STILTON CHEESE RECALLS IN CANADA AS WELL AS IN U.S.

In the previous post, I talked about the two most recent cheese recalls in the U.S. One of them was for Royal Blue Stilton Cheese, imported from England. And I also mentioned another U.S. importer's recall for the same Stilton cheese which I had blogged in May. Of course, these are not the only recalls of Stilton cheese to occur in the U.S. (for instance, Kroger's had a couple of Stilton recalls in December, 2008 and there have been others).

But Stilton recalls are not only hitting the U.S. They are also occurring in Canada - for the same bacteria - Listeria monocytogenes. Like the U.S. cheeses, they were also imported from England. A globalized food supply also means we suffer the same food safety risks.

In early May, about the time of the earlier U.S. Stilton recall for Royal Blue Stilton, there was a recall by a Canadian importer called Tree of Life based in Surrey, BC. The cheese was "King James" brand Blue Stilton Cheese (yet another royal sounding name). The recall was expanded in early June to include additional sizes and lot codes of the affected cheese. The cheese was sold in B.C., Ontario, Quebec and Newfoundland, but authorities suspect that it may actually have been distributed nationally. In fact, it could also have been sold at deli counters much earlier - between April 14 and May 19. I am trying to find out if it came from the same British dairy.

The British are very proud of their Stilton cheese and they have been producing it at least since the 18th Century. In fact, Stilton is sometimes called "The King of Cheeses." If you want to know how it is made, go to www.stiltoncheese.com. According to this website (I have edited a bit), to be called Stilton, a cheese must be:

• made in one of three counties - Derbyshire, Leicestershire or Nottinghamshire, in England
• produced in one of the only six dairies specially licensed to make Stilton
• made from local pasteurized milk
• a traditional cylindrical shape.
• allowed to form its own crust or coat.
• be un-pressed.
• delicate blue veins radiating from the center.
• have a taste typical of Stilton.

What is happening to this "King of Cheeses?" And where will the next recall crop up? Are they also being exported to the EU countries? After that nasty E.coli outbreak linked to sprouts, all they need is contaminated cheese!

To your good health,

TSF

CHEESE IS BACK IN THE FOOD SAFETY NEWS

For a while we were getting regular cheese recalls in the U.S. because of bacterial contamination - usually Listeria monocytogenes, but sometimes also a Staph, E.coli or Salmonella bacteria. In fact, I called cheese the most dangerous food of 2010 (see Post for 12/22/10 -"Is Cheese our Most Dangerous Food?").

But recently the food safety spotlight has focused more on other foods. Now it seems to be turning back to cheese, with two relatively small but interesting recalls. The New York State Agriculture Commissioner has warned people not to eat certain kinds of fresh cheese - "Queso Fresco" made by Quesos CentroAmericano Corp. of Freeport, New York. This type of cheese is particularly popular with the Latin population of the U.S. The reason for the recall: possible Staphylococcus aureus contamination.

This bacteria can give you a really bad case of food poisoning if you happen to be vulnerable (beware - young children, older consumers and those who have serious health conditions). Anyone who is serious about avoiding food poisoning should best avoid unpasteurized fresh cheeses. Symptoms of Staph food poisoning: nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramping and weakness. In more severe cases, there can also be headache, muscle cramping and changes in blood pressure and pulse rate. Thankfully, Staph food poisoning usually only lasts about 2 days.

Then there was another, small U.S. recall of cheese imported from England -one of my husband's favorites - “Royal Blue Stilton. ” The cheese is being recalled by Atlanta Corporation, a food importer and distributor based in Elizabeth, New Jersey. This food distributor decided to test this cheese for Listeria monocytogenes, after another cheese importer, Schratter Foods Incorporated, a Fairfield of New York, recalled cheeses that were made by the same English dairy (Quenby Hall Dairy - see Alert for May 17 and the post on June 11). Sure enough, theirs also tested positive for Listeria.

Luckily only one big wheel of this cheese had reached the marketplace, chopped up in chunks of course. But what took them so long? The other recall took place almost a month before they announced theirs, and it doesn't take so long to test for Listeria (I have done it).

Watch out for this Stilton cheese in the store or in your refrigerator. They will be labeled “Product of England” “Keep Refrigerated” “Royal Blue Stilton” “English Semi-Hard Cheese". You'll also see a small circular English flag in the upper left, and the logo of the exporter “Coombe Castle International” in the upper center. The rest of the suspect cheese is being quarantined and destroyed by this importer.

To your good health.
TSF

E.COLI IN THE U.S. FOOD SUPPLY

The deadly wave of potentially lethal E.coli illness sweeping across Europe has everyone scared. That includes people in the U.S. Is there E.coli bacteria in our food as well?

The answer is "yes." But before you panic, so far that particular "Hamburg" strain of E.coli bacterium (a version of E.coli 0104) has not been isolated here (with the exception of a small outbreak in Montana, in 1994), maybe because we don't normally test for it (see previous post).

But we do have plenty of other toxic E.coli turning up, especially E.coli 0157:H7. Usually it is found in our meat, especially ground beef, but turns up in other foods as well. This is a relative of the E.coli bacterium in Europe. It can also cause bloody diarrhea, and result in HUS complications, but has a different genetic makeup, and is not quite as deadly. Also, unlike the European strain, the most serious illnesses usually occur in children - not adults.

Let's take a look at outbreaks of this E.coli in our food during the past six months (December, 2010-May 31, 2011). On May 31 (just a few days ago), a Michigan firm recalled close to a thousand pounds of ground beef products it had sent out to restaurants because E.coli 0157:H7 was found in it. Six days earlier, a major retailer in Georgia had to recall hundreds of pounds of ground beef for the same reason. In early March, a retailer in Kansas, had to recall seven tons of beef products (that is a lot of meat) again because of E.coli 0157:H7. And there was still another recall of ground beef a month before that, in which case the products were again sent to restaurants throughout California. And, another couple of recalls in December, originating with in firms in Texas and in California.

The average - one sizeable recall a month over the last six months - that we know of. Not all instances are caught. And not all that are caught are reported. And, I may have missed one or two on this list.

Nor is E.coli 0157:H7 contamination in the U.S. limited to meat. In the past six months, we also had this bacterium turn up in hazelnuts imported from Canada, of all things (very unusual - see post of March 7). Then there was also that large and embarrassing recall of Sally Jackson (Wisconsin) cheese last December. Whole Foods Market had to do a recall of its own, because it was selling them to its health-conscious customers. Meanwhile, during December and January there was still an ongoing recall of bagged salads contaminated with E.coli 0157:H7 (distributed by Fresh Express, of Salinas California) and of another cheese although they had started earlier.

So we have enough on our hands with toxic E.coli 0157:H7 in our food. Let's hope it doesn't decide to mutate and pick up some nasty features of another more deadly bacterium, as did the E.coli 0104 in Europe.

To your good health!

TSF

A BAD YEAR FOR WHOLE FOODS

2010 has not been the best year for Whole Foods Market. True, the stock price has done very well - up by roughly 66% in 12 months. Now I wish I had bought shares last January after all, and held onto them. So maybe my singling it out is a bit of "sour grapes." But I do want to make a point: even the best and most popular higher-end food retailers, including those which specialize in organic and healthy-lifestyle foods, can be caught out selling dangerous, contaminated food.

In fact, it has been a pretty dangerous year for those who shop at Whole Foods - like dodging a bacterial bullet every time you buy food. In January, Whole Foods had to recall a number of Listeria bacteria-contaminated ready -to-eat products (along with some other large retailers such as Target, Shop-Rite, Wal-Mart) such spreads, cheeses. This bacterium is particularly dangerous for pregnant women as it can cause stillbirths and health-problems in the newborn. In early April of this year, it has to recall frozen yellowfin tuna steaks, because they were found to have elevated levels of histamine - a natural fish toxin which in high levels can cause scromboid poisoning. The fish was sold in its stores in 29 states.

Then in early Sepember, Whole Foods Market’s North Atlantic Region had to do a recall of Morningland Dairy and Ozark Farm's Raw Goat Milk Mild Cheddar Cheese - which carried not one, but two kinds of bad bacteria (Listeria and Staphylococcus aureus) . In November, Whole Foods was again found to be selling about 7 kinds of contaminated Cheddar cheeses in five states, manufactured by Bravo Farms. This time it was the more common Listeria bacteria again. Then, later in November, it found it was selling recalled Dagoba Organic chocolate made by Artesan Confections with a touch of Salmonella. In late November, it had to recall nutmeg sourced from a New Jersey supplier, again because of contamination with Salmonella. Later in December, it had to recall a number of cheeses manufactured by another of its suppliers - Sally Jackson - with yes - that awful E.coli 0157 bacteria this time. Then, just in time for little kids eating them, right on Christmas Eve, Whole Foods had to recall Gingerbread houses produced by Rolf's Bakery from its stores in 23 states.

I am getting rather tired of listing the recalls, so this is not a comprehensive list. But before I sign off - three things. One, Whole Foods Market sold many of these products (such as cheeses, nutmeg and others) under its house label. Secondly, I have noticed that several of these Whole Foods suppliers have sent it contaminated food before - that is, this wasn't the first time. Thirdly, I have noticed that the supplier involved announced its recall several days earlier, before Whole Foods got around to notifying its customers. Delays are dangerous. Maybe "healthy' Whole Foods needs to start being a bit more health conscious in the New Year.

IS CHEESE OUR MOST DANGEROUS FOOD?

This has been a very bad year for cheese. We used to think of it as a safe food. But not after the last few months! And it is no longer just those Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes bacteria that are cropping up in cheese. It is E.coli 0157:H7 as well and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (which can also be deadly, particularly if antibiotic resistant). Recently there has been "an outbreak of outbreaks" linked to our cheeses.

Almost all the contaminations have been in raw soft or semi-soft cheeses, many of them produced by higher end artisanal cheese makers, sold in the more expensive stores and served in upper end restaurants. In the United States, raw milk cheeses are only supposed to be sold if they have been aged for 60 days (which is expected to allow most bacteria to die). Well, after this year, the government certainly has some ammunition for extending that time period, or, prohibiting raw cheese sales altogether.

Let's take a look at a six month period, July through December, 2010. In July, there was a recall of - yes, aged - raw milk cheddar cheese made by Milky Way Farm in Pennsylvania. Staphylococcus aureus and enterotoxin bacteria were found in samples of the cheese. Also in July, Azteca Linda Corp. of New York, had to recall a number of fresh cheeses and string cheeses because of Listeria monocytogenes contamination.About 5 weeks afterwards, they had to do another recall for the same reason. Then in August Queseria Chiplo of New Jersey had to recall a huge variety of their fresh and string cheeses again because of Listeria. This was followed in early September with a cheese recall issued by Morningland Dairy of Missouri, which had a double contamination of its cheeses - Listeria and Staphylococcus aureus, distributed under both its own name brand and that of Ozark Hills Cheese. The "healthy" Whole Foods Market admitted that it had sold the recalled Morningland Dairy Cheese and the Ozark Hills Cheese, and conducted its owns recall.

Also in early September, Estrella Family Creamery of Monstesano, Wash. was found to be selling Listeria contaminated cheeses, but resisted recalling them (this is an interesting side issue for a future blog). Things were quiet for a month or so, but then in early November we got a new cheese contaminant - E.coli 0157:H7. And guess what - Costco found it was selling Gorganzola Cheese distributed by DPI Specialty Company which carried that deadly contaminant. Even worse, it had offered the cheese in store tastings. This was followed by a cheese recall by Del Bueno which included a range of cheese types (fresh, Ricotta cheese, dry cheese and more) again because of Listeria. In mid December, Sally Jackson Cheese was forced to recall all its soft cheeses made from raw cow, goat and sheep milk. To complicate matters, these cheeses apparently did not carry codes. Whole Foods was caught out again. It had repackaged the cheeses when cut up and placed its own store label on them.

If I have counted correctly - and haven't missed any - that makes some ten incidents associated with cheese in the last six months of this year. Well - not quite six months yet. A few days to go. Will there be more?

TSF

E. coli O157:H7 in Costco Cheese

E. coli O157:H7 is a particularly nasty bacterium. Only a few in your food can be enough to give you a totally miserable week or so of diarrhea and stomach cramps. For people who are more vulnerable, and especially young children (under age 5), and sometimes, older adults, it can even be much worse. Just as they seem to be improving, they develop a type of kidney failure called hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS can be fatal.

We tend to associate E. coli O157:H7 with meat, particularly consumption of undercooked hamburgers. True, it turns up there fairly regularly, including in the past few months. But vegans - don't think you are safe. It can be on your fruit and vegetables too. And, for those who eat dairy - it can be right in the cheese.
That is where it has been turning up in the past ten days. On November 4, the FDA informed us that E. coli O157:H7 had been found in Bravo Farms Dutch Style Gouda cheese. Ugh - offered at in-store tastings by Costco in Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada and sold in Costco stores. ("Would you like a little taste of deadly bacteria?") People in the Southwest are getting very sick...although no one has died yet.

Then today I found another cheese recall, this time for Mauri Gorgonzola cheese with sell-by dates of 01/31/11 and 01/14/11. It has also tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. And, again Costco is selling it. DPI Specialty Foods of Tualatin, Ore., cut, packaged and distributed the cheese to Costco stores in Colorado. According to the FDA, the strain of E. coli O157:H7 in this cheese is different from the one in the earlier alert. So what is happening? Who knows. Once the investigation is completed - and this could take weeks, or even months - we may be told the cause. But - and this is an update(11/15) further investigation shows Costco is blameless. It wasn't one of their workers, contaminating it while cutting it up. The cheese came from DPI Specialty Foods already carrying the E.coli (proven through its presence in an unopened package).

In the meantime, I continue to suggest a preventive approach. If you would just as soon not spend the next week or more in misery, don't buy or eat any kind of cheese distributed by DPI Specialty Foods or bought at Costco, until we find out more (contaminated equipment? sick workers with poor sanitation? ). It could well be that other cheese products will be implicated as well. If you want to be even safer, cut out all cheese for a while, as the problem or problems may turn out to be earlier in the food chain - and, could be an ingredient problem.

TSF

From Cheeseballs to Italian Sausage

A kind of update to the previous post on ready-to-eat (RTE) foods. It drives home the point of how risky this type of food is.

The latest: a recall of about 1,240,000 pounds of ready-to-eat Italian sausage products by a Rhode Island firm. That is a whole lot of sausage. And it's not even Listeria bacteria. No, it's one of the common Salmonella bacteria again. Not as likely to cause death in the short term, but there is a chance that it will not only give you a few miserable days, but also leave you with longer-term health problems like reactive arthritis or something else.

And just a few days earlier, it was cheeseball time, recalled by a Wisconsin-based distributor who got their cheese from Parkers Farm, which has had to recall a lot of their products recently because of Listeria bacteria. The cheeseballs may also be carrying it.

What will be next?

Bon appetit (but avoid RTEs whenever you can)

TSF

Ready and Risky Food

We Americans are eating more and more 'ready' foods - those nice-and-easy, no cooking items we can just eat straight out of the package, or slab onto a piece of bread or bagel in 30 seconds flat. These foods are also among the most risky to eat. Why?

One reason is that they have been touched by so many hands or pieces of equipment, any one of which could be contaminated. Another is that usually several different ingredients have been mixed in together, any which could spread microorganisms from one to another, where it might grow even better.

One presently ongoing outbreak (recall date, January 9, 2010) involves several different products from the same company - peanut butter, processed cheeses, several types and flavors of bagel spreads, several types of salsa......All of them in plastic tubs with snap-on lids. The company involved, Parkers Farm, Inc. of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, supplies such major retailers as Costco, Safeway, Whole Foods, Target and many more.

The bacterium Listeria monocytogenes is the culprit again, as it often is in these kinds of foods. This bug is the one that is so risky for pregnant women (very frequently causing miscarriages and stillbirths). It can also cause serious and sometimes fatal infection in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. If you don't fall into any of these categories and you get it, you are just likely to have a few days of high fever, severe headache, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Consider yourself lucky.

So how did the bacteria get into the food products? We don't know yet. The investigation is ongoing. But the chances are that it got in the usual way - through some contaminated piece of equipment, or a food plant worker that carried the bacteria (some estimate that 10% of workers may do so).

Yes, the products are all being recalled, but don't rely on the recall. For a list (which is likely to grow) link to the FDA recall site (see sidebar).

bon appetit!
TSF