Yearly Archives: 2015

The mob and horsemeat in Europe

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A coordination centre run by Eurojust and led by the French Desk succeeded in stopping an organised criminal network involved in trade in illegal horsemeat.

soprano.horsePolice and judicial authorities from France, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the UK were involved in the common action day, including, among others, 100 officers of the Gendarmerie Nationale of France, three of whom were present in Belgium, 100 officers from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, and Belgian officers, some of whom were present in France, Luxembourg and Germany.

French authorities estimate that between 2010 and 2013, 4,700 horses unfit for human consumption were slaughtered and introduced into the legal food chain. Four hundred horse passports with anomalies were detected in France alone. Due to falsification, suppression and/or modification of official health documentation by the group, the horsemeat, deemed unfit for human consumption, was able to fraudulently enter the European food chain. According to EU food chain legislation, the provenance of all meat must be accounted for and traceable.

Investigations into the main suspect, a Belgian national operating from Belgium, began in Belgium in November 2012, led by an Investigating Judge from the Tribunal de Première Instance of the Province of Luxembourg (Division Arlon), Belgium. France started their investigation in July 2013, led by an Investigating Judge from the Tribunal de Grande Instance of Marseille (Pôle Santé Publique).

A joint investigation team (JIT) was formed between France and Belgium in May 2014, with funding for the JIT provided by Eurojust. Latest developments in the case led to the JIT being extended towards the UK this month.

Key figures at the time of issuance of this press release

  • 26 arrests made;
  • EUR 37,000 in cash seized;
  • More than 200 horses will be examined by veterinary services;
  • Dozens of searches of commercial and private premises were carried out; and
  • More than 800 horse passports were seized, as well as medication, dozens of microchips and computer equipment.

Lunch meat for crack

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Larry Bowen was sentenced this week after attempting to trade a tractor-trailer stuffed with $50,000 worth of lunch meat for crack cocaine.

larry-bowen-trades-meat-for-crack__oPtLast June, the 45-year-old was hired to deliver meat to locations in Alabama and Florida, but apparently found drug dealers along the way who were hankering for a good ole fashioned meat-crack-swap.

When their salami sticks weren’t delivered, the company used the GPS on the trailer to locate the truck. They found the truck at a service station in Memphis, Tennessee — and Bowen next to it, eating a lunch meat sandwich!

When the company noticed the refrigerated trailer was missing along with the meat products, Bowen led them to a storage facility where two thirds of the missing meat was recovered.

The trucker explained to the police that he “inadvertently” bartered the meat to two men who offered him an undisclosed amount of crack.

Iowa editorial says egg conviction insufficient

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Iowa egg producers Austin “Jack” DeCoster and his son, Peter, stood in a Sioux City courtroom April 13 and were sentenced for their role in the nation’s largest egg-related salmonella outbreak.

egg.dirty.feb.12That outbreak, which sickened at least 56,000 people (2,000 confirmed) and led to a record-setting recall of more than half a billion eggs, stands as one of the worst cases of corporate negligence in Iowa history.

At the hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Bennett said the DeCosters “created a work environment where employees not only felt comfortable disregarding regulations and bribing USDA officials, but may have even felt pressure to do so.”

Given the magnitude of those crimes, and the tens of thousands of people who suffered as a result, the sentence that was handed down seems seriously lacking: The DeCosters were each fined $100,000 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, with a year of supervised release.

But the fact is, it’s not often that corporate executives are held criminally responsible for their companies’ actions, even when the nation’s food chain is poisoned. Most cases are resolved with corporate fines, and in this case the DeCosters’ Quality Egg had to pay almost $7 million in fines, restitution and forfeitures.

What’s more worrisome than the 90-day sentences is the fact that the DeCosters flouted federal regulations for years without ever being caught. The regulatory system that is supposed to prevent — not simply respond to — violations of food-safety regulations failed us completely. It wasn’t until consumers started becoming ill that investigators took any sort of meaningful action against the DeCosters.

According to federal authorities, the company deliberately and routinely provided false paperwork to an independent auditing firm that periodically inspected the plant and reviewed the company’s records to ensure the eggs were safe. On the eve of each impending audit, workers were given blank, signed audit forms and told to fabricate data for the reports. This went on for at least three years, at a time when the DeCosters were producing more than 1 million eggs per day.

For at least eight years, Quality Egg regularly shipped its customers eggs that were labeled with falsified processing dates and expiration dates to conceal the fact that the eggs were old. According to court records, this mislabeling of DeCoster eggs “was a common practice, and was well known among several Quality Egg employees.”

In 2010, federal inspectors conducted on-site visits to the company’s egg-laying facilities and feed mill. Inside, they found frogs; wild birds; a chicken skeleton; mice, beetles, maggots and flies; and manure that was piled to the rafters inside one building. Salmonella contamination was pervasive and widespread “throughout the entirety” of the Decosters’ Wright County egg operations.

On at least two occasions, Quality Egg officials bribed a USDA inspector to overlook regulatory violations — in one case, paying $300 from the company’s petty cash account.

Given the DeCosters’ long history of alleged regulatory violations related to salmonella outbreaks, the minimum wage, pollution, workplace safety, animal cruelty, child labor and the hiring of undocumented immigrants, government regulators should have been particularly vigilant in their oversight of this family’s Iowa operation. But they were not.

Listeria in ice cream: Tell consumers testing plans, make results public

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Chapman and I made this other road trip, in 2002, where we stayed at a B&B in Gippsland, Australia, saw a bad Pink Floyd cover band in Melbourne, went to New Zealand for work (and to see his girlfriend) and then back to Sydney for ANZAC day.

ben.mc.2004We had no idea what ANZAC day was back then.

I have a better idea now.

The campaign at Gallipoli in World War 1, was the first major battle undertaken in the war by Australia and New Zealand, and is often considered to mark the birth of national consciousness in both of these countries.

On Saturday, 6-year-old Sorenne walked with classmates to the local memorial, and we talked about war, and what we were walking for.

But praying or keeping fingers crossed is not going to prevent war, any more that it’s going to prevent Listeria in ice cream.

And so Chapman and I were reunited – in print – half-a-world apart.

With another recall of ice cream announced Friday over fears of listeria contamination – the third in four months – consumers are wondering whether it’s safe to indulge in their favorite summer treat.

There have been three major ice cream recalls for listeria contamination in recent months, starting with Snoqualmie Ice Cream, a Washington state company that issued a voluntary recall in December for all its products produced from Jan. 1, 2014, until Dec. 21, 2014. At least two illnesses have been linked to Snoqualmie’s recalled products.

On Monday, Blue Bell Creameries recalled all of its products currently on the market, which include ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet and frozen snacks. At least 10 people have been sickened by Blue Bell products contaminated with listeria in Arizona, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Three people died in Kansas.

Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on Friday announced a voluntary recall of all ice creams, frozen yogurts, sorbets and ice cream sandwiches. Jeni’s isn’t aware of any reports of illness to date.

“We see listeria associated with lots of other foods out there, and now we’ve added ice cream to the list,” said Doug Powell, a former professor of food safety in Canada and the U.S. who publishes barfblog, a food safety blog.

Listeria can be killed with heat, but not cold.

“Listeria grows slowly at refrigeration temperatures and it persists in frozen foods,” said Benjamin Chapman, a food safety specialist at North Carolina State University.

Food safety experts Powell and Chapman said it’s safe to eat ice cream.

Kate Connors, a spokeswoman for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said Friday that she didn’t know of any plans to add ice cream to the list of foods pregnant women should avoid eating.

Consumers should toss any products affected by the recalls, but listeria is so rare that it simply doesn’t make sense to get rid of all the frozen treats in your fridge, said Powell.

“I don’t think there’s a big cause for worry,” he said, “but I do think it’s incumbent on the companies to do the proper testing and to make it public if they want to not only maintain but ensure consumer trust.”

What I meant by that was, hey, ice cream folks, tell us lowly consumers what testing you do, make those results public, and market food safety at retail.

No real answers in Ohio botulism outbreak yet

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With 20 confirmed cases, nine others showing symptoms, and the tragic death of Kim Shaw, lots of questions remain in the botulism outbreak linked to a potluck dinner at Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church. Like what food led to the illnesses? And preliminary analysis, according to the Columbus Dispatch, isn’t conclusive.

Twenty cases of botulism have been confirmed among those who attended the potluck at the Cross Pointe Free Will Baptist Church on Sunday, said Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman Michelle LoParo.HT_wsyx_botulism_ohio_church_sk_150422_4x3_992

The foods that have preliminarily tested positive for botulism were three samples of potato salad, one sample of potato salad with egg, one sample of spaghetti pasta salad and one sample of macaroni and cheese, LoParo said.

The food samples, however, were taken from trash bags where other food was mixed in, likely resulting in cross-contamination, she said. Investigators will continue to try to pinpoint the source, LoParo said.

The state received more than 20 food-related samples from the Fairfield Department of Health, said Matt Giljahn, a spokesman for the state health department. The foods included home-canned items: beets, vegetable soup and two samples of pears.

Not so wholesome: Illinois food company agrees to stop production of contaminated sprouts

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On April 22, 2015, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Wholesome Soy Products Inc., of Chicago, Illinois, owner Julia Trinh, and manager Paul Trinh, following multiple findings of contaminated food and environmental samples by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Wholesome_Soy_Products_logoThe consent decree prohibits Wholesome Soy Products from receiving, processing, manufacturing, preparing, packing, holding and distributing ready-to-eat mung bean and soybean sprouts. The company sold its products to wholesale distributors and retail stores in Illinois.

“It is FDA’s responsibility to ensure that appropriate action is taken when we conduct inspections and find results that could put consumers at risk,” said Melinda K. Plaisier, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “Agreeing to the consent decree is a first step in the right direction for this company.”

This action follows a multi-agency collaboration among the FDA, U.S. Department of Justice, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Health.

In August 2014, during a routine inspection of the company, the FDA collected environmental and product samples that tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono), a foodborne pathogen that can cause serious illness or even death in vulnerable groups including elderly adults and those with impaired immune systems (such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease and transplant patients). In pregnant women, L. mono can cause miscarriage, stillbirth and serious illness or death in newborn babies.

On Aug. 28, 2014, Wholesome Soy Products agreed to voluntarily recall and temporarily stop production of their sprout products. The company reported that they cleaned and sanitized their facility. They also hired an independent consultant to collect and test several samples that reportedly came back negative for L. mono. They resumed operations on Sept. 15, 2014, after making these corrections.

Later that month, the company was notified of an outbreak of human infections with a strain of L. monolinked to strains found in the samples previously collected by the FDA during its inspection of the company. According to the CDC, there were four cases in Illinois and one in Michigan. Of those five patients, all were hospitalized and two died.

The FDA began a follow-up inspection of Wholesome Soy Products in October 2014 to verify the effectiveness of the company’s corrective actions. Nine samples taken by FDA inspectors tested positive for L. mono. Due to these findings, the FDA concluded that sprouts could not be safely manufactured by the company in that environment.

In November 2014, the company agreed to voluntarily shut down operations, and the Illinois Department of Public Health oversaw the company’s voluntary destruction of their remaining inventory. The CDC closed its investigation in January 2015 and no further cases of illness in connection to the company have been reported.

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

 

It’s not organic or conventional it’s will it make you barf?

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I’ve been drawn into these debates before, and concluded they are mindnumbing.

sprout.santa_.barf_.xmas_1-300x254Yes, organic probably causes a disproportionate number of food safety recalls, but it’s not the production method, it’s the producer.

Either they know about dangerous microorganisms and take steps to reduce them, or they don’t.

 The Western Producer says the “refreshingly candid comments of a University of Saskatchewan professor (Stuart Smyth) interviewed by WP reporter Dan Yates provoked lively discussion.

Except, if accurately quoted, they were as much bullshit as the good professor claims is at the root of organic outbreaks.

Smyth responded to one critic by stating, “In 2011, organic cucumbers containing a lethal level of E. coli were sold in Europe, resulting in over 4,000 cases of illness and 50 deaths. Colleagues of mine at the FAO reported that by the third day of the story, the powerful European organic industry had pressured the media into removing the word organic from all stories. Sadly, removing the word organic contributed to thousands of additional cases of illness and death, as European consumers had no idea it was the organic food that was killing them.

“I stand by my claim: organic food is the most dangerous and unsafe food on the market today. If you want to eat food that will kill you, eat organic.”

Yes, cucumbers were initially fingered as the source of an E. coli O104 outbreak that killed 53 and sickened 4,400 in Europe in 2011, but the source was ultimately determined to be fenugreek sprout seeks imported from Egypt.

If you’re going to cast stones, get it right.

34 kids sickened with Salmonella from caterer in Paris

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From 24 December 2012 to 8 January 2013, the Paris Mother and Child Health Protection Service reported 10 cases of salmonellosis in children attending four nurseries located in the 7th borough of Paris. Following this event, the National Reference Center for Salmonella reported an increase of salmonellosis cases in Paris in December 2012 and identified rare strain in several cases.

parisThirty-four cases of salmonellosis were identified during the investigations (30 confirmed cases and 4 probable cases), including 10 children attending four nurseries, and 24 community cases. The outbreak lasted 10 weeks and was due to 2 strains of Salmonella: serotype Typhimurium belonging to Crispol type 51 (CT51) and serotype 4,12:i:-, a monophasic variant of serotype Typhimurium and CT1. Cases were interviewed on their food consumption. Most of them reported having consumed products bought from a caterer located in the 7th borough of Paris several days before the onset of symptoms. A random inspection in the caterer’s premises from the Paris Health Protection authorities revealed many infringements to food hygiene. Among samples collected in the caterer’ shop, 2 S. Typhimurium CT51 and S. 4,12:i:- CT1 strains were found on the surfaces and in the food.

This investigation emphasized the importance of maintaining strict hygienic conditions and temperature control in catering outlets. It also emphasized the Mother and Child Health Protection Service’s role through observation and early reporting. This report was the “visible” part of a larger epidemic event that included both cases attending daycare centers and in the community which occurred simultaneously.

But puppies are so cute: Puppy Starter Kit due to possible Salmonella health risk

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Nylabone Products, of Neptune, NJ is recalling one lot of its 1.69 oz. package of the Puppy Starter Kit dog chews, because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

Nylabone_Puppy_Starter_KitSalmonella can affect animals ingesting the product and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated products, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

The recalled Puppy Starter Kit consists of one lot of dog chews that were distributed nationwide, to Canada, and through one domestic online mail order facility.

The product comes in a 1.69 oz. package marked with Lot #21935, UPC 0-18214-81291-3, located on the back of the package, and with an expiration date of 3/22/18 also stamped on the back of the package.

The potential for contamination was noted after routine testing by the company revealed the presence of Salmonella in one lot of 1.69 oz. packages of the Puppy Starter Kit.

No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with this problem.