BORED WITH BLOGGING BAGGED SPINACH RECALLS

I haven't done much blogging this week because I have been overwhelmed with work. But I did notice, among other recalls ( of foods such as beef tongues and NESQUIX chocolate mix ), another one for bagged spinach.

So a lot of people reading this blog have been pulling up my old posts, especially the one for April 7, 2011 entitled "Another Recall of Bagged Spinach Because of Salmonella." And, the title - as well as the discussion, work just as well for this week's one. Fresh Express again, bagged fresh produce again, Salmonella bacteria again...And, the recall alert came out on November 7 - the day the product's "Best By" date expired - in other words, after most people had eaten it. Nothing new.

If you are wondering whether washing it would help make you safer - read my last year's post.

Nestle's recall of NESQUIX Chocolate Powder (November 9) because of a possible Salmonella-contaminated ingredient (calcium carbonate) being used in making it, is more interesting and unusual. Yes, this bacteria can survive for months in dry conditions. Remember, Salmonella occasionally turns up in spices as well.

To your good health,
TSF

E.coli 0157 Found in Fresh Spinach

Avon Heights Fresh is recalling certain packages of fresh packaged spinach. The brands include Krisp Pak 10oz bags, Better Brand 10oz.bags, and Avon Heights 4-2.51b bags. Yes, here we go with another bagged fresh produce recall.

What happened is that during routine sampling for the commonly occurring bacteria in food, one package of Better Brand 10oz spinach tested positive for E.coli 0157 - a very dangerous bacteria.

The company has decided to be careful and recall all the packages of spinach that were produced at their plant on that particular day. This privately owned company prides itself on the safety of its products, but unfortunately, such problems can happen in spite of safety measures. Here's a quote from their website (www.avonheightsfresh.com):

We pride ourselves on keeping our facilities clean and efficient - food safety is one of the foremost cornerstones of the Avon Heights Fresh brand, and we work hard to make sure that our customers are taking only the healthiest, safest product possible into their kitchens.

All the packages have codes DP 340 and T691 and a "best if used by" date of December 16 - that is, over a week ago. What this means is that most of it has been already eaten. Nothing new there. Unfortunately, food recalls often come too late to do us poor consumers much good.

Don't panic if you think you ate some of the recalled product. It is very unlikely that every package would be contaminated. But if you do get food poisoning symptoms (incubation period is 3-9 days), or, already have them, be sure to tell your doctor about eating this product.

To your good health,

TSF

THIRD BAGGED SPINACH RECALL OF 2011

Unless I have missed some, we now have the third bagged spinach recall this year in the United States, due to the usual problem - bacteria which can give you food poisoning, and even be deadly. That makes two for Salmonella, and one for Listeria monocytogenes - the latest. (See posts for October 21 and April 7 for the other two Salmonella ones.)

Once again we see that "fresh and easy" is often also risky, as stressed in The Safe Food Handbook (the book, and also, in this blog). Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Inc., is voluntarily recalling fresh bagged Washed Spinach 12oz, with the Enjoy by date of OCT 16 sold under the f&e™ label.

By the way, Fresh & Easy is a British grocery chain that just recently entered Northern California's Bay Area, and has been in Southern California for some time (it prides itself on its wholesome food).

The recall was announced October 21, but the FDA didn't pass it on until today. And, as you can see by the "Enjoy by" date, it would be very unlikely that it hadn't all been eaten by now. Not unusual. But every day's delay is risky, particularly when bacteria such as L.monocytogenes is involved, and particularly for pregnant women and anyone with a weakened immune system.

And, of course, this makes another hit for Listeria monocytogenes, which seems to be winning in the food terrorist sweepstakes this summer. I will do a count one of these days when I get a chance.

To your good health,
TSF

STILL ANOTHER BAGGED SPINACH RECALL

All these incidents of bacteria in the U.S. food supply are wearing me out, trying to keep up. You may notice that most of them are in produce - which we tend to eat raw. That is, no cooking "kill step" for bacteria. And yes, today we have another one.

At least it's a change from Listeria. Church Brothers, of Salinas, California is recalling 560 bags of clipped spinach after one bag tested positive for Salmonella bacteria during a random USDA testing. The recalled product was processed on October 6, 2011 and shipped in 2.5 pound bags to Super King Markets in Los Angeles, California. The “best if used by” date is 10/23/11, but it's been for sale for a couple of weeks.

By the way, this is the second bagged spinach recall this year due to Salmonella - check my post for April 7. It was Fresh Express that time.

And wait...That name "Church Brothers" rang a bell with me. Ah yes, they were involved in the bagged lettuce recall(Listeria that time) just a couple of weeks ago. Church Bros. is part owner of True Leaf Farms by the way, which name may be more familiar to you in connection with that lettuce recall (see earlier posts). It seems that True Leaf Farms is their processing arm (I thought it was the other way around). And, in spite of sending food out with two different kinds of bacteria in the last few weeks, they pride themselves on their safety precautions.

Here's a quote from their website:
"Church Brothers and True Leaf Farms pride themselves with having the highest integrity when it comes to Food Safety Standards and we adhere to the Leafy Green Marketing Agreement standards."

Maybe they should double check. Obviously something is wrong.And I would bet we are going to hear more about Church Brothers' plant and their bagged greens.

To your good health,
TSF