Author: Tony Coveny, Ph.D

Recalled Fresh Vegetables at Trader Joe’s: Some may be Contaminated with Listeria Monocytogenes at your veggies! This is usually great advice, but in this instance, fresh vegetables may pose a deadly risk. The risk involves packages of fresh vegetables produced/packaged by Growers Express Company and sold at Trader Joe’s, where these fresh vegetables are part of a recall due to possible listeria contamination. At least one sample has tested positive for the dangerous organism in random testing. Trader Joe’s has voluntarily launched this recall and the Food and Drug Administration is posting the recall to their site as a courtesy…

Andouille Sausage Recall: San Giuseppe Sausage Found to Contain Pieces of Metal San Giuseppe, of North Carolina, is recalling nearly 900 pounds of their pork sausage as at least one consumer discovered metal in this product. The Andouille Sausage, which comes fully cooked and ready to consume, bears the package description ‘Smoke Flavoring Added,’ and is produced by San Giuseppe Company, by Giacomo. The individual, vacuum sealed packages shipped to stores and ‘institutions’ – typically, facilities where food is served to groups such as schools, hospitals, jails or military bases.  The packages vary in their weight but all share the…

Recall by Frito Lay Due to Undeclared Milk. When you need a snack its generally a longing for one of two things: sweets or salt. And, nothing satisfies a craving for something savory like a bag of salty chips. Frito Lay, one of America’s most popular brands of potato chip, is recalling their Lay’s Lightly Salted Barbecue Potato Chips due to an unexpected ingredient. CNN is reporting that flavoring from another variety of chip was mistakenly added to some bags of the Lightly Salted Barbeque variety bringing with it an undeclared ingredient- that of milk. Specific to the recall by…

WinCo Red Raspberries Recalled: Berry Norovirus Contamination As of yesterday, WinCo Foods had to recall frozen bags of red raspberries from 10 different states across the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently did a lab test on one of these bags and found a trace of Norovirus contamination. The FDA is trying to persuade consumers to get rid of any bag implicated bag of frozen red raspberries from their freezers, kitchens and households as soon as possible to prevent berry norovirus contamination. The specific label and product information is listed here: [WINCO FOODS FROZEN RED RASPBERRIES,…

Breakfast Wraps May Contain Rocks – Ruiz Foods Products Issues Foreign Object Recall Ruiz Foods Products Inc. out of Denison Texas has issued a recall of read-made, frozen, breakfast wraps. These microwaveable products may contain foreign objects in the bacon used- namely pebbles. Nearly 250k lbs. of this product are a part of the recall. This dangerous addition is specific to one breakfast wrap variety- containing favorites; eggs, bacon, potatoes and cheese sauce – all produced on January 17th and 18th of 2019. The recall for what is considered the family size, and containing 8 wraps, bears the name ‘El Monterey…

Bakers Beware: Several Brands of Flour Recalled due to link with E-coli. Several popular brands of flour are being recalled across the United States due to an outbreak of Escherichia coli (E. coli). Although these bacteria, commonly known as E. coli, are common in the human bowels and generally not harmful, some strains can introduce toxins into the gut and make us sick. The strain showing up in this latest outbreak linked to flour is the ‘Shiga’ toxin-producing strain.  So far there are 17 victims in 8 different states, including 3 hospitalizations. According to the CDC, flour brands being recalled…

Have you hugged your chicken today? Backyard Poultry Linked to Salmonella Outbreak. Chicken is the most often eaten meat in America, but for some people – buying chicken packaged and ready for purchase in the grocery store is not the only interaction they desire to have with these feathered fowl. Over the past month or so there have been more than 215 cases of salmonella linked to live poultry, or, as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) refers to it, backyard poultry. And even more than that – almost 280 reported cases of illness. Of these individuals falling ill, most…

5 Ways to Stay Safe in the Summer Planning ahead and being prepared for this summer may be the difference between spending the summer lying near the pool and lying in a hospital bed. Because of the heat and other dangers that come with summer it is important to take steps to stay safe this summer. Drink Water/ Staying Hydrated. Staying hydrated is one of the most important rules of staying safe in the summer. Knowing what to drink is important as some drinks may have an opposite effect and may actually cause dehydration. Drinking a soda which contains sodium…

Physical Contact with your Could Result in Bacterial Disease Report Says The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that 27 cases in 17 states have been hit with Salmonella cases after pet-owners made physical contact with their hedgehogs. As uncommon of a house pet as these may be, it is still advised that those with these pets be very careful about making careless physical contact with their hedgehogs. Salmonella is a bacterial disease that is transmitted through feces from animals or humans to other living hosts. Most commonly, humans get contaminated with salmonella through food or water.…

Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries: Frozen Berry Blend and Hepatitis A? It’s summertime and although we have fresh berries at our fingertips, nothing beats the convenience of frozen berries.  Perfect for smoothies, pie or a cool snack on a hot day, frozen berries are versatile and delicious. And yet, as with any packaged fruit or vegetable we trust is safe for consumption, there is always the risk of contamination that comes with convenience. And with this frozen berry blend recall, it’s the possible exposure to hepatitis A. Kroger marketplaces have issued a recall on their Private Selection brand of “Triple Berry Medley”…