UPDATE ON PEANUT BUTTER-CAUSED ILLNESSES

It's only nine days since Trader Joe's recalled its Creamy Salted Valencia peanut Butter because of contamination with Salmonella bacteria. And it's only a week since Sunland, Inc., the manufacturer, then recalled many other products (including ones made with seeds as well as other nuts), because the same equipment had been used.

This is now a large multi-state recall in the U.S. Other brand names involved in this inter-linked recall include Archer Farms, Earth Balance, Fresh & Easy, Late July, Heinen's, Joseph's, Natural Value, Naturally More, Open Nature, Peanut Power Butter, Serious Food, Snaclite Power, Sprouts Farmers Market, Sprout's, Sunland, Dogsbutter and many more small and larger companies which used these products to make cakes, candies, chocolates, ice-cream, sandwiches, and more.

Reportedly the outbreak of illnesses have only been linked to the Trader Joe's peanut butter product - not to these others. Illness onset dates range from June 11, 2012 to September 11, 2012. So far, a total of 30 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Bredeney have been confirmed in 19 states, according to the CDC. Ill persons range in age from less than 1 year to 77 years, with a median age of 7 years. Most of those illnesses have been among children under age 10. Oddly, about two thirds of those who became ill were male (do male children eat more peanut butter?). In all, four of the ill people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Let's hope there won't be any.

Although it looks as though the illnesses have wound down, you may want to follow the CDC advice until the ongoing investigation tells us more. Here it is, quoting:

Consumers who recently purchased recalled peanut butter or other products containing nuts and seeds are advised not to eat them and dispose of any remaining jars of these products or return the jars to the place of purchase.

Be a smart consumer - check your supplies today, including any you may have bought through the internet.

To your good health,
TSF

AVOID THE SPICY TUNA SUSHI WITH SALMONELLA

If you have read The Safe Food Handbook, you'll know that, much as we love it, sushi is not always all that safe. This especially applies to sushi made with raw fish, such as raw tuna. That is reportedly what was eaten by most of the 116 or more people in the U.S who have came down with Salmonella food poisoning, some of them hospitalized. Usually they ate “spicy tuna” sushi or sashimi in restaurants or bought it ready-made from grocery stores.

Here are the latest numbers on confirmed illnesses from this relatively unusual Salmonella Bareilly bacteria(remember - this will be only a small fraction of real numbers): Alabama (2), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (5), District of Columbia (2), Florida (1), Georgia (5), Illinois (10), Louisiana (2), Maryland (11), Massachusetts (8), Mississippi (1), Missouri (2), New Jersey (7), New York (24), North Carolina (2), Pennsylvania (5), Rhode Island (5), South Carolina (3), Texas (3), Virginia (5), and Wisconsin (12).

You may think that your ready-to-eat store-bought or restaurant-ordered spicy tuna sushi or sashimi was made from a nice block of chopped up tuna sushimi. Unfortunately, that may not be the case. It is quite likely that it was made with the cheapest tuna, scraped off the bone of the fish ("Nakaochi Scrape" or tuna backmeat). This is basically the fish equivalent of ground meat - the least safe kind.

Nakaochi tuna is the kind responsible for the present outbreak. The responsible company - Moon Marine USA Corporation (also known as MMI) of Cupertino, Calif. is recalling 58,828 lbs of a frozen raw yellowfin tuna product, labeled as Nakaochi Scrape AA or AAA (imported from who knows where). But it's doubtful most of it will ever be found or removed from the food supply. It has gone to other distributors and to restaurants and even to retail outlets in smaller and relabeled packages. That's industrialized food for you.

Just to be safe, you may want to avoid eating tuna sushi or sashimi for a while - both when eating out, or buying it ready-made, especially the "spicy tuna" kind.

To your good health,

TSF