Food Safety News and Resources | June
June 2024
24 June | Food Safety News and Free Resources1 |
Outbreak: Trichinella in chorizo seco sausage (Argentina) |
Huge recall: Chocolate for Salmonella (USA) |
Recall: Canned coffee for botulism risk (USA) |
Recall: Bursting and leaking jars of pasta sauce (USA) |
Microplastics in food from cookware (new research) |
Update: Bird flu in dairy herds (USA) |
Webinar - Personal Hygiene: Requirements for SSOPs and Best Practices for Food Safety, 26th June |
Webinar - PFAS Testing in Food: Analytical Considerations and Challenges, 27th June |
Webinar - FSMA 204 Framework: Building Blocks for Food Safety and Compliance, 28th June |
⚠️🌭Outbreak: Trichinella in chorizo seco sausage (Argentina)
Twenty people have contracted trichinosis after consuming pork-based chorizo seco sausage contaminated with Trichinella in Argentina.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/06/trichinella-outbreak-sickens-20-in-argentina/
⚠️🦠Huge recall: Chocolate for Salmonella (USA)
More than 4 million pounds of chocolate and confectionery is being recalled from multiple states because it may be contaminated with Salmonella.
⚠️☣️ Recall: Canned coffee for botulism risk (USA)
More than 100 brands of canned coffee, made by the same manufacturer, are being recalled because the manufacturer did not file their low-acid canned foods process with the FDA, as required by regulation.
⚠️🫙 Recall: Bursting and leaking jars of pasta sauce (USA)
Jars of tomato and basil pasta sauce are being recalled after reports of “swelling, leaking, or bursting jars” which is an indication that the product has not been properly processed and might therefore contain pathogens.
🍳Microplastics in food from cookware (new research)
Researchers who simulated meal preparation using plastic and non-plastic cookware found that using plastic and PTFE (‘Teflon’) cookware can contribute 2,409 to 4,964 microplastics per annum into homecooked food.
Microplastic and PTFE contamination of food from cookware - ScienceDirect
🐄 Update: Bird flu in dairy herds (USA)
There are now 118 dairy herds affected by avian influenza A(H5N1), however the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) monitoring systems show no indication of unusual influenza activity in people. As reported previously, the virus can be passed to the milk of infected cows but does not survive pasteurisation.
https://www.cdc.gov/bird-flu/situation-summary/mammals.html
🎓 Webinar - Personal Hygiene: Requirements for SSOPs and Best Practices for Food Safety, 26th June
Food Safety Magazine is hosting a webinar on how employee personal hygiene is fundamental to food processing and food service facility sanitation.
Register here: Personal Hygiene: Requirements for SSOPs and Best Practices for Food Safety Registration (onlinexperiences.com)
🎓 Webinar - PFAS Testing in Food: Analytical Considerations and Challenges, 27th June
Hosted by Nestle, the webinar will cover what testing for PFAS in food requires, why it can be particularly challenging, and how it differs from water and environmental testing.
Register here: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
🎓 Webinar - FSMA 204 Framework: Building Blocks for Food Safety and Compliance, 28th June
Hosted by IFSQN, attendees will gain insights on the detailed framework for understanding and applying FSMA 204, which is crucial for food manufacturers, distributors, and service providers, particularly those without exemptions.
Register here: Webinar Registration (ifsqn.com)
In this week’s food fraud news:
📌 Warning for fraud in used cooking oil for biofuels.
📌 Fake fruit allegations;
📌 Food safety testing workers accused of fraud;
📌 Palm oil warning.
17 June | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
E. coli outbreak update (UK) |
Outbreak(s): Fresh cucumbers for Salmonella (USA)
Consumer confidence ratings and recall overview (Netherlands) |
Aussie recall report published (Australia) |
Webinar – Internal Auditing Practices, on-demand |
Webinar - Feeding the future: sustainable innovations and strategies in the F&B sector, 19th June
Webinar/Panel Discussion - Assuring the integrity of herbs & spices – challenges and best practice, 19th June |
This is The Rotten Apple, an independent publication dedicated to food safety. Subscribe for free to get not-boring, ad-free food safety news straight to your inbox every Monday
⚠️🦠E.coli outbreak update (UK)
At least 211 people across the UK have been sickened in the Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) outbreak, with at least 67 admitted to hospital. The cause of the illnesses appears to be pre-packaged sandwiches sold in supermarkets, and at least 60 types of sandwiches have now been recalled. The recalled products all contain salad leaves.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz448dj4x8xo
🥒 Outbreak(s): Fresh cucumbers for Salmonella (USA)
More than 350 patients have been confirmed in two outbreaks linked to fresh cucumbers. The outbreaks share similarities. Bacteria isolated from patients is either Salmonella braenderup or Salmonella africana. The outbreaks have been linked to fresh cucumbers by epidemiologic data, with three-quarters of sick people having eaten fresh cucumbers in the days before becoming ill.
📊 Consumer confidence ratings and recall overview (Netherlands)
The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) has published its annual report for 2023. Around half of all recalls were for undeclared allergens. Of surveyed consumers, 81 percent agreed or completely agreed foods are safe and 67 percent said they were satisfied with food safety.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/06/dutch-agency-reports-key-outcomes-from-2023-work/
📚 Aussie recall report published (Australia)
Food Standards Australia New Zealand have published recall statistics for Australia for the past ten years.
Key takeaways: The number of recalls per year has increased to an average of 84 per year compared to the previous ten year period, where the average was 79. The most common recall types were undeclared allergens (44%) and microbial contamination (24%). The top reasons for allergen recalls were packaging errors, followed by “supplier verification”. The allergen most commonly implicated was milk.
https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/food-recalls/recallstats
🎓 Webinar – Internal Auditing Practices, on-demand
This webinar titled Elevating Performance: Achieving Continuous Improvement through Internal Auditing Practices, hosted by IFSQN, covers best practices, real-world examples and future trends and is available on demand.
🎓 Webinar - Feeding the future: sustainable innovations and strategies in the F&B sector, 19th June
New Food will host a webinar where participants can explore how food and beverage manufacturers and retailers can collaboratively create a smarter, greener food system.
Register here:
Feeding the future: sustainable innovations and strategies in the F&B sector - New Food Magazine
🎓 Webinar/Panel Discussion - Assuring the integrity of herbs & spices – challenges and best practice, 19th June
Join the panel discussion hosted by LGC Limited on the issues facing the herb and spice industry regarding adulteration.
Register here:
Registration (gotowebinar.com)
In this week’s food fraud news:
📌 Want to find out if your pears were genuinely grown in Britain? There’s a database for that! Discover how to find authenticity testing databases.
📌 How to find a food fraud hazard/risk database;
📌 Bad apples, bad barrels and bad orchards - switching the perspectives on food fraud perpetrators;
📌 Country of origin fraud in fruit and vegetables, counterfeit canned tuna + more.
10 June | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Mystery E. coli outbreak from unknown food (UK) |
Recall: More than 800,000 units of cream cheese for Salmonella (USA) |
Recall: Crocodile feet for metal contamination (Australia) |
Bird flu in cow meat (USA) |
Infant formula recalled for Cronobacter (USA) |
Recall: Mussels for biotoxin (Australia) |
Paralytic seafood poisoning outbreak (USA) |
FDA Reorganisation (USA) |
Recall: Cookie dough for Salmonella (USA) |
Webinar - Air Treatment for Improving Food Safety and Gaining Business Advantage, 12th June |
❓🦠 Mystery outbreak: E.coli with unknown food source (UK)
More than 100 people have been sickened in an outbreak caused by a Shiga-toxin-producing
More than 100 people have been sickened in an outbreak caused by a Shiga-toxin-producing strain of Escherichia coli (STEC), with the food source yet to be identified. STEC can cause serious complications including kidney failure.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c722j41jyk1o
⚠️ Recall: More than 800,000 units of cream cheese for Salmonella (USA)
Multiple brands, hundreds of thousands of units and customers in multiple states and Puerto Rico have been affected by a massive recall by a cream cheese manufacturer because the products have the potential of Salmonella contamination.
⚠️ Recall: Crocodile feet for metal contamination (Australia)
Crocodile feet products which were “available for sale at independent retailers” are being recalled because they may contain foreign matter (metal).
🐄 Bird Flu in Cow Meat (USA)
The meat from a culled dairy cow has been found to contain traces of avian influenza (H5N1) when tested with PCR. Ninety-five other culled dairy cows tested negative for viral particles. The cow had not entered the human food chain.
https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/news/usdas-fsis-reports-h5n1-found-in-beef/
🍼 Infant formula recalled for Cronobacter (USA)
Powdered goat milk infant formula has had an extension to its initial recall after Cronobacter species were found in samples of product that was recalled due to the manufacturer’s non-compliance with regulations. No illnesses have been reported.
⚠️ Recall: Mussels for biotoxin (Australia)
Live mussels were recalled due to the presence of biotoxin from Gymnodinium catenatum – a red dinoflagellate.
https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/food-recalls/recall-alert/flinders-mussels-live-flinders-mussels
⚠️ Paralytic seafood poisoning outbreak (USA)
A mussel harvesting area was closed and people are being asked to fill surveys after at least 20 people became sick with paralytic shellfish poisoning.
🏢FDA Reorganisation (USA)
The US FDA has approved a major reorganisation which includes the creation of the Human Foods Program, which will bring the functions of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the Office of Food Policy and Response, and key functions of the Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA) under a single program. The reorganization is expected to be implemented on Oct. 1, 2024.
⚠️ Recall: Cookie dough for Salmonella (USA)
Almost 30,000 cases of cookie dough including oatmeal and ‘kitchen sink’ cookie dough are being recalled for potential Salmonella contamination. Reports do not say which ingredient or process may be the source of the contamination.
🎓 Webinar - Air Treatment for Improving Food Safety and Gaining Business Advantage, 12th June
Hosted by Food Safety Magazine, the attendees will delve into the challenges and costs of mitigating microbial contamination, the science behind Pyure's active air purification technology, and its real-world impact on operational costs, productivity gain, yield, and recalls.
Register here:
3 June | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Heavy metals in infant formula - survey (USA) |
Update: Bird flu in dairy herds (USA) |
Bird flu in raw milk can cause illness in consumers - new research |
Webinar - Unlocking the Power of PCR, 19th June |
This is The Rotten Apple, an independent publication dedicated to food safety. Subscribe for free to get not-boring, ad-free food safety news straight to your inbox every Monday
🍼 ☠Heavy metals in infant formula (USA)
A consumer group in the US has published the results of a survey conducted on 20 infant formula products, finding all contained detectable levels of aluminium and lead, noting that the limits of detection were not shared. The formulas tested were dairy-based, soy-based, US-made and imported brands. Both organic and conventional products were included.
While this is perhaps not entirely unexpected, because modern analytical tests are extremely sensitive, it’s notable that 80% of samples exceeded US EPA limits for lead in drinking water, 10% exceeded mercury limits in drinking water, 5% exceeded cadmium limits for drinking water and at least one sample exceeded the drinking water limit for aluminium by 200 times 😮.
https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/baby_formula_toxic_metals_results_released and
🐄 Bird flu in dairy herds update (USA)
Since the first detection of bird flu (Avian influenza A(H5N1) virus) in dairy cows in March 2024, there have been approximately 52 dairy herds confirmed with the virus in 9 US states. The first case of a person being infected by dairy cattle has now been confirmed in Michigan, with a farmworker, who had close contact with livestock, confirmed positive. S/he experienced mild symptoms and has since recovered.
https://www.qualityassurancemag.com/news/first-case-of-influenza-a-detected-in-michigan-resident/
🥛 Can Avian influenza in raw milk cause illnesses? New research
Researchers have investigated whether avian influenza can pass from cow’s milk to animals that drink the milk by feeding contaminated raw milk to mice. The mice became ill after drinking the milk and viral titers were recovered in high numbers from respiratory organs and lower numbers in other organs.,
The virus was also found to remain infective in milk for “several weeks” under refrigeration (4°C).
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2405495
🎓 Webinar - Unlocking the Power of Digital PCR for Food Safety and Authenticity, 19th June
This webinar, hosted by SGS will teach attendees about digital PCR applications in food testing, and provide an overview of SGS digital PCR testing services.
Register here:
Unlocking the Power of Digital PCR for Food Safety and Authenticity (on24.com)
In this week’s food fraud news:
📌 Seafood vulnerabilities report;
📌 Protocol for honey sample collection;
📌 Insights into illicit seed trading;
📌 Mass-scale organic fraud in fresh fruit and veg, dairy food adulteration in Europe, coffee smuggling and much more.
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Past Issues of Food Safety News
Food Safety News, February 2024
Food Safety News, January 2024
Food Safety News, December 2023
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.