Plum Organics has recalled two flavors of baby food on fears of possible botulism poisoning.
The baby-food company recalled 4.22-ounce pouches of its apple- and carrot-flavored baby foods with a "best by May 21, 2010" date and a UPC of 890180001221, the New York Daily News reports.
The baby food recall is for Plum Organics sold in Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores. Botulism is a muscle-paralyzing disease whose symptoms begin with 6 to 10 hours of ingesting the toxin.
A California company has recalled 2,268 pounds of beef and bean burritos on fears they may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.
Windsor Foods of Riverside, Calif., issued the recall for 18-pound bulk cases of individually wrapped Butcher Boy Red Chile Beef and Bean Burritos, the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service said. The cases contain 72 burritos each, carry the the establishment number "EST. 1905" within the USDA mark of inspection as well as the package code "1219215" and the case code "2080001."
Burritos in question were produced on Aug. 3 and delivered to a Minnesota storage facility. Consumers with questions about the recall should phone Windsor Foods at 909-477-4813.
Consuming foods contaminated with listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, which can be fatal in infants and the elderly, and can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea among healthy people.
Are you concerned about food safety? Let us know in the comments below.
A California meat packer has recalled more than 825,000 pounds of ground beef that may be linked to salmonellosis, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said this week.
Beef Packers, Inc., of Fresno, Calif., recalled the ground beef products on Aug. 6, 2009. Meat included in the recall was produced between June 5, 2009, and June 23, 2009; contains the code "EST. 31913" on its labels and was distributed to 11 states.
Officials say the meats may be linked to an outbreak of salmonella in Colorado. The strain of that particular outbreak -- salmonella Newport -- is resistant to many commonly prescribed drugs.
A California lettuce producer has recalled bulk and wrapped romaine lettuce after a batch tested positive for salmonella.
Tanimura & Antle, Inc. of Salinas, Calif., issued the recall for its Tanimura & Angle wrapped single whole-head romaine lettuce, banded single whole-head romaine lettuce and naked (unwrapped) single whole-head romaine on July 21. The nationwide recall applies to lettuce purchased before July 23.
The move comes after the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture tested positive for salmonella. No illnesses have been reported. The lettuce affected by the recall was harvested between June 25 and July 2, and should be past its shelf life, company officials said.
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea and abdominal pain. Anyone with questions about the romaine recall should call Tanimura & Antle at 877-827-7388.
This has actually been out for a few days now. I don't think it's too widespread, but Post has recalled its Live-Active cereal. Luckily, it's not from any disease-causing bacteria.
Nope, the cereal box was mislabeled and it may contain tree nuts. Maybe that's not salmonella, but it's pretty bad if you're allergic to tree nuts.
Return or discard boxes of the cereal with a UPC of 00430000238900 and 'best by' date 17DEC2008. Call 866-771-1511 with questions.
We've had more than a week's respite from the never ending flow of food recalls, in which no news was good news. Unfortunately, the recall hiatus wasn't meant to last.
White Wave, the maker of Silk soymilk beverages, has issued a recall on 11 ounce, single serve bottles of the chocolate flavor soymilk because, of all things, the product may contain actual milk. So if you're drinking the soymilk due to lactose intolerance or allergies, you need to switch to something else for the time being.
The bottles in question have a UPC code of 2529360028 and a "use by" date of 05 07 08 (May 7, 2008). If you have questions, you can call the company at 1-800-587-2259. Otherwise, just return the carton to the point of purchase for a full refund.
It sure does seem like I've heard about a lot of recalls lately. Is it always like this, or did I just not pay attention before? I don't know about that, but I do know that Malt-o-Meal is voluntarily recalling some of it's cereals due to the possibility of salmonella contamination.
The unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat cereals with the "best if used by" dates from April 8, 2008 to March 18, 2009 are the focus of the recall. Malt-o-Meal says that the recall is a result of internal safety testing and that no one has reported becoming ill.
Several brands of alfalfa sprouts are on recall in western U.S. states over fear of salmonella contamination. Salad Cosmo USA Corporation recalled shipments of sprouts from Save Mart Supermarkets and Lucky Stores across California and Washington Saturday. A day later, Trader Joe's recalled tubs of Nature's Choice Alfalfa Sprouts in their California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington stores. The recall only applies to the TJ's sprouts with a "Sell By" date of March 9 or earlier.
Apparently no illnesses have been reported but still better safe than sorry. If you can't find good sprouts try some finely chopped green peppers or a little watercress in your sandwich instead.
Between beef recalls and threats of mad cow disease, the simple action of eating is quickly becoming less of a pleasurable activity and more of a chore, or, in some cases, a big wager.
Think you know your salmonella from your E.Coli? Feeling bored? Test your smarts with National Geographic's food safety quiz. Yes, I know, online quizzes are pretty nerdy, but this one actually provides you with decent information. After you answer each question, the site gives you a brief synopsis of the topic, so you can bulk up on your food safety knowledge for your next dinner party.
Or, even better: when the weather gets warmer and you attend a picnic, turn to your friend as she takes her first bite of chicken salad and bust out with, "Did you know that food borne illnesses are more common in warmer weather?" and watch her spit out her food and glare at you. If nothing else, your new found knowledge will provide you with hours of entertainment.
Some thieves got away with a bounty of beef -- 14,800 pounds of it, to be exact. But who gets the last laugh? The beef may have been contaminated with E.Coli, so the thieves didn't get much right?
Wrong.
Timothy Biela, Chief Food Safety and Quality Assurance Officer for the company that produced the beef, says they are concerned, not for consumers who purchase beef through normal channels, but "for the safety of those people who may be persuaded to buy beef products under questionable circumstances. We do not know how this product has been handled since it left our control. The stolen truck had only a limited supply of refrigeration fuel."
The beef was produced by Fort Worth-based American Fresh Foods. The company had set the trailer of beef away to eventually be removed from commercial sale. After the trailer was stolen, the USDA issued a public health alert and is now working with local and state law enforcement authorities to recover the stolen product and vehicle.
It seems like every I turn around these days, there's another food recall being issued. Tonight it's coming from Campbell's Soup Company. They are voluntarily recalling more than 72,000 cans of their Chunky Baked Potato with Cheddar & Bacon Bits Soup because they may contain small pieces of plastic that run a choking and health risk. Three people have reported small injuries around the mouth from consuming this soup.
Consumers who purchased the Chunky Baked Potato with Cheddar & Bacon Bits soup with the can code JUL 08 2009 07097 are advised to return the product to the store where it was purchased for an exchange or refund.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a nationwide recall July 18th of various brands of possibly contaminated Castleberry Food Co. products and then the recall list was expanded even more on July 21, 2007.
The Castleberry's recall includes:
10-ounce cans of Castleberry's Hot Dog Chili Sauce (UPC 3030000101)
Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce (UPC 3030099533)
Kroger Hot Dog Chili Sauce (UPC 1111083942)
Castleberry's Chili with Beans, 15 oz can (UPC 3030001015)
Bunker Hill Chili No Beans (UPC 7526604112)
Cattle Drive Chili with Beans, 15 oz can (UPC 3030001515)
Morton House Corned Beef Hash, 15 oz can (UPC 7526665830)
Southern Home Corned Beef Hash, 15 oz can (UPC 0788015360)
Meijer Corned Beef Hash, 15 oz can (UPC 4125095229)
Castleberry's Barbecue Pork, 10 oz can (UPC 3030000402).
All of the recalled products were produced by the Augusta, Ga., company and have "best by" dates from April 30, 2009 to May 22, 2009. The FDA said consumers who have any of the products or any foods made with the products should discard them because of possible botulism contamination.
When I was between the ages of six and twelve, I begged my parents for an Easy Bake Oven every time a gift-giving holiday rolled around. I'd watch the ads that aired with the Saturday morning cartoons and long to be one of those girls, pulling my own, light-bulb baked cake out of the pink-flowered oven with the special removing tool. Alas, my parents always refused to buy me one, insisting that they were dangerous. I always thought that they were making excuses because they were just terrified of what would happen if I was allowed to have an oven in my bedroom.
Today my parents were proven correct, as Hasbro has recalled over one million Easy Bake Ovens because of a ruling by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which determined that "children could get their hands caught in the front opening and suffer burns." According to the CPSC, a voluntary recall for the ovens has been in effect since February. However, since then, 249 children have gotten their hands caught, 77 report burn injuries and one girl had a finger partially amputated.
The recall applies to ovens sold between May 2006 and July 2007. Hasbro has asked people to stop using the oven and to contact them at 1-800-601-8418 for details on how to return it and receive a voucher for a different toy.
Dole has issued a recall on cartons of cantaloupes in the Eastern US and Quebec, Canada, after discovering the fruit tested positive for salmonella. Approximately 6000 cartons of the Costa Rican-grown fruit were distributed to wholesalers between the dates of February 5th though 8th, though no reports of illness have yet come in.
Though I don't know how this will help those that bought individual cantaloupes, the cartons they were packaged in were dark brown with red lettering and have a 13-digit number on them with the tenth digit of 2. If you think you may have purchased some, you can contact the store where you got them, or Dole directly at 1-800-232-8888.
Though a salmonella infection can be fatal, the most common symptoms are diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just issued a salmonella warning for some batches of Peter Pan peanut butter after linking more than 280 cases of food poisoning in 39 different states to the product. Con Agra, the manufacturer of the peanut butter, has already called for a recall, but unlike with the fresh veggies that were affected by an E. coli contamination last fall, the long shelf-life of peanut butter means that people who fail to check their jars at home could face problems at a later time. Fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps are common effects, but for those with autoimmune disorders or other serious medical conditions, salmonella infections can be life threatening.
All of the peanut butters in question are under the brand names "Peter Pan" and "Great Value" and bear the number 2111 at the beginning of the product code on the lid. They were all made at a single factory in Georgia. The first consumer that was affected by the peanut butter-borne salmonella became ill in August of 2006, so if you bought your peanut butter (assuming it's Peter Pan brand) around that time, or even a bit before, it is wise to throw it out and start with something fresh.