Food Safety News and Resources | October
October 2024
28 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources1 |
Deadly E. coli outbreak linked to onions on burgers (USA) |
Mass poisoning from buckwheat flour (India) |
Frozen waffles and pancakes recalled for Listeria (Canada) |
Soup recalled due to the presence of larvae (USA) |
Foods cooled in shallower containers and using lower temperatures are safer (duh)
🎓Webinar - The Evolution of Listeria Testing: New Tools and Strategies with NQAC Dublin, 30th October |
🎓 Webinar - Navigating the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), on-demand |
💀 Deadly E. coli outbreak linked to onions on fast food burgers (USA)
An E.coli outbreak affecting at least 75 people, with 22 hospitalisations, 2 cases of haemolytic uremic syndrome and 1 death is suspected to have been caused by slivered raw onions in McDonald’s Quarter Pounder burgers. An onion supplier has recalled yellow onion products and other fast food chains have stopped using fresh onions at their stores. A lawsuit has already been filed against McDonalds by a Colorado resident who tested positive for E. coli, according to Bloomberg Law.
https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-e-coli-o157h7-mcdonalds-quarter-pounders-october-2024 and https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/24/health/mcdonalds-ecoli-quarter-pounders-recall.html
🤢 Mass poisoning from buckwheat flour (India)
More than 150 people were hospitalised after eating foods containing kuttu or buckwheat flour which is suspected of being adulterated with cheaper poisonous grains or foreign substances. Samples have been taken for testing by food safety authorities.
🦠 Frozen waffles and pancakes recalled for Listeria (Canada)
Several ranges of frozen pancakes and waffles have been recalled after their manufacturer discovered they may contain Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria recalls are common for ready-to-eat foods like smoked salmon, however, Listeria recalls for frozen bakery products are unusual.
🐛 Soup recalled due to the presence of larvae (USA)
A single batch of Hungarian mushroom soup is being recalled because it may contain larvae, presumably insect larvae. The retailer describes the product as “a fully cooked, refrigerated and reheated soup product” and says there have not been reports of adverse health effects.
🧊 Foods cooled in shallower containers and using lower temperatures are safer (duh)
A new paper explores the relationship between methods for cooling cooked foods and the likelihood of pathogen growth. No unexpected information here but I’m sharing because it could be useful for validation purposes in food safety plans.
Researchers confirmed that cooling foods at lower temperatures, such as with blast chillers or ice baths, and in shallower containers, is better than cooling foods at room temperature in deeper layers, using predictive growth models for Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X24001406?via%3Dihub
🎓 Webinar - The Evolution of Listeria Testing: New Tools and Strategies with NQAC Dublin, 30th October
Bio-Rad is hosting an engaging webinar on innovative approaches to Listeria testing.
Register here: Webinar | Bio-Rad
🎓 Webinar - Navigating the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), on-demand
Hosted by SCS Global Services, this webinar explains the EUDR, its implications for businesses trading in soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, and coffee, and the challenges of compliance.
21 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Deadly Listeria outbreak: USDA to investigate its handling of Boar’s Head (USA) |
New exceptions for mustard allergen declarations (Europe) |
Reference doses for allergens – new doc published |
FDA-regulated food recalls – new data (USA) |
Webinar - Assessing Food Safety Culture: Selecting Methods and Communicating Insights, 29th October |
Webinar - Achieving Compliance Nirvana in Manufacturing, 24th October |🔍 Deadly Listeria outbreak: USDA to investigate its handling of Boar’s Head (USA)
💀 Deadly Listeria outbreak: USDA to investigate its handling of Boar’s Head (USA)
The USDA has announced it will review its handling of the situation at the Boar’s Head facility which made the deadly liverwurst that sickened dozens and killed at least nine people this year, after a senator called for an investigation, saying “USDA took virtually no action — allowing Boar’s Head to continue business as usual at its chronically unsanitary Virginia plant — despite finding repeated serious violations. The Virginia plant should have been shut down years ago before people got sick or died from Listeria”
⚖ New exceptions for mustard allergen declarations (Europe)
The European Commission has just published new exceptions for when mustard allergens need to be declared in relation to certain emulsifiers.
Reference doses for allergens – new doc published
The FAO/ World Health Organization’s 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 doses were published last year as part of a series of four reports by an expert committee. Now a 𝘁𝘄𝗼-𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 has been released. Reference doses (RfDs) are represent safe exposure levels of allergenic proteins and are used to manage unexpected allergen presence in food. The RfDs were chosen, based on global data and can be used to guide actions like precautionary labelling and recalls.
https://openknowledge.fao.org/items/977468db-c58e-426f-bb9b-fab59f43192a
FDA-regulated food recalls – new data (USA)
A paper describing the recalls of FDA-regulated foods in the USA from 2002 to 2023 has been published. In that time there were a total of 35,548 recalls, equivalent to approximately 5 per day. Biological contamination – primarily Listeria and Salmonella - and allergens were the most common causes.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X24001625
🎓Webinar - Assessing Food Safety Culture: Selecting Methods and Communicating Insights, 29th October
Food Safety Magazine will be hosting an insightful webinar exploring effective methods to assess food safety culture within your organization and communicate key findings for continuous improvement.
Register here: Assessing Food Safety Culture: Selecting Methods and Communicating Insights Registration (onlinexperiences.com)
🎓Webinar - Achieving Compliance Nirvana in Manufacturing, 24th October
Hosted by Intertek Alchemy, the webinar will provide real-world examples from industry peers on how to leverage easy-to-use technology to ensure employees are following SOPs correctly on the floor. As well as how to streamline internal auditing processes with mobile processes and equipment checks.
Register here: Registration (gotowebinar.com)
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
In this week’s food fraud news:
📌 A copy of the Codex Alimentarius’ Draft Guidelines On The Prevention And Control Of Food Fraud;
📌 Honey fraud in Europe explored;
📌 Pork and horsemeat adulterants in beef and chicken;
📌 (Unusual) Adulteration of fresh whole potatoes.
Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.
14 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Recall (flashback): Enoki mushrooms for Listeria again (USA) |
Recall: 10 million pounds of meat and poultry products + salads (USA) |
Food Safety Oversight report (European Union) |
Streamlined complaints reporting for consumers and whistleblowers (US FDA) |
Webinar - Understanding Foreign Material Inspection Inside and Out, 17th October |
Webinar - Explore EU plans to ban BPA and bisphenols in food contact products, 17th October |
Webinar - BRCGS Packaging Standard Issue 7 Launch, 28th October |
⚠️ Recall (flashback): Enoki Mushrooms for Listeria again (USA)
There have been multiple recalls of enoki mushrooms in various countries from 2022 due to Listeria contamination, including in the United Kingdom, USA and Canada. UK agencies tested enoki mushrooms in 2023 and found 30% of samples (n = 40) contained L. monocytogenes, “sometimes at high levels”. The samples in those tests originated in China, South Korea, Thailand and “other Asian countries”.
Now there is a recall of ‘Grown in USA’ enoki mushrooms. The mushrooms were grown in California and distributed nationwide.
⚠ Recall: 10 million pounds of meat and poultry products + salads (USA)
Ready-to-eat meat and poultry products (9,986, 245 pounds) have been recalled in the USA after routine testing by the FSIS found Listeria monocytogenes in the products. The products are also used in various packaged salads including those of major brands, and these have also been recalled.
📗 Food Safety Oversight report (European Union)
A report describing the EU Commission’s official controls in 2022 mentions the following food safety trends:
In fish and fisheries, the main concerns were control of small fishing vessels, including vessel registration and landing sites and concern about illegal treatments for histamine prevention/removal – specifically whether test methods are suitable for detecting such treatments.
In meat, low-throughput slaughterhouses were found to be more risky, while there are weaknesses in the training and supervision of official veterinarians.
In dairy, testing of raw milk and verification of thermal treatments was identified as a weakness.
In primary production, microbial risks were better controlled compared to previous years, except for sprouting operations which are still not adequately controlled.
Across all sectors and countries, there was a trend of authorities not having enough resources such as staff or money for testing. During the reporting period, authorities had trouble inspecting the desired number of facilities.
☎ Streamlined complaints reporting for consumers and whistleblowers (US FDA)
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has changed its process for handling food safety-related complaints. The new process aims to support more consistent processing and earlier detection of potential problems.
https://www.fda.gov/food/resources-you-food/industry-and-consumer-assistance-hfp
🎓Webinar - Understanding Foreign Material Inspection Inside and Out, 17th October
Food Safety Magazine is hosting a webinar to provide an in-depth understanding of foreign material inspection in manufacturing processes.
Register here:
Understanding Foreign Material Inspection Inside and Out Registration (onlinexperiences.com)
🎓Webinar - Explore EU plans to ban BPA and bisphenols in food contact products, 17th October
The webinar, hosted by SGS will explain the reasons behind the ban on BPA and other bisphenols, outlining any exceptions to the ban and its impact on food contact materials and food safety.
Register here:
Explore EU plans to ban BPA and bisphenols in food contact products (on24.com)
🎓Webinar - BRCGS Packaging Standard Issue 7 Launch, 28th October
Join BRCGS in launching a webinar for a full introduction to Global Standard Packaging Materials Issue 7. Learn more about the background to Issue 7, details of the key changes in requirements and protocol, and what support is available to transition sites.
Register here:
Packaging Materials Issue 7 - Launch webinar and training updates | BRCGS
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
This week’s food fraud news includes:
📌 Food fraud investigation training;
📌 Highlights from the EU monthly fraud suspicions report;
📌 Warnings for peanuts, pecans and phosphates;
📌 Ginseng fraud.
Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.
7 October | Food Safety News and Free Resources |
Peanut-mustard Allergen Recalls Continue (United Kingdom) |
Trending Food Safety Hazards (Global) |
Caffeine Overdose and Supplement Misuse (UK) |
Shroom Edibles Update – Another Death (USA) |
Deadly Listeria Outbreak Traced to Contaminated Bakers’ Yeast (Switzerland) |
Mystery Cyclospora Outbreak (USA) |
Rare Salmonella Serovar Causes More Than 100 Illnesses (Europe) |
Deadly Salmonella Outbreak from Pet Geckos (Canada) |
Annual Food Survey Results (United Kingdom) |
Shigella Outbreak Linked to Restaurant (USA) |
Webinar - Compressed Air Quality Testing - What you need to know, 11th October |
⚠️ Peanut-mustard allergens recalls continue (United Kingdom)
The official recall webpage for the presence of undeclared peanut proteins in mustard powder and mustard-containing products has been updated 9 times as extra products are added to the list of recalled products which includes products as diverse as sandwiches, beef jerky, mayonnaise and sauces.
https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/alert/fsa-aa-42-2024-update-9
📉 Trending food safety hazards (Global)
The good people at Agroknow, who operate the food fraud and food safety risk prediction and monitoring tool FoodAkai have said that the biggest two hazards for September were mustard allergens and sesame seed allergens with 199 and 192 incidents respectively.
💀 Caffeine overdose death from supplement (UK)
Authorities have issued guidance on the safe use of caffeine-containing food supplements after a man died after miscalculating how much caffeine powder and consuming the equivalent of 200 cups of coffee. Fewer than half of consumers check dosage instructions on supplement labels.
🍄 Shroom Edibles Update – another death (USA)
On the 1st July, we reported that there had been 23 illnesses from confectionary containing psychoactive substances, with the brand owner initially refusing to recall products. On the 29th July, we reported the illnesses had increased to 74 with 2 deaths saying a recall had commenced but the products were still available in some stores. Now, more than two months later, another person has died. There are now 198 reports of exposure and 108 people who experienced more severe illnesses.
Intriguingly, Food Safety News reports that the New Jersey Poison Center says that the products contain a blend of mushrooms that do not include hallucinogenic mushrooms such as magic mushrooms (psilocybin) and uses the phrase “[such products] might contain potentially harmful contaminants”.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/10/third-death-reported-in-outbreak-associated-with-diamond-shrumz-edibles/ (New Jersey Poison Center source could not be located)
🍞 Deadly Listeria outbreak traced to contaminated bakers’ yeast (Switzerland)
A multi-year outbreak of Listeria, which affected 34 people and caused 7 deaths, has been linked to contaminated baker’s yeast. This is an unusual outbreak because baker’s yeast is not a ready-to-eat food, and is usually cooked before eating. A common food could not be found when victims were interviewed.
The outbreak was solved using whole genome sequencing. Listeria monocytogenes was found in bakers’ yeast by a laboratory and was found to match clinical isolates from affected patients. The same strain was later discovered at the yeast manufacturing site. The yeast was sold to retail customers and to industry. The outbreak strain was also detected in food items in several restaurants and institutional catering establishments suggesting cross-contamination between the yeast and ready-to-eat food.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/30/11/24-0764_article
🦠 Mystery Cyclospora Outbreak (USA)
The number of people sickened in an outbreak of Cyclospora cayetanensis infections in the USA has climbed since the first report by the FDA on 7th August, reaching 60 patients. The source of the illnesses has not been reported, but a traceback process has been initiated.
https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/investigations-foodborne-illness-outbreaks
🥬 Rare Salmonella serovar causes more than 100 illnesses (Europe)
Salmonella umbilo, a rarely recorded serovar, has sickened more than 100 people in Germany, Denmark and Austria. The food source is thought to be rocket (arugula) grown in Italy.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/10/germany-hit-hardest-in-multi-country-salmonella-outbreak/
💀 Deadly Salmonella outbreak from pet geckos (Canada)
One person has died and three people have been hospitalised in a Salmonella outbreak linked to pet geckos. Authorities have warned people not to touch their face, eyes or mouth before washing their hands after handling pet geckos, and to never kiss pet reptiles.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/10/salmonella-outbreak-traced-to-pet-geckos/
📗 Annual food survey results (United Kingdom)
In the fourth annual survey by the United Kingdom’s Food Standards Agency of retail foods for safety and authenticity, food samples (1,025) from retail outlets, including online outlets were tested for undeclared allergens, contaminants, adulteration, inaccurate composition and incorrect labelling. The overall compliance rate was high. Notable food safety issues include soya pieces of which 43% (n = 30) contained high levels of ochratoxin A; potato snacks of which 27% contained acrylamide above benchmark levels. There were notable food fraud results for frozen raw chicken and frozen beef burgers, as described in this week’s food fraud news.
https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/fsa-publishes-its-fourth-retail-surveillance-survey-as-targeted-approach-to-food-testing-continues and https://science.food.gov.uk/article/123490-surveillance-sampling-programme-2023-24
🧫Shigella outbreak (USA)
Fourteen people have been sickened in an outbreak of shigellosis linked to a restaurant in Illinois, with six requiring hospitalisation. All patients attended the restaurant on one of two days. The food source has not been identified. To learn more about Shigella, see this week’s newsletter.
https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2024/10/shigella-outbreak-traced-to-steakhouse/
🎓Webinar - Compressed Air Quality Testing - What you need to know, 11th October
Hosted by IFSQN, the webinar will lead a discussion covering all the basics of what you need to know about compressed air testing. From what contaminants to look for, to which standards to reference, to setting up a monitoring plan and choosing an air quality testing lab, viewers will leave the presentation armed with the knowledge to build and execute an effective compressed air monitoring plan in their facility.
Register here: Compressed Air Quality Testing - What You Need to Know (webinarjam.com)
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
This week’s food fraud news includes:
📌 Updates from the Codex Food Fraud Working Group;
📌 Mineral water scandal update;
📌 Warning for seafood;
📌 Incidents involving mushrooms, bologna, turmeric, chocolate, vegetables, abalone, dairy foods and more.
Become a paid subscriber to access The Rotten Apple’s food fraud news.