Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

FDA Announces Fresh Location’s Recall of Protein Snack Tray and Protein Trail Mix for Possible Connection with Almark Foods’ Listeria Contamination On January 7, 2020, Fresh Location in Lenoir, Tennessee announced a recall on its 6.44 oz total weight 4 compartment Protein Snack Tray products and its 3.52 oz total weight Protein Trail Mix products.The company announced the recall due to a concern that these products may have become contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes are potentially harmful bacteria that can cause Listeriosis, a mild to severe foodborne illness. Listeriosis is most severely affects those with weakened immune systems such…

Foodborne Botulism is Declared the Cause of El Paso County, CO Woman’s Death The death of a woman from El Paso county, Colorado, on September 20, 2019, is recently declared by officials as caused by foodborne botulism.  Botulism is a rare but often fatal illness in which toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum, Clostridium butyricum, and Clostridium baratii overtake the body’s nervous system. Once the toxins have begun to attack the nervous system the person begins to experience respiratory failure, muscle paralysis, and sometimes death. Foodborne Botulism is only one among the other types of botulism that can occur, such as…

Must Know Food Safety Tips For When Severe Weather Strikes  Every region of the earth experiences tumultuous weather from time to time, whether it be from fires, droughts, tornadoes, hurricanes, tsunamis ect… These severe weather conditions affect a community in many dangerous ways, one being their food and drink. These conditions often leave entire populations without electricity to heat and cool food, without clean running water, and sometimes with toxic smoke contamination in food and water. Australia’s devastating bushfires have caused the death of 25 people and over a billion animals, destroyed over a thousand homes, and torched 15.6 million…

Consumer Complaint of Undeclared Contents in Lentil Soup leads to Product’s Recall Kettle Cuisine Midco LLC recalls over 200 pounds of lentils and beef soup products over misbranding and undeclared food allergens. Just last week Kettle Cuisine Mico LLC based in Lynn, Massachusetts, was notified of a consumer complaint concerning the misbranding of their ready-to-eat (RTE) Little Dish Fresh Food for Kids Lentil Soup product. Upon finding noodles in the soup, the customer complained that the label did not specify that it contained eggs or wheat, which are two of the most common food allergens. People who are allergic to…

Norovirus Outbreak Linked to the Death of a New Hampshire Resident. A norovirus outbreak, which took place in November 2019 during the week of Thanksgiving, has now been linked to the death of an individual in New Hampshire. The norovirus outbreak which affected 18 people took place in the restaurant Puritan Backroom in Manchester, New Hampshire. The New Hampshire Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) has reported that the death was only linked to the norovirus outbreak after the final autopsy results were completed last month. Not many details have been disclosed about the individual, the OCME only reported…

Brote de norovirus vinculado a la muerte de un residente de New Hampshire. Un brote de norovirus que no fue anunciado en noviembre de 2019 durante la semana de Acción de Gracias se ha relacionado con la muerte de un individuo en New Hampshire. El brote de norovirus que afectó a 18 personas tuvo lugar en el restaurante Puritan Backroom en Manchester, New Hampshire. La Oficina del Examinador Médico Jefe de New Hampshire (OCME) ha informado que la muerte sólo estaba relacionada con el brote de norovirus después de que los resultados finales de la autopsia se completaron el mes…

Clover Sprouts Recalled Due to E. coli O103 Concerns. The Iowa based company Sprouts Unlimited Inc. issued a recall on their 4 oz.  Clover sprouts packages on December 27, 2019. The recall was announced by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after the company was notified by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals of a cluster of E. coli O103 illnesses linked to the Clover sprouts distributed by Sprouts Unlimited Inc. At the moment the number of affected has not been reported to the general public but health department officials have issued a warning to all consumers to avoid…

Brotes de trébol retirados debido a preocupaciones de  E. coli O103. La compañía con sede en Iowa Sprouts Unlimited Inc. emitió un retiro de sus paquetes de 4 onzas de brotes de trébol el 27 de diciembre de 2019. El retiro fue anunciado por la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos (FDA) después de que la compañía fue notificada por el Departamento de Inspecciones y Apelaciones de Iowa de un grupo de enfermedades de E. coli O103 vinculadas a los brotes de trébol distribuidos por Sprouts Unlimited Inc. Por el momento, el número de afectados no se ha notificado al público…

FDA Updates On Scombrotoxin Fish Poisoning Investigation Linked to Yellowfin Tuna. Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD a Vietnamese import company issued a voluntary recall of their yellowfin tuna products on November 15, 2019, due to the potential of their products being linked to 50 illnesses of scombrotoxin fish poisoning.  Scombrotoxin fish poisoning is caused by eating fish that has high levels of histamine, which is the result of not being properly refrigerated or preserved and beginning to spoil. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with state officials tested multiple samples collected from Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD and after…

Actualizaciones de la FDA sobre la investigación de Scombrotoxin Intoxicación con pescado. Truong Phu Xanh Co., LTD, una empresa de importación vietnamita emitió un retiro voluntario de sus productos de atún de aleta amarilla el 15 de noviembre de 2019, debido a la posibilidad de que sus productos estén vinculados a 50 enfermedades de Scombrotoxin Intoxicación con pescado . La Scombrotoxin Intoxicación con pescado es causada por comer pescado que tiene altos niveles de histamina, que es el resultado de no ser refrigerado o preservado adecuadamente y comenzar a estropear. La Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos (FDA), junto con funcionarios…