What’s in Your Kitchen?  A Week in Recalls: Raw Beef, Fish Paste, Salad Bowls, Almond Butter, Cauliflower Products, Chicken Wraps, and Ground Turkey

Posted in Our Blog,Outbreaks & Recalls on December 21, 2018

MakeFoodSafe.com would like to help you keep your family safe from unsafe foods.  Each week we bring together a list of the current recalls.  Some recalls are issued due to undeclared allergens, which could cause serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if someone sensitive to the product consumes it.  Other recalls are issued due to contamination with harmful material or other health risk.  Check back often and evaluate your fridge, pantry, and shopping list to make sure you can identify which foods to avoid.

Vermont Packinghouse, LLC Recalls Beef Due to Potential Contamination with “Specific Risk Materials”

Vermont Packinghouse, LLC of North Springfield, Vermont issued a recall on December 13, 2018 for approximately 10,828 pounds of raw, intact, bone-in beef quarters due to potential contamination with “Specific Risk Materials,” specifically vertebral column.

Current USDA regulations requires meat from cattle slaughtered over 30 months of age to be screened for what is known as “Specific Risk Materials”.  These are things such as skulls, brains, eyes, tonsils, and spinal cords.  Other items categorized as “Specific Risk Materials” in animals regardless of age include small intestines and deadstock.

The recall was initiated after the state of Vermont received a complaint.  Affected product was slaughtered between February 8, 2018 through June 8, 2018.  The quartered carcasses were shipped to one retail location for further processing and sold at one physical retail location.  Affected product was not shipped to customers with memberships.  See table below for specific product information.

No reports of illness or injury has been reported in connection with this recall.

Mannarich Food Inc. Recalls Siluriformes Products Due to Lack of Inspection

Mannarich Food, Inc the Importer of Record from Toronto, Canada issued a recall on December 15, 2018 for approximately 145,245 pounds of Siluriformes products because they were not presented for inspection at the U.S. point of entry.

The recall was initiated after routine Food Safety Inspection Service discovered the ineligibility of imported products.  These products were imported from Malaysia, a country that is not eligible to export Siluriformes.

Affected product was imported on various dates from June 26, 2017 through November 13, 2018 and shipped to a wholesale and retail locations nationwide.  See table below for specific product information.

There have been no reports of illness connected to this recall.

Apio, Inc Recalls Salad Bowls due to Health Risk

Apio, Inc. of Guadalupe, California issued a recall on December 15, 2018 for five SJUs of their Eat Smart Single-Serve Salad Shake-Ups bowls due to potential contamination with the health risk, Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is a harmful bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal illness in the very young, the very old, and those with a compromised immune system. Pregnant women are at risk for miscarriages and still birth. Normally healthy individuals often experience short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

The recall was initiated as a precautionary measure after a random sample of Eat Smart Single-Serve Salad Shake Ups Sweet Kale tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes.  All products produced on the same day and production line as the sample that tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes was recalled.

Recalled products were shipped to retail and distributor customers in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.  Also in Canada to the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, and Saskatchewan.  See table below for specific product information.

Recalled product should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

Inspired Organics, LLC Recalls Organic Almond Butter due to Health Risk

Inspired Organics, LLC issued a recall on December 15, 2018 for their Organic Almond Butter due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

Listeria monocytogenes is a harmful bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal illness in the very young, the very old, and those with a compromised immune system. Pregnant women are at risk for miscarriages and still birth. Normally healthy individuals often experience short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

The recall was initiated after product tested conducted by Inspired Organics LLC  revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes.  The product testing was prompted after a previous recall of a similar product.  Recalled products were sipped on October 31, 2018 through Lipari Foods, LLC to food service and retail stores throughout Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.  See table below for specific product information.

No illness have been reported in connection with this recall.

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc Recalls Cauliflower Products Due to Health Risk

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc issued a recall on December 18, 2018 for their fresh Cauliflower Rice, Veggie Cauliflower Rice Blend, and Stir-Fry Mix with Cauliflower due to potential contamination with the health risk E. coli O157:H7.

E. coli O157:H7 is a harmful bacterium that causes mild to serious symptoms in normally healthy individuals including dehydration, abdominal cramps, and bloody diarrhea around 2 to 8 days after exposure. Some groups of people, such as the very young (under 5 years of age) and older adults (over 65 years of age) may develop a type of kidney failure known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). HUS symptoms include pallor, decreased urine output, and easy bruising.  Infected individuals experiencing these symptoms should seek medical attention immediately or infection may become fatal.

The recall was initiated after the supplier, Produce Packaging, Inc notified Wegmans that the products supplied may have been contaminated.  Recalled products were distributed to 98 Wegmans stores in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.  See table below for specific product information.

No illness has been reported in connection with this recall.

Russ Davis Wholesale, Inc Recalls Poultry Products due to Undeclared Allergen

Russ Davis Wholesale, Inc of Pueblo, Colorado issued a recall for 956 pounds of ready-to-eat poultry products due to the undeclared allergen, egg.  Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to eggs risk serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if product is consumed.

The recall was initiated after the company identified the incorrect ingredient statement was used for the final product.  Affected product was produced on various dates from November 12, 2018 through December 16, 2018 and bears the establishment number P45204B.  Recalled product was shipped to retail locations in New Mexico.  See table below for specific product information.

There have been no reports of illness related to this recall.  Consumers are urged to discard the product or return to the place of purchase.

Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales, Inc Recalls Raw Ground Turkey Products Due to Health Risk

Jennie-O Turkey Store Sales, Inc of Faribault, Minnesota issued a recall on December 21, 2018 for approximately 164,210 pounds of raw ground turkey products due to potential contamination with the health risk, Salmonella. 

Salmonella is a bacterium that can infect anyone, but may cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in the very young, the very old, and those with a compromised immune system.  Normally healthy individuals may experience fever, diarrhea (often bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.  In rare occasions, the infection may leave the gastrointestinal tract and enter the bloodstream causing more serious illness.  In these cases, arterial infections, endocarditis, and reactive arthritis may occur.

The recall was initiated as an expansion of a previous recall that was associated with a Salmonella outbreak on November 15, 2018.  This recall is part of a larger effort involving the Food Safety Inspection Service, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and state public health and agriculture partners after an illness cluster involving 216 patients across 38 states was linked to raw turkey.  Samples from recalled products revealed Salmonella that is genetically similar to the outbreak strain.

Recalled product was produced on October 22, 2018 and October 23, 2018 and was shipped to retail locations nationwide.  Product bears the establishment number EST. P-579.  See table below for specific product information.

This Week’s Affected Products

By: Heather Van Tassell, Contributing Writer (Non-Lawyer)