Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

With 55 Confirmed Illnesses, and Many More Suspected, the Wood Ear Mushroom Salmonella Outbreak is Declared Over by CDC The Salmonella outbreak due to Wood Ear Mushrooms from Wismettac Asian Foods, Inc., of Santa Fe Springs, California, has been declared over by the CDC, causing 55 confirmed infections scattered throughout the United States. Wismettac Asian Foods Wood Ear Mushrooms are a dried mushroom, and commonly referred to as Dried Fungus, Black Fungus or Kikurage. The recall was initiated on September 23, 2020, by California Health Department, after finding traces of Salmonella bacteria during routine food safety testing. Imported from China, the product…

The FDA Issues Warning Letters to Two Food Manufacturers for Repeated Violation of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for maintaining the integrity of human and animal food and drug products across the United States. One aspect of this includes the regular inspection of food manufacturers and the like. When a food handler or producer is found to have violated food safety practices, specifically outlined in the Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Resources, it is the FDA’s job to hold them accountable. Typically, warning letters are only issued after a company has repeatedly failed…

Another Alwatania Product Recalled in Canada Due to Potential Salmonella Contamination After previously recalling Alwatania Liquid Tahina, and revising the recall to add more contaminated products, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has released another update on the recall, adding an additional potentially contaminated product. The most recent recall was issued for Alwatania Halva Extra sold in 450 gram quantities, with UPC code 6 224007 246337, PRO : 20/05/2019, and EXP : 19/05/2021. The previous recalls were made for the following Alwatania liquid Tahina products: Alwatania (Arabic characters only) 350g UPC: 6 224007 246221 Alwatania (Arabic characters only) 750g UPC: 6 224007 246191 Alwatania…

Natural Grocers Organic Elderberries is Compelled to Issue a Recall Due to the Presence of Salmonella Organic Elderberries from Natural Grocers have been recalled due to potential Salmonella contamination. The specific product being recalled is Organic Whole Elderberries sold in 4 oz quantities with UPC code 000082003043 and “Packed on Dates” 20-216, 20-225, 20-246, 20-265, and 20-281. The recall was issued after the supplier notified the company that the organic elderberries had tested positive for Salmonella bacteria, after having originally testing negative for the food borne illness causing bacteria. The contaminated berries were shipped to several areas of the…

Two Mysterious E. coli Outbreaks om More than a Dozen States Leads to 44 Illnesses and One Death   The CDC has reported two separate E. Coli outbreaks with no known sources, having caused a total of 44 infections and one death. Though the two outbreaks are caused by different strains, they have both been connected to E. coli O157:H7. Investigators are currently deducing the cause of this outbreak, having no advice as of date for foods the public should avoid. The first outbreak has caused 21 infections in 8 states: California (7), Florida (1), Illinois (1), Michigan (2), New…

FDA Announces Investigation of Two E. coli Outbreaks Which May Connect with Previous Outbreaks in 2018 and 2019 Just yesterday, October 28, 2020, the FDA announced the beginning of an involved investigation aimed at discovering the origin of two outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 (STEC) which have just arisen. In a press release yesterday, Frank Yiannas, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Food Policy and Response commented: “The FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and our state and local partners, are working to investigate two outbreaks of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 (STEC) illnesses. We…

Warning Issued: Thousands of Eggs Potentially Contaminated with Salmonella in the UK             The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued a warning regarding thousands of eggs potentially contaminated with Salmonella. The potentially contaminated British Lion eggs were distributed in England and Wales at certain Sainsbury, Aldi, and Asda stores. The eggs were sold in a variety of quantities with batch number 1UK15270; the full list of possibly contaminated products can be found here. Instead of issuing a recall and urging customers to not eat the eggs, the FSA has published food safety advice in order to avoid Salmonella infections.…

Orca Bay Foods, LLC Recalls Gluten Free Battered Halibut due to Undeclared Wheat and Milk Orca Bay Foods, LLC. recalled 356 cases of 10 oz. Trader Joe’s brand Gluten Free Battered Halibut. This recall was made after it was discovered that the product contained both wheat and milk, that was not listed on the packaging. This could be very dangerous for those who have severe wheat or dairy allergies. While no illnesses have been reported, as of October 23, 2020, it is still possible that many may be affected by this concern since 4,450 lbs. of this product have…

Listeria Outbreak: 10 Illnesses Due to Contaminated Deli Meat According to the CDC, 10 illnesses have been reported due to deli meat contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The ten illnesses were reported in three different states: Florida (1), Massachusetts (7), and New York (2). All ten victims of the outbreak have required hospitalization, and Florida has reported one death, though it has not been determined if the Listeria infection was the cause of death. The CDC is currently leading the investigation to determine if a specific type of deli meat or common supplier is the source of the outbreak.…

Blog # 112 Contaminated Corn Noodles Kill Nine in China After consuming contaminated homemade corn noodles, a family of nine in Northeast China died due to Bongkrekic acid, an acid produced as a by-product of fermentation from the bacterium Burkholderia cocovenenans. Reports hypothesize that the family had previously frozen a popular local restaurant’s dish “Suantangzi”, which is a thick type of noodle made out of corn flour that has been fermented, about a year before actually consuming the dish. Nine of the family members fell ill several hours after consuming the dish, while the three family members that did…