Food Safety

More Problems For The Lunch Lady

Two months ago a provider of school lunch meals in Canada, called The Lunch Lady, was identified as the source of a Salmonella outbreak that sickened 50 children.

School Lunch TrayNow the Ottawa outfit, which serves meals to 5,000 children in the Ottawa area, has been cited by Ottawa Public Health (OPH) officials for a food safety violation during a  May 14 inspection. The facility did not keep foods cooled to a proper temperature of 40 degrees F or less. The problem had been corrected by the time a re-inspection was conducted the following day.

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State Lifts Quarantine on Organic Pastures’ Raw Milk, Raw Milk Products

The statewide quarantine on Organic Pastures’ raw milk and raw-milk products, which was imposed on May 10, has been lifted, with the dairy’s owner, Mark McAfee, joyfully describing that as “breaking news” in a May 17 video on the dairy’s Facebook page.

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Raw milk is milk that hasn’t been pasteurized to kill harmful fecal bacteria that may be in the milk.
“We’re excited and happy to announce that . . .  our products are now available for sale once again in California,” McAfee says in the video. “We’re working hard to get the trucks and products back to the stores.”
The state imposed the quarantine after at least 10 of the people sickened by Campylobacter in 5 counties in California between January through the end of April reported drinking Organic Pastures’ raw milk prior to becoming ill. None of the patents, whose ages ranged from 9 months to 38, (six of them under 18), were hospitalized, and there were no deaths.

Hepatitis A Infects Worker at NC Donut Establishment

An employee at a North Carolina donut store has contracted a hepatitis A infection, prompting health officials to recommend vaccination for those who may have purchased food handled by the worker.

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The infected individual works at the Dixie Donuts of Wilkesboro, located at 2830 West NC Highway 268. Consumers who visited the establishment on May 8 or 9 between 7 a.m. and 1 p.m. or on May 10 or 12 between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. are at risk of exposure and are encouraged to get a hepatitis A vaccination from their healthcare provider.
Those potentially exposed to the virus could begin experiencing symptoms as early as May 22 and as late as June 23, according to the Wilkes County Health Department.

For Safety, Pasteurize Raw Milk At Home

May 19, 2012 By

Home pasteurization is a food safety measure used by some raw milk drinkers and advocated by some raw milk providers, because even if it’s produced on clean, organic farms, raw milk can contain pathogens.

So far this year, there have been five foodborne illness outbreaks linked to raw milk and five raw milk recalls:

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Recalls

Foster Farms Recalls Turkey Burgers for Undeclared Allergen and Misbranding

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Foster Farms of California is recalling about 15,040 pounds of turkey burgers because of misbranding and an undeclared allergen. A seasoning mix with hydrolyzed soy protein was included in the product and not declared on the label. Soy is one of the major food allergens.

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Bagged Salad Recalled for Listeria Contamination

The California Department of Public Health warned California residents not to eat certain bagged salads manufactured by River Ranch Fresh Foods, LLC due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes on Friday.

iceberglettuce-406B.jpgAccording to a news release from CDPH, Salinas, California-based River Ranch Fresh Foods initiated a voluntary recall of bagged salads after routine sampling detected Listeria monocytogenes in two packages of shredded iceberg lettuce purchased from retail locations in California and Colorado. The recalled salad products were distributed nationwide to retail and foodservice outlets under various sizes and packaged under the brand names of River Ranch, Farm Stand, Hy-Vee, Marketside, Shurfresh, The Farmer’s Market, Cross Valley, Fresh n Easy, Promark, and Sysco.

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Ground Beef Recalled Due to E. Coli Risk

Lancaster Frozen Foods and G&W Incorporated are recalling about 6,908 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli, according to the South Carolina meat and poultry inspection department.
Lab testing by the meat and poultry inspection department confirmed a positive result for E.coli in a ground product at Lancaster Frozen Foods. That lot was held by the company, but additional ungroud product from the same lot had been used in other production lots resulting in the recall.
No illnesses have been reported.

Articles of Interest

US Department of Labor’s OSHA Establishes Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee

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This week, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced the establishment of a Whistleblower Protection Advisory Committee. This body will make recommendations to the Secretary of Labor on ways to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of OSHA’s administration of whistleblower protections.

Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health said in the news release, “Workers who expose securities and financial fraud, adulterated foods, air and water pollution, or workplace safety hazards have a legal right to speak out without fear of retaliation, and the laws that protect these whistleblowers also protect the health, safety, and well-being of a

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FDA Explains Ban on Korean Shellfish

Korean shellfish imports have been blocked by the U.S. since May 1 because Korean waters may have been polluted with human fecal waste, the U.S. Food and Drug Admnistration (FDA) said on Friday. Oysters, clams, mussels and scallops harvested in Korea have the potential to be contaminated with norovirus, the agency said.

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The Washington State Department of Health had reported the ban more than a week ago, but FDA had not publicly announced the reason for the action.
In a constituent update, FDA said all Korean certified shippers of molluscan shellfish were removed from the Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List (ICSSL), following an evaluation that determined “the Korean Shellfish Sanitation Program (KSSP) no longer meets the sanitation controls spelled out under the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.”

California food police gone wild: LA County health enforcers conduct door-to-door raw milk confiscation operations

By Mike Adams,  
(NaturalNews) In a bombshell revelation of the depth of the food police state that now exists in LA County, California, NaturalNews has learned that the LA County health department has unleashed door-to-door raw milk confiscation teams to threaten and intimidate raw dairy customers into surrendering raw milk products they legally purchased and own. According to Mark McAfee (see quotes below), both LA County and San Diego county have attempted to acquire customer names and addresses from Organic…

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