EXPANSION OF THE THOMSON SANDWICH RECALL

It is not unusual for recalls of contaminated food items in our food supply to expand over time. But usually it happens fairly quickly (days) after the initial recall. Not in the case of the Thompson, Inc. recall of its Anytime Deli Turkey & Ham Footlong ready-made sandwiches.

This U.S. company issued a recall back on January 24 of this year (see my 3 posts of January 26 and 27). Now - almost three months later, it has had to expand it. Even worse, the bacteria found is that deadly Listeria monocytogenes which is so dangerous for pregnant women and others with a weak immune system (see earlier posts).

The following products with expiration dates from January 19th through May 2nd and lot number from 00112 through 10412 are being recalled:

Turkey & Ham Footlong UPC 0543200194
Italian Footlong UPC 0543200196
Classic Cuban UPC 0543200156

The sub sandwiches were distributed on January 2nd through April 13th to convenience and grocery stores nationwide under the labels Anytime Deli, Sandwich Central and Dandee (most have probably been eaten). All sandwiches are packaged in white butcher wrap.

If you are pregnant - make your own sandwiches! Even if you aren't, and value your health, avoid the pre-packaged ones.

To your good health,
TSF

DOLE LETTUCE RECALL

We have another case of Salmonella bacteria contaminating the U.S. food supply. The previous one (that was caught, that is - many aren't) involved tuna fish. Now lettuce is taking a turn - which is much more common. Clearly, Salmonella season (the summer months) is beginning.

Dole Fresh Vegetables has recalled 756 cases of DOLE® Seven Lettuces salad with Use-by Date of April 11, 2012, UPC code 71430 01057 and Product Codes 0577N089112A and 0577N089112B. The salads were distributed in fifteen U.S. states (Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and Wisconsin).

As you can see from the photo, this is one of those increasingly popular "thoroughly washed" products. Sure - of course it has been washed. But, washing, even with added chemicals is not 100% effective (read The Safe Food Handbook to find out why).

Does rewashing help? Maybe sometimes. The research does not give a clear answer. But yes, raw salads quite often carry bacteria. If you eat them, just cross your fingers and hope there aren't enough really vicious bacteria in it to make you sick. (Confession: I love arugula).

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

SUMMER IS FOOD POISONING SEASON

In much of the United States we are about to enter the warm summer season, or, at least moving into spring. In the San Francisco area of California that is pretty hard to believe. Last night, during a particularly freezing storm (which included thunder and lightning) I had to cover my sprouting beans and orange blossoms. I think they survived, but I am afraid to go down to the garden to look.

Summer is also the time - anywhere in the world - when cases of food poisoning increase in numbers. The simple reason is that food just gets too warm, encouraging the bacteria to grow faster. A related reason is that we tend to eat outdoors more - at picnics, fairs, and similar places.

Eating food from street vendors or people selling food at fairs or farmers' markets is known to be risky. Many vendors do not have proper cooling or hand washing facilities. Nor do such vendors often wear rubber gloves or use tongs the way they should. (Take a careful look next time). Inspection in some countries - including parts of the United States - is very weak at best.

So look, here's the bottom line: if you have to eat food sold by vendors on the street or at fairs, only eat food that is cooked (well) in front of you. Pass on anything raw, including onions or lettuce or tomatoes on your hamburger. And make sure it is served properly - using tongs or gloves.

If you are eating your own picnic outdoors, use a cooler and keep the food in the shade until ready to eat. If the temperature is cool, think in terms of two hours at most. If it is a hot day (90°F or higher), reduce this time to one hour.

Enjoy!

To your good health,
TSF

ARE THE JALAPENO PEPPER RECALLS LINKED?

I just blogged the jalapeno pepper recall by Castellini Company in Kentucky. Now another recall of these hot peppers has been announced by South Florida Produce, LLC, located in Florida. This company sent these peppers by truck to distributors in Oxford, NC, Lake Worth, FL, Washington, DC, Pompano Beach, FL, Fair Lawn, NJ, Toronto, and Ontario, Canada between March 5 and March 7, 2012.

Are the two recalls related? Both are caused by Salmonella bacteria. Of course, there are many kinds of Salmonella, and they may not involve the same strain. As far as we know at the moment, neither company distributed to the other one. But if the same Salmonella is involved, as it may be, did both companies get the peppers from a single source? No one seems to be saying where they came from - yet.

My guess would be that both companies imported the peppers from a supplier in Mexico. Several of the U.S.jalapeno pepper recalls in the past - including the one in December 2011, and the one in July 2008 (see my earlier posts) involved imported Mexican jalapeno peppers.

And, as you have probably noticed, these peppers have gone to distributors, which means they will be distributed further from there. Who knows where.

We are likely to hear much more about contaminated jalapeno peppers in the next few days and weeks. If you live anywhere in the U.S. or in Canada - avoid eating fresh jalapenos for the next few weeks. If you cook them, that would kill the bacteria.

To your good health,

TSF

JAPALENO PEPPERS MAY BE CAUSE OF SALSA RECALL

We presently have an ongoing recall of ready-to-eat salsa and also a recall of jalapeno peppers in the U.S. What the news releases by the FDA have not said is that these two recalls are most likely connected. In other words, the cause of the recent salsa contamination by Salmonella bacteria is probably the jalapeno peppers that were used to make it. That would not be unusual since about half the time or more, it is one of the fresh ingredients in salsa that causes the dish to be contaminated.

So here are the facts released by the FDA. Club Chef, a processor of fresh cut products based in Covington, Kentucky has had to issue a wide, multi-state recall of its salsa products because of contamination by Salmonella bacteria (see previous post).

Now we also have a recall of certain jalapeno peppers by Castellini Company LLC from its Wilder, Kentucky facility because they also have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. These products were sold in full case, 1/2 case, 20lb, 10lb, 5lb, 2lb, and 1lb package sizes and distributed during the period March 8, 2012 through March 20 2012 (that is, probably just before this batch of salsa products were made), to military commissaries, retailers and foodservice distributors within ten states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

What the recall notice has not said (I had to look up the company website) is that Club Chef, is the Castellini Group fresh cut processing division, operating out of 200,000 sq ft state-of-the-art facility in Kentucky. It provides over 600 fresh cut items to foodservice and retail customers - one of which is various kinds of salsa, packaged under several labels.

This could well be leading to one of those serial recalls. For instance, what other product originating at the Castellini Group facility in Kentucky contained the same batch of jalapeno peppers? Its Guacamole kit? The Fajita mix? Something else? Hopefully none of the equipment used for slicing and cutting became contaminated so that other raw products (such as tomatoes, onions, peppers and so on were also affected. But then then there is the question of what other ready-to-eat foods have been made by client companies which received those Salmonella-contaminated jalapeno peppers.

Bottom line: I don't think this is the end of the jalapeno-related food product recalls. Right now you may want to avoid any ready-to-eat foods containing jalapeno peppers, and avoid eating any (restaurant or home-made) fresh salsa or guacamole made with jalapenos, even if you live elsewhere. Let's wait and see if the recall expands.

To your good health,

TSF

SALSA IS ONE OF THE RISKIEST FOODS TO EAT

Salsa is probably one of the most dangerous dishes you can eat, especially if you eat it in a restaurant. But ready-to-eat salsa bought in a store can be risky too.

The reason: salsa has a high chance of containing bacteria that can make you ill - ones like Salmonella. They can be there in the raw ingredients (such as hot hot peppers, cilantro and tomatoes) to begin with. Of course, there is no cooking step to kill them. In some 30% of cases a major problem is that the salsa is not stored properly, helping small numbers of bacteria to multiply. And in an estimated 20% of cases, the equipment used or food workers are the source of contamination.

That is why the current recall by Club Chef LLC of its Hot Salsa, Mild Salsa and Pico de Gallo products has come as no great surprise. Believe me, this is no small salsa maker. The product was distributed to retailers and foodservice distributors within eleven states in the U.S.: Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Indiana and Illinois.

In stores, these salsa products are sold in 12 oz. (Private Selection brand name) and 16 oz. (Heinen’s brand name) clear plastic packages marked with Use by Date of 3/27/2012 (see photo). And by the way, the use-by date is 12 or 13 days after the shipping date. So much for the "fresh" salsa!

If you are pregnant or have a weakened immune system, you would be wise to pass on ready-to-eat or restaurant salsa.

To your good health,

TSF