…)