Food Safety News and Resources | May

May 2024

27 May | Food Safety News and Free Resources¹ |

• Daycare workers spiked children’s food* with melatonin (USA) |

• Recall: Chocolate Corn Flakes for Hard Food Lumps (Ireland) |

• Recall: Chia Seeds for Salmonella (USA) |

• Recall: Sweet snacks for Salmonella in the coating liquid (USA) |

• Sous-vide validation: new study published|

• Webinar - Audit Ready: Streamlined Data Management for Seamless Compliance, 4th June |

• Webinar - Solving Foreign Material Contamination-How External X-Ray Inspection Saves More Product and Reduces Rework, 30th May |

😮 WTF moment: Daycare workers spiked children’s food* with melatonin (USA)

*allegedly

Police allege that four workers at a daycare facility were involved in “sprinkling” children’s food with melatonin, a sleep aid with sedative effects, without the knowledge or consent of parents.  Melatonin can be purchased over the counter in the USA.  Investigations began after a tip from someone in the facility.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/daycare-food-melatonin-police/

⚠ Recall: Chocolate Corn Flakes for hard lumps (Ireland)

Chocolate-flavoured Corn Flakes from several batches have been recalled due to the presence of hard lumps that may pose a choking hazard or cause dental damage.  The lumps appear to be ‘food lumps’ rather than foreign objects.  The recall notice does not say whether the lumps are cornflake-based or chocolate-flavour/coating components.

https://www.fsai.ie/news-and-alerts/food-alerts/recall-of-several-batches-of-kellogg-s-corn-flakes

⚠ Recall: Chia seeds for Salmonella (USA)

Black chia seeds are being recalled due to the possible presence of Salmonella.  Chia seeds can be eaten raw or cooked.

https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/news/natural-sourcing-international-announces-voluntary-recall-of-black-chia-seeds

⚠ Recall: Sweet snacks for Salmonella in the coating liquid (USA)

A candy company has recalled cookies, caramel corn, coated pretzels and snack mixes because the company was “notified by its liquid coating supplier that there was a potential for contamination with Salmonella from an ingredient that was potentially contaminated from one of their suppliers.”

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/update-palmer-candy-company-recall-white-confectionary-products-because-possible-health-risk

🥩 Sous-vide cooking method validation: new study published

A new paper shares results obtained for pathogen reduction during sous-vide cooking of beef products, including ground beef, tenderised steaks and nontenderised steaks.  Interestingly, the beef was inoculated with the pathogens by adding contaminated black pepper.  The sous-vide cooking method was compared to grilling to a pre-determined internal temperature.  Sous-vide cooking for 120 minutes at 62.5°C achieved a 5-log reduction.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X2400036X

🍏 For more on sous-vide safety, check out this special supplement for paying subscribers 🍏

The Food Safety Aspects of Sous Vide

🎓 Webinar - Audit Ready: Streamlined Data Management for Seamless Compliance, 4th June

Hosted by FoodChain ID, this webinar will explore the advanced strategies to manage your audit-related information more effectively. 

Register here: Webinar Registration - Zoom

🎓 Webinar - Solving Foreign Material Contamination-How External X-Ray Inspection Saves More Product and Reduces Rework, 30th May

Hosted by Food Safety Magazine, in this webinar participants will learn:

·        The most common sources of foreign material contamination

·        How to respond when an incident occurs

·        How external X-ray inspection technology differs from an in-line setup

·        The benefits of managing externally vs. in-house

Register here:

Solving Foreign Material Contamination—How External X-Ray Inspection Saves More Product and Reduces Rework Registration (onlinexperiences.com)

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In this week’s food fraud news:

📌 89% fraud in certain supplements;
📌 Cage-free egg warning;
📌 Adulteration in watermelon, seafood, turmeric and chilli;
📌 Multifloral versus monofloral honey fraud comparison.

Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.

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20 May | Food Safety News and Free Resources |

• Mad cow disease (BSE) reappears (Scotland) |

• Botulism outbreak from mayonnaise (Saudi Arabia) |

• Significant proportion of imported foods contain undeclared allergens (United Kingdom)

• EFSA report on pesticide residues in food (Europe) |

• Recalled peanuts re-sold (New Zealand) |

• Guar gum safety in doubt (Europe) |

• Food Risk Component Databases – a scientific review |

• Emerging risk: Elizabethkingia anopheles bacteria |

• Webinar - New Research: Impact of Frontline Employee Training on Food Manufacturing Performance, 22nd May |

• Webinar - Statistics for Validation for non-statisticians, 23rd May |

• Stay Compliant with the Latest GRMA Standards: Amendment One Explained, 29th May |

• Webinar - How to Achieve Excellence in Food Safety Business Leadership, 16th May |

🐄 Mad cow disease (BSE) reappears (Scotland)

A case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), also called mad cow disease, has been confirmed in a bovine animal at a farm in Scotland.  During the previous outbreak of BSE in the UK in the 1990s, 4.4 million cattle were slaughtered.

BSE is contracted by cattle when they ingest animal products containing BSE, a prion-mediated disease.  The source of the current case is being investigated.

The National Farmers Union for England and Wales said “This is an unusual but not an unexpected event”.  Great Britain conducts BSE surveillance, carrying out approximately 100,000 BSE tests each year. There are no current risks to human health or food safety.

https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2024/05/13/BSE-mad-cow-case-confirmed-in-UK-What-we-know-so-far

💀 Botulism outbreak from mayonnaise (Saudi Arabia)

Commercially produced mayonnaise has been linked with a botulism outbreak that sickened 75 people and killed one person.  Clostridium botulinum was found at the mayonnaise manufacturing site and Arab News reported that the bacterium had been found in “the mayonnaise brand”.  Publicly available information is unclear about whether C. botulinum or its toxin were isolated from any mayonnaise product.  Botulism outbreaks are not usually associated with commercial mayonnaise, which is manufactured with a low pH to prevent the growth of C. botulinum.  Commentators speculate that production processes may have failed, allowing for incorrect pH or pockets of product with higher pH.

https://www.arabnews.com/node/2508531/saudi-arabia

⚠ 🥜 Significant proportion of imported foods contain undeclared allergens (United Kingdom)

A survey of packaged foods imported to the United Kingdom from Asia and purchased online (n = 768) examined them for the presence of precautionary allergen labelling and investigated whether the allergen information was consistent between the on-pack and online information for each product.  Within a sub-set of products (n = 100), 15% had allergen information that was inconsistent between the packs and online and a further 36% had information that was matching but possibly incorrect.  Within another subset of samples (n = 77), 31% contained ‘unintended’ food allergens including milk and peanut and 5% did not carry precautionary labelling for such.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713524001798

📕 EFSA report on pesticide residues in food (Europe)

Data from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) survey of pesticide residues in foods has been released.  The EFSA tested 110,829 samples of food and 96% of them were compliant, meaning any residents were below the regulated limits.   The EFSA concluded that the risk to consumer health from pesticide residues is low.

https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/8753 

🥜 Recalled peanuts re-sold (New Zealand)

Packages of peanuts that were recalled due to aflatoxin contamination were then accidentally re-sold by the brand owner.

https://www.mpi.govt.nz/news/media-releases/recalled-peanuts-mistakenly-released-for-sale/

🧪 Guar gum safety in doubt (Europe)

The European Food Safety Authority’s Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings has reconsidered the safety of guar gum additive (E 412) in children’s food, in the context of heavy metal contaminants and concluded it may not be safe to use in foods for young children and infants.  It also suggested that specifications related to heavy metal limits may need to be amended.

https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2024.8748

👁‍🗨 Food Risk Component Databases – a scientific review

A new paper discusses 50 food risk component databases with the aim of assisting researchers to access data, foster the digital transformation of the food industry, and support intelligent food safety supervision.  One for food safety academics.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924224424001894?via%3Dihub

🦠 Emerging risk: Elizabethkingia anopheles bacteria

Elizabethkingia anopheles is a bacterial pathogen that causes high mortality and high morbidity in vulnerable populations including infants, and has recently caused meningitis in a newborn infant.  Its source is believed to be the water reservoir of an appliance used to automatically prepare warmed bottled milk for infants, where it was found in the water and in a biofilm sample.

https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.14.2400177

🎓 Webinar - New Research: Impact of Frontline Employee Training on Food Manufacturing Performance, 22nd May

Hosted by Intertek Alchemy, attendees of the webinar will learn which training best practices motivate employees and improve workforce production the most.

Register here:  Registration (gotowebinar.com)

🎓 Webinar - Statistics for Validation for non-statisticians, 23rd May

Compliance Webinars will host a webinar to discuss the common statistics tools and techniques used in validation.

Register here:

Statistics for Validation for non-statisticians: ComplianceWebinars

🎓 Webinar - Stay Compliant with the Latest GRMA Standards: Amendment One Explained, 29th May

Eurofins Food Assurance North America will host a webinar wherein speakers will break down Amendment One’s key changes, their impact on your business, and the steps you need to ensure compliance. 

Register here:

Food Assurance | Webinar: Stay Compliant with the Latest GRMA Standards: Amendment One Explained - Eurofins USA

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In this week’s food fraud news:

📌 An insider report for peppers;
📌 Pharmaceutical drugs in mood-enhancing food supplements;
📌 Peanuts, almonds;
📌 Facility raided over plastic containers.

Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.

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13 May | Food Safety News and Free Resources |

• Man charged over ‘bodily fluids’ in food (USA) |

• Recall: Organic walnuts for STEC E. coli (USA) |

• Recall: Roasted nuts recalled for possible Listeria contamination (USA) |

• Large outbreak:  547 sick with Salmonella (Vietnam)

• Agricultural Water Rule Published (USA) |

• Small scale plant production farms to be regulated (United Arab Emirates) |

• Acrylamide Safety - new information |

• Webinar - Protecting Your Brand: Key Strategies to Strengthen Food Safety Culture and Communication, 15th May |

• Webinar - Success Factors for Developing and Implementing Effective Food Safety Training Programs, 15th May |

• Webinar - IAFP’s Bridging Cybersecurity and Food Protection: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 15th May |

• Webinar - How to Achieve Excellence in Food Safety Business Leadership, 16th May |

😰 Man charged over ‘bodily fluids’ in food (USA)

A 21 year old man has been charged over the contamination of food with ‘bodily fluids’, which occurred during one month while he was working at a restaurant.  Police are calling for people who ate at the restaurant to report any symptoms they experienced.

https://lawandcrime.com/crime/steakhouse-employees-bodily-fluids-contaminated-food-for-a-month-prosecutors-say/

⚠️ Recall: Organic walnuts for STEC E. coli (USA)

Shelled walnuts have been recalled because they are potentially contaminated with E. Coli 0157:H7.  AT least 12 illnesses have been recorded.  The walnuts were from a single farm and were sold in bulk to distributors and retailers who packed them or on-sold them in bulk.  The FDA is warning retailers to clean and sanitise bulk bins that have contained organic walnuts from the affected farm. 

“Retailers that received recalled product from a distributor but do not know the brand or lot code information, you should hold product, sanitize your bins, and contact your supplier.” US FDA

https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/gibson-farms-voluntarily-recalls-organic-light-halves-and-pieces-shelled-walnuts-because-possible

⚠️ Recall: Roasted nuts recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination (USA)

Something must have gone really wrong with post-cooking area sanitation to get Listeria in roasted nuts.  No illnesses have been reported, but products with two best before dates are being recalled.

https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2024/planters-peanuts-and-mixed-nuts-recalled-for-listeria/

🦠 Large outbreak:  547 sick with Salmonella (Vietnam)

A large number of people have been sickened, with 466 discharged from hospital and 81 remaining in hospital after eating banh mi sandwiches, which contain pate, pork and raw vegetables, from a bakery.  Patients tested positive for Salmonella. The sandwiches came from a bakery that did not have the correct food safety certifications and not all employees had the correct training or health certificates, a situation that is common to around 80% of bakeries in that area.

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/05/hundreds-sick-in-vietnam-after-eating-at-bakery/

💧 Agricultural Water Rule Published (USA)

The US FDA has published a final rule covering preharvest agricultural water designed to minimise risks, which includes testing of pre-harvest water under certain circumstances, risk assessments for environmental conditions, adjacent land use, and mitigation measures.  The rule requires farms to conduct assessments on their pre-harvest agricultural water.  Enforcement dates range from 9 months to 33 months depending on the size of the farm.

https://www.food-safety.com/articles/9449-fda-publishes-fsma-preharvest-agricultural-water-final-rule

🥬 Small scale plant production farms to be regulated  (United Arab Emirates)

Small scale farms in Abu Dhabi will be subject to new regulations covering plant production and agricultural practices in Abu Dhabi.

https://www.mediaoffice.abudhabi/en/environment/abu-dhabi-agriculture-and-food-safety-authority-issues-condition-and-controls-for-smallholder-plant-production-farms/

🧪 Acrylamide Safety (New Information)

A new study of Italian consumers has considered the health burden of cancer from acrylamides in food.  Researchers estimated the daily intake of acrylamide by Italians and concluded that dietary exposure does carry a risk of cancer for both men and women in Italy.  The cancer risk was similar for men and women but varied with age.  The Disability-adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100,000 individuals for cancer from acrylamide consumption was 12.3 – 25.4 for me and 11.4 – 24.1. 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691524002655

Image: Mihalache, Dall-Asta (2024)

🎓 Webinar - Protecting Your Brand: Key Strategies to Strengthen Food Safety Culture and Communication, 15th May

FoodChain ID will host a webinar that will feature two food industry experts who have navigated the challenges and development strategies to build and measure effective food safety culture and communication plans.

Register here:

Webinar Registration - Zoom

🎓 Webinar - Success Factors for Developing and Implementing Effective Food Safety Training Programs, 15th May

Hosted by Neogen, participants will learn how to maintain learner engagement, ensure content retention, and provide teaching tips and techniques to help them become better educators.

Register here: Success Factors for Developing and Implementing Effective Food Safety Training Programs (on24.com)

🎓 Webinar - IAFP’s Bridging Cybersecurity and Food Protection: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 15th May

Hosted by IAFP, this webinar targeted for food protection professionals will distill the complexities of digital and cyber-physical integration into actionable insights.

Register here: Registration (gotowebinar.com)

🎓 Webinar - How to Achieve Excellence in Food Safety Business Leadership, 16th May

In this webinar hosted by Food Safety Magazine participants will gain insights on how to align food safety to business objectives, how to lead a food safety program as a value proposition for the business, and how to succeed in global food safety business leadership through the power of influence, among other topics. 

Register here: How to Achieve Excellence in Food Safety Business Leadership Registration (onlinexperiences.com)

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In this week’s food fraud news:

📌 Protein supplements mislabelled at alarming rates;
📌 Textile dyes in turmeric and chilli powder;
📌 Coffee containing undeclared pharmaceutical erectile drug;
📌 Fraud in fresh produce (warning).

Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.

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6 May | Food Safety News and Free Resources |

• Bird flu fragments in dairy products (USA) |

• Recall: Fried onions for Staphylococcus aureus (USA) |

• Recall trends (USA, Europe) |

• Artificial smoke flavour declared unsafe and banned (Europe) |

• Salmonella rules for NOT ready-to-eat food (USA) |

• Ethylene oxide in spices from India |

• Parasitic worms in canned fish (Malaysia) |

• Webinar - Webinar - From Problem to Prevention: Implement Effective Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Actions |

• Webinar - 4 Ways to Combat Rising Costs with Product Inspection: Flow Wrap Edition |

• Webinar - Webinar - Food Hygiene and Sanitation Updates for Key GFSI-Benchmarked Schemes |

⚠️🧬 Bird flu fragments in dairy products (USA)

The US FDA and academic researchers have found fragments of viral RNA from avian influenza in milk, cottage cheese and sour cream (all pasteurized) at rates of 20% and 39% of samples respectively. This indicates the number of dairy herds infected with avian flu could be higher than previously suspected. There is no risk to humans from eating or drinking dairy foods from pasteurized milk, but consumers should avoid raw milk, undercooked beef and raw eggs.

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/are-milk-and-ground-beef-safe-from-bird-flu-what-the-latest-testing-tells-us-235346031.html?guccounter=1

⚠️ Recall: Fried onions for Staphylococcus aureus (USA)

Crispy fried onions have been recalled in the USA over fears of Staphylococcus aureus growth. S. aureus can produce a toxin when it grows in food. It is not usually associated with fried foods or vegetables.

https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/05/frenchs-original-crispy-fried-onions-recalled-over-staphylococcus-aureus-concerns/

⚠️ Recall Trends (USA, Europe)

Food recalls in the USA and food safety alerts in Europe are on track to be the highest for many years this year.  Figures for the first quarter of 2024 predict that this year will have the highest number of recalls since 2018 for the US FDA and the highest number of EU Food RASFF notifications since 2014. 

https://www.rqa-group.com/product-recall-bulletin-2024-q1/

🚫 Artificial smoke flavour declared unsafe and banned (Europe)

After the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) reported that certain smoke flavours were unsafe to use in foods due to their cancer-causing properties and links to infertility, the EU parliament has now banned their use.  There is a transition period before the bans will be enforced.  

https://www.dutchnews.nl/2024/04/eu-bans-harmful-artificial-smoke-flavourings-for-food/

🦠 Salmonella rules for NOT ready-to-eat food (USA)

The USDA has introduced a new policy that declares Salmonella to be an ‘adulterant’ and hence not allowed in raw breaded stuffed chicken products that are not ready-to-eat, meaning they must be cooked before eating. The determination will be effective on May 1, 2025.

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/news-events/news-press-releases/usda-finalizes-policy-protect-consumers-salmonella-raw-breaded

🧪 Ethylene oxide in spices from India

Regulatory authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore have warned others that spices from India, including of the Everest brand, contain ethylene oxide, an unauthorised pesticide/sterilant.  The spices include Madras curry powder, Marsala and curry powder. Ethylene oxide contamination recalls have been an ongoing issue for multiple years, with the number of notifications lower now than in the past two years.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/food-news/international-agency-finds-cancer-causing-chemicals-in-popular-indian-spice-brands/articleshow/109473305.cms

🪱 Parasitic worms in canned fish (Malaysia)

Canned sardines from China were found to contain Anisakis parasitic worms which can cause abdominal pain, diarrhoea, nausea, and vomiting when ingested.  Reports do not reveal how or if the worms had survived the canning process.

https://theindependent.sg/parasitic-worms-found-in-canned-sardines-imported-from-china-via-singapore/

🎓 Webinar - 4 Ways to Combat Rising Costs with Product Inspection: Flow Wrap Edition, 8th May

METTLER TOLEDO will be hosting a webinar that will include a demonstration of some of their most popular product inspection technologies to showcase their cutting-edge features and benefits in high-speed production environments. 

Register here:

Quality Assurance for Flow Wrap Manufacturers | Live Webinar (mt.com)

🎓 Webinar - Food Hygiene and Sanitation Updates for Key GFSI-Benchmarked Schemes, 16th May

Hosted by New Food, this webinar will discuss how to maximize food safety, through compliance with the hygiene and sanitation requirements of the most popular GFSI benchmarked certification schemes. 

Register here:

Food Hygiene and Sanitation Updates for Key GFSI-Benchmarked Schemes (vikan.com)

🎓 Webinar - From Problem to Prevention: Implement Effective Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Actions, 15th May

Hosted by Eurofins Food Assurance North America, the webinar will dive into the powerful duo of Root Cause Analysis (RCA) and Corrective Actions (CA), equipping you to tackle issues at their core.

Register here:

Food Assurance | Free Digital Seminar Presented by SQF: From Problem to Prevention: Implement Effective Root Cause Analysis and Corrective Actions (eurofinsus.com)

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In this week’s food fraud news:

📌 Large scale grain fraud;
📌 Premium wines at risk;
📌 Illegal meat imports;
📌 Palm sugar fraud.

Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.

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Past Issues of Food Safety News

Food Safety News, April 2024

Food Safety News, March 2024

Food Safety News, April 2024

Food Safety News, March 2024

Food Safety News, February 2024

Food Safety News, January 2024

Food Safety News, December 2023

1. Click here for important information about the news and resources provided by this publication. Note: No food safety news was published on 1st April 2024.