Recall Repository

Recall Repository

Spring is in the air, and as we move into growing season, we brace ourselves for recalls of food items due to all manner of contaminants. I'm inaugurating this thread to help alert others to various food-related recalls, outbreaks, pandemics, etc., and I encourage others to post information (e.g., press releases, links, etc.) so that we might all avoid those things that might make us sick because we ate them.

Recall – Firm Press Release

Herr Foods Inc. Recalls ‘Herr’s Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Flavored’ Kettle Style Potato Chips Because of Possible Health Risk

Phil Bernas
Sr. VP of Manufacturing
610-932-6455
phil.bernas@herrs.com
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 8, 2010 – As a precautionary measure and concern for our consumer safety, Herr Foods Inc of Nottingham, PA is voluntarily recalling ‘Herr’s Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Flavored’ Kettle Style Potato Chips. The product is being recalled because it contains HVP (hydrolyzed vegetable protein) manufactured, distributed and recalled by Basic Food Flavors, Inc., Las Vegas, NV. The ingredient from Basic Food Flavors has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

Herr’s has a strong commitment to consumer safety and the highest quality standards. Salmonella has not been found in any Herr’s products and there are no known illnesses reported.

‘Herr’s Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Flavored’ Kettle Style Potato Chips were distributed nationwide through retail stores, distributors, and internet sales. These products were sold as individual bags. No other ‘Herr’s” products are involved with this recall.

Only the following products are being recalled:
‘Herr’s Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Flavored’ Kettle Style Potato Chips
With code dates FEB 27, 2010 up to an including May 15, 2010
Bag Net Weight 8.5 oz. UPC 072600011519

‘Herr’s Cracked Pepper and Sea Salt Flavored’ Kettle Style Potato Chips
With code dates FEB 27, 2010 up to an including June 12, 2010
Bag Net Weight 1.875 oz. UPC 072600014909



If you would rather not receive future communications from Herr Foods, Inc., let us know by clicking here.
Herr Foods, Inc., 20 Herr Dr., Nottingham, PA 19362 United States

Pringle's announced that they were recalling Taco Night and Cheeseburger flavored Pringles.

http://www.salon.com/food/2010/03/08/us ... index.html

Also, God said you would go to Hell if you ate such abominations unto the nature He created.

Links:

FDA Recall and Safety Alert List, Updated Daily
Foodsafety.gov contains links to recall lists and ways to sign up for a variety of different alerts (allergy, major product, meat, pet food)

Best,
Michael

Do realize that a lot of recalls from the FDA are due to mislabeling rather than contamination. For example, a product contains peanuts but are NOT labelled as containing peanuts.

widespread contamination of Hydrolyzed vegetable protein:

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/salmonella-in-common-food-additive-leads-to-recall-of-pretty-much-every-food-ever.html

looking at the list, I think I'll just avoid anything "honey mustard onion" flavored.

Good idea for a thread, David.

Mike, I'm surprised you're contributing info to this thread rather than objecting to the whole idea as unwarranted intrusion on our God-given right to get sick.

(Kidding. )

Spinach recalled in N.C.; listeria.

66,000 pounds of bison meat recalled.

1,000,000 pounds of ground beef recalled.

Millions of eggs recalled due to salmonella scare.

David Hammond...recalled. Can I do that?

razbry wrote:David Hammond...recalled. Can I do that?

Is it because I scare you.

Later egg story from today's Tribune

Chicago-based egg distributor Dutch Farms Inc. says it was unknowingly, and unfairly, swept up in the recall of 228 million eggs following an outbreak of salmonella poisoning.

Company officials say nobody buying Dutch Farms eggs in the Chicago area could be getting tainted eggs.

Dutch Farms is listed among the brands that might contain recalled eggs originating from a farm in Iowa called Wright County Egg. However, Dutch Farms hasn't done business with that egg farm since 2006, the company said.

Wright County used "unauthorized egg cartons to package and sell eggs under the Dutch Farms name without Dutch Farms knowledge," Dutch Farms contends.

"I was stunned," said Brian Boomsma, president of Dutch Farms. "I didn't know what to do. I thought, 'I don't do business with them.'"

Wright County Egg didn't purposefully misuse another company's cartons, a spokeswoman said. It was simply packing cartons on behalf of a distributor.

In any event, potentially contaminated eggs ended up in Dutch Farms-labeled cartons. Specifically, they are cartons stamped with the plant identification number 1946 and dates 136 through 225, which are Julian dates representing the number of days into the current year.

Dutch Farms cartons containing eggs from Wright County were distributed to Walgreens stores in seven states: Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, South Dakota and Arkansas. None were sold in Chicago, said Dutch Farms spokeswoman Karen Van Prooyen.

"Anybody buying Dutch Farm eggs in the Chicago area absolutely cannot be affected," Van Prooyen said.

Further stories indicate legal action is likely to be taken by Dutch Farms for unauthorized use of their brand.

Absolutely!

David Hammond wrote: Millions of eggs recalled due to salmonella scare.

I just got a robo-call from Costco informing me that I had purchased eggs covered by the recall. Maybe this belongs in the Costco thread, but I appreciate that notification.

Jen

La Nuestra and Goya Frozen Mamey pulp recalled due to possible typhoid fever risk.

I think this topic deserves it's own thread. I didn't care about the salmonella in peanut butter because I don't eat peanut butter but eggs are in everything!! I wonder how this is going to affect breakfast restaurants all over the city.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/08/23/eg ... torysearch

They have started recalling eggs. Be careful people.

Somehow, a recall of only 380,000 pounds of deli meat doesn’t seem like that much anymore.

guinness wrote:I didn't care about the salmonella in peanut butter because I don't eat peanut butter but eggs are in everything!!

At the risk of offending Godwin, this statement reminds me of "First they came...". It doesn't matter whether you eat peanut butter. You eat from the same food system that all of us eat from. It isn't a "peanut problem" today, an "egg problem" the next day. It's a problem with the food safety system.

Thanks to Marion Nestle, here is a list of recalls due to microbial contaminants from one week:

* August 20, 2010 – Hillandale Farms of Iowa Conducts Nationwide Voluntary Recall of Shell Eggs Because of Possible Health Risk
* August 20, 2010 – GloryBee Foods Recalls Whole Raw Pistachio and Whole Raw Pistachio Kernels Because of Possible Health Risk
* August 19, 2010 – COUNTRY Eggs, Inc. Initiates Voluntary Recall of Large AA Loose 15 dozen Fresh Shell Eggs Because of Possible Health Risk
* August 19, 2010 – Austinuts Wholesale, Inc. Announces Voluntary Recall of Pistachio Kernel Products
* August 19, 2010 – Salmonella in Alfalfa Sprouts
* August 18, 2010 – Wright County Egg Expands Nationwide Voluntary Recall of Shell Eggs Because of Possible Health Risk
* August 18, 2010 – Montalvan’s Sales, Inc. Recalls “La Nuestra” Brand Frozen Mamey Because of Potential Health Risk
* August 17, 2010 – NuCal Foods Conducts Recall of Shell Eggs Supplied from Wright County Egg Because of Possible Health Risk
* August 13, 2010 – Goya Foods, Inc. Announces Voluntary Recall of Frozen Mamey Pulp, Produced By Coco, S.A. of Guatemala Because of Potential Health Risk
* August 13, 2010 – Wright County Egg Conducts Nationwide Voluntary Recalls of Shell Eggs Because of Possible Health Risk
* August 13, 2010 – Merrick Pet Care Recalls Filet Squares & Texas Hold’ems 10oz Bag (Item # 60016 All Lots) Because of Possible Salmonella Health Risk

She then points out that these are all voluntary recalls because the FDA has very limited power to force a recall.

Marion Nestle translates the Egg Industry's response

In related "news" - The FDA Approves Salmonella

The Onion wrote:"Rigorous testing has shown that salmonella is...fine," FDA director of food safety Stephen Sundlof said. "In fact, our research indicates that there's no need to pull any more foodstuffs from the market. Not raw chicken. Not contaminated spinach. Not thousands of jars of harmful peanut butter. Not anything."

-Dan

Those farmer's market eggs don't seem so expensive after all:

Filthy conditions found at egg producers

Federal officials investigating conditions at the two Iowa mega-farms whose products have been at the center of the biggest egg recall in U.S. history found filthy conditions, including chickens and rodents crawling up massive manure piles and flies and maggots "too numerous to count."

Water used to wash eggs at one of the producers tested positive for a strain of salmonella that appears to match the variety identified in eggs that have sickened at least 1,500 people, according to preliminary Food and Drug Administration reports of inspections at facilities operated by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa Inc.

Darren72 wrote:Those farmer's market eggs don't seem so expensive after all:

Filthy conditions found at egg producers

Federal officials investigating conditions at the two Iowa mega-farms whose products have been at the center of the biggest egg recall in U.S. history found filthy conditions, including chickens and rodents crawling up massive manure piles and flies and maggots "too numerous to count."

Water used to wash eggs at one of the producers tested positive for a strain of salmonella that appears to match the variety identified in eggs that have sickened at least 1,500 people, according to preliminary Food and Drug Administration reports of inspections at facilities operated by Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms of Iowa Inc.

Ugh. Just awful. As is discussed here frequently, there's (almost) always a real cost for cheap food that doesn't show up in the purchase price.

=R=

Some customers have been hesitant since this recall to eat soft-cooked eggs at the restaurant where I work. I would imagine as someone said upthread that this would have much more of an impact on a breakfast restaurant. Ouch.

From the Rolf's Patisserie article:

Consumers should not eat the desserts and should dispose of them in a sealed container so that people and animals (including wild animals) cannot get access to and eat them.

The desserts are available through retail, wholesale and internet sales, and may not be labeled as coming from Rolf’s Patisserie. Resellers include grocery stores. Rolf’s Patisseries also distributes the products through a catering service and to institutions such as nursing homes.

I'm not sure what people are supposed to do with that first sentence given the paragraph that follows it. We are on the one hand being told to dispose of all Rolf's products, while on the other hand being told that it is impossible to know what a Rolf's product is. The article would have been more helpful if it had identified the grocery store private labels and catering services that distribute Rolf's.

NPR asked that selfsame question.

Kind of old news...but: Salmonella in sprouts!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-illinois-salmonel,0,6683775.story

-Samantha
http://BunchBite.com

BunchBite wrote:Kind of old news...but: Salmonella in sprouts!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-illinois-salmonel,0,6683775.story

-Samantha
http://BunchBite.com

Not that old news, and it involves a Green City Market vendor, Tiny Greens:

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/ ... 238188.htm

The owner of Tiny Greens is apparently out of town but said that none of the sprouts at their farm tested positive ... seems to suggest the problem may not be the source. Will be worthwhile to see how this goes as it is further investigated:

http://www.latimes.com/health/ct-salmon ... 9364.story

Seems the outbreak is spread beyond the area where Tiny Greens sprouts are available and the state tests came back negative but FDA says statistically the source looks like TG.

Also - *not related to TG,* there are apparently problems with salmonella in cilantro and parsley under the Little Bear brand in the US and Canada.