Pistachios Sold At Both Wholesale And Retail Levels Recalled; Nationwide Alert Issued By FDA

Posted by Salmonella Attorney on March 31, 2009

 Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc. has been forced into a nationwide recall of specific lots of bulk roasted shelled pistachios and 2,000 lbs., 1,700 lbs., 1,800 lbs. and 1,000 lbs. tote bags of roasted inshell pistachios sold to wholesale customers due to potential contamination with the Salmonella organism.

This is the recall that has led to the news reports warning against eating any pistachios.

Certain bulk roasted inshell and roasted shelled pistachios shipped on or after September 1, 2008 are involved in the recall. The bulk product was distributed throughout the United States. The Company learned that a small amount of roasted shelled pistachios processed by Setton Pistachio and received by a commercial customer in late 2008 recently tested positive for Salmonella.

The Company is asking those firms who received bulk product and have further processed, repackaged, or distributed the affected products to recall those products and contact FDA.

Retail products in the recall include: Setton Farms brand roasted salted shelled pistachios in 9 oz. film bags, UPC Code: 034325020252 with a "Best Before" date between 01/06/10 and 01/19/10. This product was distributed in the following states: SC, GA, FL, NC, VA, TN, KY. Consumers should not consume this product and should return what they may have to the place of purchase for a full refund. Setton has established a toll free number, (888) 228-3717, for consumers to call for further information.

Here's the press release from Setton Farms that was released by FDA.

Meanwhile, keep reading for what FDA had to say about the larger alert.

Continue Reading...

Salmonellosis outbreak traced to pepper spices; break came in testing at Portland restaurant

Posted by Salmonella Attorney on March 30, 2009

 

Public health officials in Oregon and three other western states have tracked a multi-state outbreak of salmonellosis to ground pepper imported, packaged and distributed by a California company.

Union International Food Co. of Union City, Calif., immediately announced a voluntary recall of ground black pepper and white pepper as well as a number of other products that could have been cross-contaminated in its manufacturing facility.

Dr. William Keene, a senior epidemiologist in the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division, said restaurant and store managers, restaurant suppliers and spice wholesalers are being asked to check their inventories and remove recalled products immediately. The contaminated pepper was packaged under the “Lian How” and “Uncle Chen” labels and sold to restaurant suppliers and markets – much of it going to Chinese and Vietnamese establishments.

Since December, 42 rare Salmonella Rissen infections have been reported in Oregon, California, Washington and Nevada. Public health officials in those states pooled their resources to identify the source.

People were hospitalized in eight of the 42 cases; no deaths have been reported. Oregon had four of the cases, all in metropolitan Portland, a number equal to the average annual number usually reported for the nation.

Keene said the mystery was difficult to solve. “Most people don’t have a great recollection of what kinds of spices they may have eaten, much less the brands – especially for food that they did not themselves cook,” he said.

 

Just A Year Ago, Alamosa Was A Town In Crisis

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 26, 2009

A year ago, the town of Alamosa was in crisis. Hundreds of people were sick from a Salmonella outbreak. The whole town was drinking bottled water because the city’s public water supply was contaminated.
The head of the Alamosa County Nursing Services, which is responsible for public health in the rural community, had it right from the start when she said: “In the twelve years I’ve been here, we haven’t seen anything like this.”
From onset of the first illness on March 12, 2008 to the city getting permission to allow the public to drink city water again on April 11, 2008, Alamosa experienced the decade’s second worst outbreak of water-borne illness in the United States.
The Salmonella outbreak was blamed for the death of Larry Velasquez, 55, of nearby Romeo, CO. Twenty people were sent to hospitals throughout the region. There were 116 “culture confirmed” cases of Salmonella out of a total of 417 people who got sick.

The town was in a world of hurt because of years of neglect of its water system, but the fixes that might well have prevented the Salmonella outbreak were being made when it occurred. Alamosa's water problems were summed up recently by the Denver Post:

In the aftermath:

• Health investigators discovered an in-ground storage tank was cracked at the corners and had a hole in its side — potential entry points for a strain of salmonella bacteria found in animal feces. A state inspection of Alamosa's water system months before the outbreak failed to include a detailed look at this tank. As a result, its interior had not been physically inspected in 11 years.
• The state canceled a 34-year-old exemption that allowed Alamosa to pump untreated drinking water through a delivery system almost a century old. It also ordered the city to improve inspections of its water system.

• Alamosa opened a treatment plant designed to remove traces of arsenic detected in its water for 13 years. The new plant also disinfects water. Had it been completed months earlier, the city could have avoided the salmonella epidemic.

A year later, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has not pinpointed where salmonella bacteria invaded the water supply of a city of 9,000 people. But crumbling infrastructure is a prime suspect.

After tests detected coliform bacteria in Alamosa's cracked storage tank, the city disconnected it from its drinking-water supply. A 75-year-old water tower was missing bolts and needed repairs on a roof stained by bird droppings.

The city had 50 miles of underground pipes, and "a lot of pipes were World War I vintage. They're old. They're very old," said Steve Gunderson, the health department's water- quality director. "That's the problem with our nation's infrastructure."

More DP coverage of Alamosa a year later can be found here.

 

Something Other Than Peanuts Being Recalled By Georgia Nut Company--Its Pistachios!

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 25, 2009

 

The FDA announced today that the Georgia Nut Company is recalling certain bulk wholesale and retail products containing shelled pistachio nuts that have the potential to be contaminated with the Salmonella organism. The Company said it identified the potential as a result of a rigorous sampling and testing regimen it conducted with respect to shelled pistachios provided by a third-party supplier.

Salmonella 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.

The voluntary recall includes the following products:

* Bulk Deluxe Mixed Nuts with shelled pistachios purchased at the Not Just Nuts store in Wauwatosa, WI from Dec. 5, 2008 through March 24, 2009;
* Bulk or custom packaged Deluxe Mixed Nuts with shelled pistachios purchased at Georgia Nut retail stores in Skokie and Glenview, IL, Georgia Nut’s Chocolate House location in Greenfield, WI, and through the Company’s website from Dec 11, 2008 through March 23, 2009;
* Bulk or custom packaged Dry Roasted Shelled Pistachios purchased at Georgia Nut retail stores in Skokie and Glenview, IL, Georgia Nut’s Chocolate House location in Greenfield, WI, and through the Company’s website from Dec 3, 2008 through March 23, 2009;
* Mixed Nuts Deluxe Roasted and Salted Bulk with shelled pistachios purchased from clear plastic bulk bins in the produce department at Dominick’s Finer Foods stores in the greater Chicagoland area from Dec. 10, 2008 through March 25, 2009.

SunSprout-Caused Salmonella Outbreak In Midwest Is All Too Common

Posted by Bill Marler on March 19, 2009

 

The outbreak that's sickened people in four Midwest states has been tied to SunSprout Enterprises' sprouts that were distributed to grocery stores and restaurants.  The Omaha company "voluntarily" recalled its products.

Nebraska health officials say 84 cases of Salmonella saintpaul have been confirmed near Omaha, Lincoln and Kearney.

Iowa officials confirmed 27 cases. South Dakota and Kansas officials have both confirmed five cases in their states.

Sprouts have been implicated in an increasing number of foodborne illness outbreaks in recent years, and although procedures have been developed to significantly reduce bacterial contamination, not all sprout growers have adopted techniques to decrease the risk of contaminated produce. In 1999, the FDA announced new guidelines for the growing of sprouts, including using calcium hypochlorite treatment on seeds. This treatment exposes seeds to high levels of chlorine, killing bacteria, but leaving seeds unharmed. Since its introduction, manufacturers who consistently use this seed disinfectant treatment have not been implicated in foodborne illness outbreaks.

Fish Recalled For Salmonella Contamination: No Peanuts Involved!

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 16, 2009

Crown Farms has recalled its "Gulsha" brand of frozen fish because of possible bacterial contamination.
The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) said Asia Cash & Carry Inc. of Maspeth, N.Y., recalled the Bangladeshi freshwater fish because of the potential of salmonella contamination.
The fish, with a production code of "AUG 2008," were distributed to retail stores in New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Michigan and Virginia. The recalled fish, imported from Bangladesh, were sold in cases containing vacuum-packed 500-gram packages with an expiration date of "JULY 2010" and UPC 5 060065 430704.
Consumers can return the fish for a refund or contact the company at 718-894-2505.

Omaha Sprout Outfit Recalls Products In Face Of Growing Midwest Salmonella Outbreak

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 12, 2009

 

Just as FDA was putting out the press release for SunSprout's  "voluntary recall," counts of illnesses due to the sprout-caused salmonella outbreak were going up in the impacted states.

KELO-TV in Sioux Falls today was reporting that: "South Dakota health officials say the state is reporting 24 more probable cases of salmonella in addition to five confirmed cases last week." Also that: "At least 76 confirmed cases were reported in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and South Dakota."

Go here for more from KELO-TV.  Meanwhile here's what FDA had to say:

SunSprout Enterprises, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska, is initiating a voluntary recall of Alfalfa Sprouts, Onion Sprouts, and Gourmet Sprouts based on communications it has had with Nebraska State officials regarding several cases of Salmonella St. Paul reported in Nebraska and Iowa.  The sprouts were distributed to food distributors located in Iowa and Nebraska who further sell the product to restaurants and retail stores. Distribution was also made directly to one retail store in Nebraska.

The sprouts are sold refrigerated under the SunSprouts label in 4-oz. clear plastic clamshell containers that have the following “Best If Sold By” dates in the upper right-hand corner on each container, which may be expressed in two different styles: 30209 or MAR 02 2009, 30409 or MAR 04 2009, 30709 or MAR 07 2009, 30909 or MAR 09 2009, 31109 or MAR 11 2009, and 31409 or MAR 14 2009. The lot numbers, which are printed only on the shipping case, include: 3102, 3202, 3302, 4102, 4202, and 4302.

The bar code for the retail packages of Alfalfa Sprouts is 815098001088; the bar code for the Onion Sprouts is 815098002054; and the bar code for the Gourmet Sprouts is 817180000153. The Alfalfa Sprouts are also packaged in bulk 2.5-lb. and 5-lb. cases for use in restaurants. The Onion Sprouts and Gourmet Sprouts are not packaged in bulk form.

 

"Confirmed Case" Count Rises to 683; List of Recalled Peanut Products Continue To Grow

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 10, 2009

 Cases Infected with the Outbreak Strain of Salmonella Typhimurium, United States, by State, as of March 8, 2009 at 9pm ETAs of 9 PM EDT, Sunday, March 8, 2009, 683 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 46 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (2), Arizona (13), Arkansas (6), California (76), Colorado (17), Connecticut (11), Florida (1), Georgia (6), Hawaii (6), Idaho (17), Illinois (11), Indiana (10), Iowa (3), Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Louisiana (1), Maine (5), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (48), Michigan (38), Minnesota (42), Missouri (15), Mississippi (7), Montana (2), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (13), New Jersey (23), New York (34), Nevada (6), North Carolina (6), North Dakota (17), Ohio (99), Oklahoma (4), Oregon (13), Pennsylvania (19), Rhode Island (5), South Dakota (4), Tennessee (14), Texas (10), Utah (6), Vermont (4), Virginia (21), Washington (23), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (5), and Wyoming (2). Additionally, one ill person was reported from Canada.

 

And, as of 12 PM EDT, Monday,  March 9, 2009, there were 3,235 peanut products on the recall list over at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

 

 

5-State Salmonella Outbreak Caused By Omaha-based SunSprout Enterprises, Inc

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 09, 2009

 

About 50 cases from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and South Dakota have been linked to the outbreak, according to a recent press release from the South Dakota Department of Health.  Nebraska has identified 15 ill.  South Dakota has identified five cases from five of its southeastern counties and that more cases were pending. Iowa's Department of Public Health (IDPH) said in a March 6 statement that it had confirmed 18 cases, along with two probable ones. On the same day, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) said it had identified five cases linked to the outbreak, along with one other pending case.

An epidemiological investigation has linked the Nebraska illnesses to sprouts. On March 3, SunSprout Enterprises, Inc, based in Omaha, voluntarily recalled its alfalfa, onion, and gourmet sprouts with "best if sold by" dates from Mar 2 to 14. The sprouts were mainly sold to food distributors who sent the products to restaurants and retail stores. The alfalfa sprouts were also packaged in 2.5- and 5-pound bulk cases for restaurants.

CDC Says Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak Continues, Count of Confirmed Cases Hits 677

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 03, 2009

 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta today updated its count of confirmed cases of Salmonella illnesses from peanut butter and peanut-related products. The new number as of March 1 is 677, up 11, with no change in the geography that involves 45 states and Canada. CDC's next scheduled update is March 10th.
The most recent reported illness beginning on February 8, 2009
CDC says the outbreak is continuing, though the numbers of new cases have declined modestly since December. Many recently ill persons report eating peanut butter and other recalled peanut-containing products.
CDC and the federal Food and Drug Administration remain concerned that illness will continue to occur if people eat recalled peanut-containing products that are still on their shelves at home.
The largest recall of peanut products in U.S. history is underway and the list approaching 3,000 separate products that consumers should be either tossing or returning to retailers. The list can be found here.  Nine deaths are blamed on the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak.

Cases Infected with the Outbreak Strain of Salmonella Typhimurium, United States, by State, as of March 1, 2009 at 9pm ET

As of 9PM EDT, Sunday, March 1, 2009, 677 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 45 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (2), Arizona (13), Arkansas (6), California (76), Colorado (17), Connecticut (11), Florida (1), Georgia (6), Hawaii (6), Idaho (17), Illinois (10), Indiana (10), Iowa (3), Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Maine (5), Maryland (10), Massachusetts (48), Michigan (38), Minnesota (42), Missouri (15), Mississippi (7), Montana (2), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (13), New Jersey (23), New York (31), Nevada (6), North Carolina (6), North Dakota (17), Ohio (99), Oklahoma (4), Oregon (13), Pennsylvania (19), Rhode Island (5), South Dakota (4), Tennessee (14), Texas (10), Utah (6), Vermont (4), Virginia (21), Washington (22), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (5), and Wyoming (2). Additionally, one ill person was reported from Canada.

 

Alfalfa Sprouts Blamed For Nebraska Salmonella Outbreak

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 03, 2009

 

Lincoln—The number of salmonella cases in eastern Nebraska initially detected last week has increased, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

So far, there are approximately 14 lab-confirmed cases, with 4 considered probable ones and an additional 8 to 10 suspect cases indentified on the basis of reported symptoms.

The outbreak preliminarily has been linked to a source—alfalfa sprouts from a local grower, CW Sprouts from Omaha.

Last week and over the weekend, public health workers have been interviewing individuals involved in the outbreak, as well as people in a control group that helps interviewers determine the food source. The interviews led epidemiologists to conclude that sprouts were reported in a high number of food histories of ill people, thus there was a strong association with sprouts.

CW Sprouts has been very cooperative and is acting with an abundance of caution to voluntarily recall their sprouts.

The FDA and CDC are involved. FDA is doing an investigation at the company to determine conditions that may have lead to the contamination as well as determine distribution of the product.

Peanut Corporation of America Was In "Plain-view"--Health Inspector Just Missed It!

Posted by Salmonella Lawyer on March 01, 2009

 

"We credit him with going back to the plant and finding the crawl space where the rats were living. There is absolutely no fault being placed on him."

That's what Doug McBride, spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services, has to say about the state inspector, who claims he knew nothing about the existence of the Peanut Corporation of America processing plant in Plainview, Texas that operated without a state license or any inspections for four years.

"We're not going to fire the inspector, because we think he's doing a good job," McBride said of the state worker responsible for inspecting about 700 food-related companies in 52 counties of the Panhandle and West Texas.

In a story examining how this happened,  reporter Sherry Jacobson writes in the Dallas Morning News that: 

 

The plant sat alongside a major north-south highway at one of the busiest locations in town – across from a massive Wal-Mart distribution center. Thousands of people drove in and out of the center daily.

The company's name was emblazoned on no fewer than four signs out front, including a billboard bearing a picture of a peanut. But apparently nobody thought to tell the state to come and inspect it, city officials said.

Jacobson also reports that flavored peanuts were processed in Plainview and shipped to Georgia may be responsible for the outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium that has sickened 666 and killed nine in 45 states and Canada. 

Check out the rest of the "only in Texas" story here.