Food Safety News and Resources | December

December 2024

Dec 01, 2024

Recall: Cucumbers for Salmonella (USA, Canada) |
That’s unusual: a rescinded (cancelled) recall (USA, Canada) |
Raw milk recalled for bird flu (USA) |
PFAS in fish (Switzerland) |
Cadmium in tomatoes (Europe) |
Salmonella in raw poultry, new framework – your chance to comment (USA) |
Webinar - The Annual Food Safety Culture Virtual Conference, 11th December |
Webinar - Cooking Instructions Validation: How to Ensure the Safety of Not-Ready-to-Eat Products, 12th December |

⚠🥒 Recall: Cucumbers for Salmonella (USA, Canada)

Whole fresh American cucumbers in bulk cartons are being recalled because they are associated with salmonellosis illnesses that have affected 68 people with at least 18 hospitalizations. The cucumbers are from one company and one grower.

https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-salmonella-cucumbers-november-2024

⚠ 🛑 That’s unusual: a rescinded recall (USA, Canada)

A laboratory error has been blamed for an erroneous recall of fresh green onions. The green onions (1,271 cases) were recalled after a single product sample returned a positive Salmonella result. However, when the isolate was sequenced it was found to be a genetic match for the laboratory’s positive control strain. An investigation revealed that the sample had been contaminated within the lab. The recall was rescinded by the US FDA and safety alert notice(s) were removed from the Government of Canada’s Recalls and Safety Alerts website.

https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2024/recall-of-church-brothers-green-onions-for-salmonella-cancelled/

⚠🥛 Raw milk recalled for bird flu (USA)

A sample of raw milk from a dairy tested positive for an H5 virus, most likely H5N1, prompting a recall of one lot of raw milk sold by a dairy in California. The testing was carried out by a local government health office, which is testing raw milk products from retail stores.

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/11/raw-farm-dairy-recalls-raw-milk-because-of-contamination-with-bird-flu/

🐟 PFAS in fish (Switzerland)

Six common species of fish in Swiss lakes were analysed for PFAS levels. “Significant” contamination was found, particularly in Perca fluviatilis with perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) levels often exceeding EU safety limits.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00216-024-05524-1

🍅 Cadmium in tomatoes (Europe)

A possible new or newly discovered hazard in tomatoes, cadmium contamination, has been brought to the attention of food businesses in Europe and the United Kingdom after two safety alerts in September for high levels of cadmium in tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. It’s possible that recent flooding in tomato-growing areas of Europe has brought cadmium-contaminated soils or water into previously uncontaminated areas.

https://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2024/10/09/heavy-metals-in-tomatoes/

🐔 Salmonella in raw poultry, new framework – your chance to comment (USA)

Stakeholders have a chance to comment and ask questions about the proposed final product standards under the proposed framework for Salmonella in raw poultry products. Process monitoring and control will be addressed in a second meeting.

More information: https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/news/fsis-to-host-virtual-public-meetings-on-salmonella-framework/

🎓Webinar - The Annual Food Safety Culture Virtual Conference, 11th December

Hosted by QA, this webinar will provide a more fundamental understanding of food safety culture, what it looks like, why it’s important, and where there are opportunities to improve it.

🎓Webinar - Cooking Instructions Validation: How to Ensure the Safety of Not-Ready-to-Eat Products, 12th December

Join Food Safety Magazine for an insightful webinar where experts will discuss how the cooking instructions for new and renovated products are validated to ensure the lethality of microbial bacteria during the cooking process.

In this week’s food fraud news:

📌 Olive oil test method;
📌 Analysis fraud;
📌 Carbonated beverages;
📌 Fake oils.

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