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More on Listeria in pasta meals (what the experts say)
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Packaging Corner
Food fraud news, emerging issues and recent incidents.
Well, hello everyone!
This week’s issue had me second-guessing myself. In pursuit of more insights into the US Listeria outbreak and recall from last week’s issue, I discovered something controversial in the PCQI training material as it relates to Listeria controls for a pasta meal. I spent a lot of time investigating and writing about it. And ultimately decided not to publish it.
Was it all a huge waste of my time? Did I do the right thing? I don’t know! These are the joys of being an independent publisher…
On a more positive note, this issue’s Packaging Corner is packed with interesting tidbits and a handy template for packaging manufacturers.
And there’s plenty to sink your teeth into in the Food Fraud News, including follow-ups from 3 past stories (jail time for one perp!), 4 new test methods, 5 horizon scanning notes and 11 recent incidents.
Enjoy!
Karen
Cover image: AI imagines a pasta-making facility in need of a thorough decontamination
Help a researcher out
This week I have two requests from researchers who are looking for your help in the next week.
Food safety incidents
Phil Arnold is seeking to understand how the food industry employs reduction strategies for food safety incidents and discover how lessons learned from incidents are shared and implemented. Phil’s research is part of his Masters (MSc) degree in Food Safety, Hygiene and Management at the University of Birmingham, UK. Phil’s survey will take approx. 10 minutes
Food safety incident survey (closes 17th July)
Supplier screening
John Keogh is conducting research that aims to identify real-world practices in supplier approvals processes, with a focus on: food safety and authenticity, transparency and trust, social and environmental risk, supplier opportunism and risk mitigation strategies.
John’s requesting input from anyone who has evaluated a new supplier in the past five years, and is in a food role such as food safety, quality, technical, R&D, procurement, management/executive.
John’s survey will take approx. 6 minutes and includes a chance to win an iPad.
Supplier screening survey (closes mid July)
More about Listeria and pasta meals
Last week’s article about the deadly Listeria outbreak and recall from chicken pasta meals in the US sparked a lot of conversation…
What the experts say
In the past week, I’ve been assisted by some very smart food safety people about the Listeria outbreak and have received feedback about my coverage. Thought you might be interested to hear what the experts have to say.
The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) classifies the recalled food as ready-to-eat (RTE). I didn’t make this clear in my original article, since the product is marketed with instructions to “heat thoroughly,” and I judged the use of RTE to be confusing in that context. Our community understands that consumers will sometimes fail to prepare such meals as directed, and such meals should therefore not contain Listeria monocytogenes, no matter their legal classification.
The food is regulated by the USDA since it contains chicken.
Within the US, and irrespective of whether the food is USDA-regulated or FDA-regulated, there are no allowances for shipping ready meals with L. monocytogenes. Correspondents confirmed that hazards related to consumer misuse are reasonably foreseeable and must be controlled (USDA HACCP) or be subject to preventive controls (FDA), no ifs, no buts.
Experts confirmed it’s likely the contamination occurred due to an environmental issue in the manufacturing facility, although there is no official word so far. However, both the USDA and FDA say they have tested ingredients for the outbreak strain. The FDA says they did not find it in FDA-regulated ingredients.
Thank you to Ali, Steve, Bonna and Michael for sharing your thoughts and wisdom.
What the manufacturer says
With multiple batches of product recalled and multiple deaths associated with their products, let’s find out what the manufacturer has to say.
Nothing. There is no acknowledgment of the recall on the FreshRealm website and there is no person listed as responsible for food safety on the company’s leadership page. The company’s website does not mention any third-party or GFSI-benchmarked food safety certification.
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Packaging corner
This month’s packaging corner includes a handy download and updates about recycled materials and the role of packaging in microplastics.
Allergen controls for packaging manufacturers
If you’re a packaging manufacturer, you will love our template for a simple allergen control procedure – and so will your customers. Download it by hitting the green button below (no paywall).
Allegations of fraud in post-consumer recycled plastic resins
In 2024, a participant of a food safety forum warned of a practice that is misleading, or even fraudulent, in post-consumer recycled plastic resins, alleging that several chain of custody standards, including the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification standard (ISCC) allow plastic resin suppliers to sell virgin plastics to customers as long as they sell the same amount of recycled resin to a different customer for non-food purposes. The virgin plastics customer gets to claim their materials are post-consumer recycled as long as the other customer does not make a claim.
The specific clause in ISCC is ISCC PLUS v3.4.2 (clause 5.6), and the credit transfer is permitted under the mass balance rules, says the forum participant. The relevant EU legislation is COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2022/1616 (Recycled plastics for food contact).
Sources: Forum chat | PET in FCM + private correspondence with the original poster.
This news originally appeared in the food fraud section of Issue 151
Agency warns materials from recycled abandoned environmental plastic are unsuitable for food contact
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) of the United Kingdom and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have published advice for businesses advising them not to use “abandoned environmental plastic, including ocean-bound plastic, in food packaging.” However, they suggest that recycled plastic from controlled environments, such as kerbside collection, can be safely used for food packaging.
Source: Food.gov.uk
The role of packaging in microplastic contamination of food and beverages
Three new research papers about the role of food packaging in microplastic contamination of food caught my attention this week:
New research has revealed that particles from starch-based microplastics can cause harm to mice during long-term exposure at environmentally relevant doses. Read more: Starch-Based Microplastics Health Effects | Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry
Researchers in Italy have compared plastic particles found in 11 milks from Italian supermarkets and wholesalers sold in different packaging types. Multilayer containers contained the highest levels of plastic particles, while PET and glass bottles had lower amounts. Read more: Particles in cow’s milk stored in various packaging materials | Journal of Hazardous Materials
Meanwhile, surprising research from France. Researchers compared the prevalence and types of microplastics in beverages in a range of packages purchased in France and found that the beverages in glass bottles contained more microplastics than other container types, except for wine. Plastic particles found in glass-packaged beverages matched the colour of the bottle caps and had the same composition as the outer paint. Read more: Microplastic contaminations in a set of beverages sold in France | Journal of Food Composition and Analysis
Below for paying subscribers: Food fraud news, horizon scanning and incident reports
📌 Food Fraud News 📌
In this week’s food fraud news:
📌 Follow-ups of past food fraud incidents;
📌 Test methods for honey, Siberian ginseng, olive oil and citrus peel;
📌 Warnings for metal cans (USA) and meat;
📌 Incidents affecting eggs, mangoes, vegetable oil, mustard oil and candy.
🔹Incidents from iComplai’s AI-powered food safety and food fraud intelligence platform🔹
Operators of an egg farm have been accused by authorities of using counterfeit or forged stamps to enable the sale of eggs directly to consumers in contravention of measures put in place after Salmonella was detected on the property – Belgium 25/06/2025 🔹 https://www.demorgen.be/snelnieuws/zaakvoerder-pluimveebedrijf-uit-geel-opgepakt-zou-ook-na-huiszoeking-nog-met-salmonella-besmette-eieren-hebben-verkocht~b2bb00ca/ 🔹
Ground beef, beef meatballs, sausage and doner was found to contain undeclared equine (horse) meat and offal. Poultry was found in sausage and beef-lamb mince – Turkiye 20/06/2025 🔹 https://www.gercekgundem.com/guncel/bakanlik-ifsa-etti-dana-diye-tek-tirnakli-et-kofte-diye-sakatat-satmislar-542475 🔹
🔹 iComplai is an AI-powered food safety intelligence platform that helps companies detect potential risks, monitor their supply chains, and optimize food safety protocols through advanced analytics and real-time data🔹