Report for UK FSA says pre-packaged sandwiches should not be served in hospitals

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Stephan Adams of the Daily Mail writes that a new report commissioned by the UK Food Standards Agency concludes pre-packed sandwiches have been responsible for ‘almost all’ hospital outbreaks of listeria since 2003.

The bug kills around 50 people a year in England, according to official figures, with most deaths thought to be due to food being prepared and stored incorrectly.

Food safety company STS, which advises hospitals and care homes, believes patients may also be dying from eating infected sandwiches at these institutions.

Fiona Sinclair, director of food safety at STS, said: ‘Hospitals and care homes feed the most vulnerable people in society. The last thing these people need is to get something else on top of their illness.’

Pre-packed sandwiches often contain protein-rich fillings such as meat, paté, cheese, prawns and egg, on which listeria can thrive. Days can elapse between preparation and consumption, giving listeria time to multiply, and experts say too few people understand that sandwiches must be kept very cold – below 5C – to stop the bug growing.

The report, written by Ms Sinclair and colleagues, says: ‘Research into previous [listeria] outbreaks in hospitals found that almost all were linked to consumption of pre-packed sandwiches.’

These cases ‘were thought to have been caused by low-level contamination during manufacture in the factory, followed by a breakdown in the control of the cold chain in the hospitals’. During recent inspections, Ms Sinclair found sandwiches were being kept in fridges that were not cold enough, staff were serving packs past their use-by date, and sandwiches were being left on trolleys for lengthy periods before being handed to patients.

The firm’s report, commissioned by the Food Standards Agency, has prompted the FSA to revise its guidance to hospitals and care homes on minimising the risk of listeria.

Measures include cutting maximum fridge temperatures from 8C to 5C.

Welcoming the new rules, STS said: ‘The thought that a loved one should lose their life from eating a sandwich in hospital is ridiculous.’

Ms Sinclair said the research, undertaken with Surrey University, identified nine hospital listeria outbreaks across the UK since 2003. Each case affected between two and seven patients. Ms Sinclair said it was unclear from the data they had seen if anyone died from listeria infection during these outbreaks.

The fact that the bug kills up to 30 per cent of people in ‘vulnerable groups’ – such as pregnant women and the elderly – suggests that some did.

Hugh Pennington, emeritus professor of bacteriology at Aberdeen University, said: ‘If somebody is at death’s door, they could be finished off by a sandwich.

Feds inspect Pennsylvania farm linked to 2014 Listeria outbreak

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Dan Nephin of Lancaster Online reports that federal food inspectors, armed with a court order and escorted by police, inspected a Lancaster County farm on Monday linked in March to tainted milk said to be responsible for a person’s death.

Amos Miller, who owns Miller’s Organic Farm, had denied inspectors access in April, but relented in the face of a court order from a federal judge.

U.S. District Judge Edward G. Smith issued the order June 30 after the U.S. Department of Agriculture asked the court to enforce its inspection efforts.

“I didn’t want to give them the green light,” Miller said Monday afternoon at the farm.

Two meat inspectors, accompanied by an Upper Leacock Township police officer, inspected the farm for about three hours, he said. The inspectors had left by around noon.

The inspectors didn’t take anything and allowed the farm to continue operating, he said.

The USDA was unable to provide information about Monday’s inspection.

The farm sells a range of foods, from raw milk from several animals — including camels — to fermented vegetables to meat from grass-fed animals.

Miller described his roughly 2,000 customers across the country as a private membership association that does not sell to the public. As such, he said, he doesn’t believe the farm is subject to federal inspections.

“We don’t want to be against the government. We’re just concerned that they’re taking our freedoms away,” Miller said.

In court documents filed last month opposing the inspection, Miller said his membership “mistrust the status of the regulatory framework of the federal government and believe that said framework causes more harm to American citizens than good.”

He also argued the private membership association is a form of “expressive association” subject to First Amendment protections.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posting, the farm was the likely source of raw chocolate milk responsible for a death in Florida and an illness in California.

The death and illness occurred in 2014, but was only linked to Miller’s in January, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration notified the agency that genome sequencing of listeria from Miller’s raw chocolate milk was closely related to listeria from the two people, according to the agency.

No one checks if it’s followed: UK publishes Listeriosis guidance

Posted on July 1, 2016 by Douglas Powell

New guidance from the UK Food Standards Agency has been published, aimed at healthcare and social care organisations, to help reduce the risk of vulnerable groups in their care contracting listeriosis.

Like, don’t serve refrigerated ready-to-eat foods such as deli meats to old folks?

Or raw spouts to people in hospital?

But it doesn’t say that.

Instead it bureaucratically meanders and will be pulled out once an outbreak has happened.

This guidance is intended to help these organisations determine what steps can be put in place to reduce the risk of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods and to complement good practice in the food industry.

The guidance was the result of collaborative working between stakeholders who contributed to its development, including the Hospital Caterers Association (HCA) and the National Association of Care Caterers (NACC), which will help to promote uptake in these sectors.

The main audiences for this guidance are all types of healthcare and social care organisations that provide food for vulnerable groups. The guidance is also intended for Environmental Health Practitioners and procurement partners.

The project to deliver this guidance formed part of the FSA Listeria Risk Management Programme for 2010 – 2015.

Listeria in caramel apples changes apple safety focus

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Chuck Robinson of Produce Retailer writes the Listeria outbreak connected to caramel apples in late 2014 and early 2015 gave the produce industry a slap to remind it to remain vigilant about food safety.

Discussion of the outbreak dominated the first day of the seventh annual Center for Produce Safety Research Symposium on June 28-29.

That outbreak was traced to one apple supplier, Bidart Bros., Bakersfield, Calif. Only commercially produced, prepackaged whole caramel apples were involved.

There were 35 people from 12 states reported infected, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seven of them died before the case was closed, three of them linked to listeriosis.

Since the outbreak, the apple industry has changed focus from E. coli and compliance with Food Safety Modernization Act regulations to address listeria’s threat to the industry, said Ines Hanrahan, project manager for the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, Wenatchee.

In general, more attention to details is required to maintain sanitation, she said, including getting rid of standing water and daily cleaning zones that come into contact with food. Brushes need to be cleaned more frequently and dunk tanks must be cleaned and the water changed more often.

The stronger focus requires bigger cleaning crews and more time allotted to cleaning, she said. Training and rewards for improvement also are demanded.

“It’s about the people cleaning the brushes every day understanding why they are cleaning the brushes,” Hanrahan said.

The advent of whole genome sequencing, which provides more detailed and precise data for identifying outbreaks than the current standard technique, will mean more outbreaks will be detected, warned Martin Wiedmann, a food safety professor for Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. The produce industry must be prepared.

As the caramel apple-linked outbreak shows, the industry should realize what is happening in the field is of secondary importance, he said.

“I think we need to focus on our processing and packing facilities,” Wiedmann said.

There were many reasons at the outset of the investigation to not expect apples to be the outbreak source, said Kathleen Glass, associate director of the Food Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Reasons include the fact that the apples were sanitized and then dipped in hot caramel, which would seem likely to kill listeria. Also, the fruit is acidic, which would discourage listeria growth.

“You put all these factor together, and you don’t think apples are going to be a likely source of Listeria monocytogenes,” Glass said.”

However, the stems and calyxes of the fruit can harbor listeria, and pushing wooden stick through the calyx into the core also pushed listeria there.

“I’m really kind of surprised we hadn’t seen this sort of problem before,” Glass said.

Pat Kennelly, chief of the food safety section of the food and drug branch of California Department of Public Health, said problems were widespread at the Bidart Bros. packing facility. His staff’s investigation began well after the facility had closed operations for the season on Oct. 31.

“Given the level of contamination we found a month after operations had ceased, I can’t imagine what we would have found if we had tested when it was in operation,” Kennelly said.

548 restaurants get Kent Co. Michigan food safety awards

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Ben Chapman

Who knew there were over 500 restaurants in the Grand Rapids, MI area? I’m not sure this qualifies as unique or special but about one third – 548 of the 1700 county – got a special award for food safety.

“It’s pretty elite company, if you will,” Kent County Health Department Supervising Sanitarian Max Bjorkman said of the award recipients. “Of the 1,700 restaurants that are eligible for the award, less than one third get it.”

For a restaurant to get the award, it had to meet criteria including no repeat violations for the year, no enforcement action taken against it and no complaints confirmed by the health department and determined to be a public health rise, among other things.

Yeah, I’m not sure how elite it is to be one of the 548 places.

Source of CRF Listeria remains a mystery

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Ben Chapman

Finding the source of Listeria in a processing plant is tough. It takes environmental sampling to seek out residential Lm and get rid of it. To accomplish that, positive test results lead to further testing (closer to the product) and an investigation into the cause.

And sometimes the source is never found.

A harbor mystery is a problem as the company can’t eliminate the drain, the piece of equipment, or the wall where it’s living and growing. With no source, there’s nothing to fix. And that leaves the company open to problems down the road.

According to the Tri-City Herald, CRF Frozen Foods can’t find the Lm that has been making people sick since 2013.

Gene Grabowski, a consultant acting as spokesman for CRF during the crisis, said the company will turn its attention from trying to find the source of the deadly Listeria pathogen to securing federal approval to restart production.

Bill Marler, managing partner of Marler Clark, a Seattle law firm specializing in food safety, said hunting for Listeria is akin to hunting for the proverbial a needle in a haystack.

“You don’t have to have a filthy, dirty, horrible plant to have Listeria,” said Marler, who is in Washington, D.C., this week to discuss food safety issues with the federal officials, including White House staffers and members of Congress.

“The cleanest plant in the world can be harboring Listeria.”

First, it will conduct its own testing and review CRF’s records. Grabowski said there’s no way to know when CRF might get the green light to resume packing frozen fruits and vegetables.

The company laid off about 250 workers in early June, ostensibly to give them an opportunity to procure seasonal work during the shutdown.

Marler said his firm has been contacted by Listeria patients, though none whose cases have been genetically linked to the strain found in CRF products.

In brand we trust: How recalls at Trader Joe’s, Costco, can enhance customer engagement

Posted on June 28, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Bryan Pearson writes in Business 2 Community that several major grocery retailers were recently given 358 ways to protect their consumers, and how they respond could determine whether shoppers will have a taste for them in the future.

Trader Joe’s, Safeway and Costco are among the chains affected by a recall of 358 frozen food products under 42 fruit and vegetable brands. And while most headlines address the dangers of food contamination, the recall also serves as one more reminder of the highly effective role retailers and their loyalty programs could play in preventing illness.

Many people are alerted to these recalls through the news, but customer data can serve a more targeted and immediate function in notifying the public to and answering questions about such health scares.

The challenge is enabling the consumer to see that such notifications are an added benefit of loyalty program membership, not an intrusion. How to accomplish this? I can say that retailers that make customer trust a cornerstone of their strategic marketing have a superior edge, while those that do not risk getting lost in that trust shadow.

Following are four methods for responsibly alerting consumers to potential health scares, and in the process gaining trust.

Activate the database:Loyalty program data provides unique identifiers that enable retailers to determine which customers purchased certain items, including those on recall. Immediate notices can be sent to the loyalty members via their preferred methods of communication. Kroger Co., for example, has used its Plus rewards program data to aid in foodborne illness investigations and recalls.
Keep the database current:With that said, it is essential for retailers that use their loyalty data as a source of customer contact information to provide those customers good reason to keep their information current. If these names and addresses are wrong or out of date, then the retailer will be out of luck when it comes to tracking down affected individuals.
Reinforce trust:Regardless of how quickly they alert customers, retailers should be poised for questions about brand reliability. By offering a hotline through which questions can be answered, as well as the numbers of agencies that can provide information, the retailer can restore its foundation of customer trust. Practice sessions with customer-facing staff can ensure the company is prepared to answer questions quickly and consistently. It’s a good idea to assign a trusted team leader.
Get in front, but not affront:Outside of staff, all company communications should be direct, thorough and easy to access. Sending vague or hard-to-interpret messages will only dial up the concern, or panic (consider if the consumer is a new mother). In 2011, when Publix Super Markets recalled store-branded ice cream due to undeclared almond allergens, it added a red “Retail Alert” button to its website that directed visitors to a press release, product images and an explanation of the issue, with an apology (in English and Spanish).

Lastly, empathy will help guide the appropriate ways to respond to a recall. In the consumers‘ eyes, the retailer will be part of the circumstance, regardless of whether it is at fault. After-the-fact coupons won’t change that fact.

Whole-genome sequencing detection of ongoing Listeria contamination at a restaurant, Rhode Island, USA, 2014

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Douglas Powell

Infection with Listeria monocytogenes, a foodborne bacterial pathogen, causes listeriosis, which can lead to severe illness, typically among persons with compromised immune systems and pregnant women and their fetuses.

The pathogen can survive at high salt concentrations and grow at refrigeration temperatures (1). These properties enable the bacteria to persist in food processing and food service establishments for extended periods. Listeriosis has a long incubation period (3–70 days), making exposure recall difficult.

Retail delicatessens are a potential source of L. monocytogenes because they hold ready-to-eat foods at refrigeration temperatures; however, a risk assessment by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service suggests that thorough sanitization of food contact surfaces, proper maintenance of equipment and facilities, safe product handling practices, and good employee practices to avoid cross-contamination can help prevent listeriosis cases associated with retail food establishments (2).

Since 1998, PulseNet (http://www.cdc.gov/pulsenet/index.html) has used pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to look at genetic differences in L. monocytogenes subtypes and to identify outbreaks. However, distantly related strains can appear indistinguishable by PFGE; thus, greater differentiation may be needed to distinguish between outbreak and sporadic cases of listeriosis. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) offers an opportunity to further discriminate between strains and identify outbreaks. WGS has historically been used retrospectively to provide additional insight into outbreak investigations (3). However, since September 2013, WGS has been performed on all clinical L. monocytogenes isolates identified in the United States by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Atlanta, GA) and several state public health laboratories (4). L. monocytogenes is a good candidate for WGS because it causes a relatively rare condition that can result in serious illness, it has a small genome that is relatively easy to analyze, and epidemiologic surveillance and food regulatory program components for the bacterium are strong (5).

Data obtained from WGS has been analyzed using whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST), a technique that examines allelic differences from thousands of loci, and ≈96% of L. monocytogenes coding sequences have been identified as loci in the wgMLST scheme (S. Stroika, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pers. comm., 2016 Jan 29). To discriminate between strains and identify outbreaks, alleles within the coding sequence (i.e., loci) are compared with ≈178 reference genomes. A unique combination of alleles at each locus specifies the sequence type, which enables comparison of isolates (6); the smaller the number of allelic differences between isolates, the more related they are.

The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) attempts interviews and, when applicable, conducts environmental investigations for all reports of listeriosis. Each year during 2011–2013, RIDOH received ≈3 reports of listeriosis, most of which were sporadic cases. However, in November 2014, a cluster of cases was detected from laboratory reports and examined using WGS in conjunction with epidemiologic, laboratory, and environmental investigations. Isolates were confirmed to be L. monocytogenes and submitted for PFGE analysis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention performed WGS on clinical isolates; the Food and Drug Administration performed WGS on food isolates.

The Investigation

During October 27–November 5, 2014, RIDOH’s Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology was notified of 3 L. monocytogenes–infected persons residing in the same city. The 3 case-patients were all non-Hispanic white persons >60 years of age; 2 had an immunocompromising condition. Interviews conducted by the Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology identified a single common restaurant visited by the 3 patients. RIDOH’s Center for Food Protection performed inspections and collected food and environmental samples at the establishment.

PFGE analysis showed that clinical L. monocytogenes isolates from the 3 case-patients shared an identical, common PFGE pattern (Figure). To determine the relationship between the isolates, RIDOH collaborated with federal partners to conduct WGS. Results of wgMLST showed that the isolates were closely related (0–5 allelic differences) (Figure) and a close genetic match (median allelic differences 4) to a clinical isolate from a 2013 patient, who was reinterviewed and reported eating at the same restaurant. A sliced prosciutto sample from the restaurant tested positive for L. monocytogenes, and PFGE patterns for this isolate matched those for isolates from the 2013 and 2014 case-patients. Results of wgMLST showed that the isolate from the prosciutto differed by 0–5 alleles (median 3) from the 2014 clinical samples and by 0–11 alleles (median 4) from the 2013 clinical sample. Sequences for the isolates were uploaded to GenBank (7) (clinical isolates: accession nos. SAMN02400177, SAMN03253348–49, SAMN03253359; isolate from prosciutto: accession no. SAMN03218571).

A total of 10 food and environmental food samples were initially collected from the restaurant. Swab samples were obtained from the food slicer, preparation tables, and walk-in cooler. Environmental investigation of the restaurant identified issues related to control of L. monocytogenes: the temperature of the refrigerated unit that held sliced meat and other food items was elevated (52°F [11°C]), and cleanliness issues were observed with the preparation tables and slicer. An additional 19 environmental samples were later collected from the establishment; however, the refrigerated unit and preparation tables had been replaced, so additional swab samples could not be collected from those surfaces. The sample of sliced prosciutto was the only L. monocytogenes–positive sample identified at the restaurant; however, just 1 of the 2014 case-patients reported eating prosciutto (in an antipasto salad) at the restaurant. Other foods reported included green salad and coleslaw.

RIDOH tested a sample of prosciutto from an unopened package from the establishment and collaborated with the Food Safety and Inspection Service to see if the processing plant had recently tested positive for L. monocytogenes. The sample tested negative, and no positive tests had been reported at the plant in at least 1 year.

Conclusions

Epidemiologic, environmental, and laboratory investigation results implicated a restaurant with sanitation issues and improper sliced meat storage as the likely source of a multiyear listeriosis outbreak. A long incubation period makes WGS an effective technology to use during listeriosis outbreak investigations and to identify outbreak-associated cases originally believed to be sporadic cases. This technology can help overcome difficulties associated with investigating listeriosis cases and can be useful for the investigation of other pathogens. In this investigation, WGS (wgMLST) helped link the 2013 listeriosis case, which was originally believed to be a sporadic case, to the 2014 outbreak. Furthermore, given that the 4 isolates had a common PFGE pattern, this technology increased confidence that the restaurant, which was the only common restaurant among the 4 patients, was the source of the outbreak. The allelic differences observed are consistent with slow, spontaneous mutation occurring over a long period due to persistent contamination.

There is no set number of allelic differences used to determine whether clusters of cases are part of actual outbreaks (8). Thus, WGS is not sufficient by itself to identify outbreaks and must be performed in conjunction with epidemiologic, laboratory, and environmental investigations (8,9). In the investigation we describe, WGS was used in this supporting role. The close relationship that WGS showed between the clinical isolates and the isolate from meat provides additional evidence that the restaurant was the likely source of contamination for the cases in 2013 and 2014.

Our findings support the need to control L. monocytogenes at retail food establishments. Storing meat at <41°F (5°C) can prevent ≈9% of listeriosis cases (2). In addition, retail delicatessens and food establishments can prevent L. monocytogenes–associated illnesses among customers by controlling cross-contamination, cleaning and sanitizing food contact surfaces, and eliminating environmental niches.

Mr. Barkley is a public health epidemiologist at the Center for Food Protection, Rhode Island Department of Health. His research interests include understanding risk factors of foodborne illness associated with retail food establishments.

Acknowledgment

We thank the Rhode Island State Laboratory for performing confirmatory L. monocytogenes testing on clinical and food samples and for coordinating PFGE and WGS testing; the Massachusetts William A. Hinton State Laboratory for performing PFGE testing of the clinical and food samples; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Food and Drug Administration for performing WGS of clinical and food samples, respectively.

References

Ferreira V, Wiedmann M, Teixeira P, Stasiewicz MJ. Listeria monocytogenespersistence in food-associated environments: epidemiology, strain characteristics, and implications for public health. J Food Prot. 2014;77:150–70.DOI PubMed
United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service. Best practices guidance for controllingListeria monocytogenesin retail delicatessens. June 2015 [cited 2016 Feb 1].http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/29d51258-0651-469b-99b8-e986baee8a54/Controlling-LM-Delicatessens.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
Le VT, Diep BA. Selected insights from application of whole-genome sequencing for outbreak investigations. Curr Opin Crit Care. 2013;19:432–9. DOI PubMed
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advanced molecular detection (AMD). AMD projects: learning from Listeria [cited 2015 Oct 23]. http://www.cdc.gov/amd/project-summaries/listeria.html
Jackson B, Jackson K, Tarr C, Evans P, Klimke W, Kubota K, Improving detection and investigation of listeriosis outbreaks using real-time whole-genome sequencing. Presented at: IDWeek 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; 2014 Oct 8–12.
Larsen MV, Cosentino S, Rasmussen S, Friis C, Hasman H, Marvig RL, Multilocus sequence typing of total-genome-sequenced bacteria. J Clin Microbiol. 2012;50:1355–61. DOI PubMed
Benson DA, Clark K, Karsch-Mizrachi I, Lipman DJ, Ostell J, Sayers EW. GenBank. Nucleic Acids Res. 2015;43:D30–5.DOI PubMed
Jackson B. Everything in sequence: listeriosis outbreak investigations in the era of WGS. Presented at: Integrated Foodborne Outbreak Response and Management (InFORM) 2015 Conference; Phoenix, AZ, USA; 2015 Nov 17–20.
Leekitcharoenphon P, Nielsen EM, Kaas RS, Lund O, Aarestrup FM. Evaluation of whole genome sequencing for outbreak detection of Salmonella enterica.PLoS One. 2014;9:e87991. DOI PubMed

Whole-genome sequencing detection of ongoing Listeria contamination at a restaurant, Rhode Island, USA, 2014

Emerging Infectious Diseases, Volume 22, Number 8, August 2016

Jonathan S. Barkley , Michael Gosciminski, and Adam Miller

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/22/8/15-1917_article

Raw cat food recalled

Posted on June 25, 2016 by Douglas Powell

We returned to Australia, last night, staying up until 2 or 3 a.m.

No hockey for me at 6 a.m. Saturday morning.

The seven hours in the air from Paris to Dubai, then 13 hours from Dubai to Brisbane, plus all the waiting, is a tad overrated.

This was Sorenne at noon Saturday, as we were going to go get some stuff.

She missed her cat.

And apparently sleep.

We do not feed any pets raw food.

Radagast Pet Food, Inc. (Portland, OR) has announced a voluntary recall of four lots of frozen Rad Cat Raw Diet products, sold in 8oz., 16oz., and 24oz. tubs, and free 1oz sample cups, due to the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes.

Pets with Salmonella or Listeria monocytogenes infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting. Some pets may have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The FDA third party contracted lab found two lots of Grass-Fed Beef tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, one lot of Free-range Chicken tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes, and one lot of Free-range Turkey tested positive for Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes. As a precautionary measure, we are voluntarily recalling three products produced in these four lots.

All affected lot codes 62384, 62361, 62416, and 62372 and Best By dates are located on the lid of all products packaged in tubs and on the bottom of the sample cups.

The following recalled products were distributed in western Canada and all US States except in HI and MS.

Please do not return any of these recalled products to the retailer and dispose in a secure garbage receptacle. For refund claims, fill out all sections of our Consumer Claims Form which can be found on our website www.RadFood.com disclaimer icon and return this form only to the retailer where you purchased the product for a refund. Consumers may call Radagast Pet Food, Inc. for assistance in filling out the Claim Form.

Recall creep? Is this new? HelloFresh recalls frozen peas

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Ben Chapman

There’s some great press release writing going on here, but not too many details.

HelloFresh of New York, N.Y. is recalling frozen peas due to notification from a supplier that the peas have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The peas were included in HelloFresh recipe kits delivered the week of June 11-15, 2016 and the weeks of March 12-25, 2016.

Currently, no illnesses or customer complaints have been reported to date, however, in an abundance of caution, the company has decided to conduct this voluntary recall. HelloFresh immediately informed their affected customers of the recall and advised them to discard the product.

Following the cooking preparation instructions printed on each individual case will effectively reduce the risk of exposure to this bacterium.

Also according to HelloFresh, ‘the pea is most commonly the small spherical seed of the pod fruit Pisum Sativum.’

Thanks for that.

Inquiring minds want to know if CRF Frozen Foods the supplier? If so, why did it take until 8 weeks to announce the recall? Was HelloFresh not going to recall the March products until they figured out they had used the same batch of recalled peas in their June products?

Oh, and show your validated consumer preparation instructions that lead to the effective reduction.

And CRF frozen veggies did lead to 8 illnesses including 2 deaths.

ben

barfblog

safe food from farm to fork

Category Archives: Listeria