BROCCOLI CAUSES RECALL OF READY-T0-EAT FOODS I

Hazardous broccoli! Yes. This time it seems that healthy vegetable is the culprit. But don't blame the poor vegetable. My guess is that the source of the problem was a sick worker who handled the broccoli or badly sanitized equipment. Ready-to-eat (RTE) food is always more risky than fresh - as I have stressed in the book, and in several blogs, particularly in terms of Listeriosis risk.

Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, which causes Listeriosis, is becoming a major public health threat in many countries, including in the US and Canada. That's why I am blogging this recall - to make the point yet again: RTE foods tend to be more risky and should be avoided by people who are particularly vulnerable to Listeriosis. If you fall into one of the following groups - don't eat them: pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems, those with HIV/AIDS, elderly. Young children are also at more likely to become seriously ill.

This bacteria has a high fatality rate (around 25%). Some people won't even know they have been exposed to it. Some will have mild symptoms. Others will die. In the case of pregnant women, it is the unborn child that is at risk.

Back to the latest Listeria - linked outbreak and food recall: Taylor Farms Pacific, of Tracy, California, has just recalled 64,000 pounds of various RTE food products sold at supermarket chains of Safeway, Raley's, Vons, Pak N'Save, Pavilions in the US states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington because of suspected Listeria contamination. The recalled products include a range of healthy-sounding snack trays, pork and chicken dinners with broccoli and apparently deli salads. For a full list of recalled products, go to: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_016_2011_Release/index.asp.

The USDA points out that some of the salad mixes were only available for sale through deli counters (and, I would assume, did not carry a Taylor Farms label). They are no longer for sale but check your frig in case you still have some deli salad with broccoli, red onion, bacon bits, raisins, sunflower seeds and dressing ingredients. If so, return it to the store or throw it out. Don't eat it!

TSF

POISON PEPPER

It is always nice to be proven right, although I know I should really not be pleased since people are becoming seriously ill all over America. But I did predict that the next big outbreak would be caused by Salmonella bacteria. And I did warn that spices are much more deadly than those innocent little pinches of taste suggest.

It is a long story, but basically what has been going on for the last few weeks is an outbreak of Salmonella montevideo bacteria in black and/or red pepper. Yes, Salmonella has proven itself quite able to live for months in dry environments, such as spices. And of course, it may soon move to a much pleasanter home when such spices are used as ingredient in many processed and ready-to-eat foods - or, in our homes.

In this case it started with people becoming ill from eating a variety of ready-to-eat Italian-style meats distributed by Daniele International Inc.in Rhode Island(see earlier post). A trace-back of ingredients by the FDA eventually pinpointed pepper as the suspect ingredient, and the likely source as two companies - Overseas Spice Company, Dayton, N.J.; and Wholesome Spice Company, Brooklyn, N.Y. (some irony in the 'wholesome' name, right?). Both of these companies had supplied pepper to Daniele International. Of course, both also sold to other commercial companies as well, who incorporated them into their own products, or packaged and sold them under other labels.

As a result we now have a spreading outbreak and multiplying number of food product recalls - not just spicy sausage, but also recalls of black and red pepper - whole black pepper, crushed red pepper, and ground red pepper and of dips mixes and a variety of seasonings- too many to list. Two of the distributor are Dutch Valley Food Distributors, Inc. and Frontier Natural Products Co-Op. Frontier not only sold under the Frontier brand but also under the Whole Foods Market brands (poor Whole Foods - here's another recall for you). This is just the tip of the iceberg, or the beginning of the landslide.

In the meantime, illnesses caused by such Salmonella contaminated pepper have occurred in 44 states. So far there have been at least 249 confirmed cases, with many more winding their way through the reporting system, and more still to come.

The FDA is continuing its investigation of the original source of these pepper products. It isn't saying at the moment. My guess would be China, where a lot of such spices come from these days. I'll see what I can find out.

Bon appetit (but take it easy on the peppers and spicy sausages and hope your retailer is keeping up with the recalls).

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