In the news

SunOpta Organic Pineapple Chunks are being recalled due to possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. Because this recall was posted on the FDA Enforcements page, there is no work on whether any illnesses have been reported to the company to date in connection with the consumption of this item. The recalling firm is SunOpta Grains and Foods of Eden Prairie. The recalled product is SunOpta Organic Pineapple Chunks packed in 30 pound poly bags. About 32,400 pounds of pineapple are included in this recall. @ https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2023/sunopta-organic-pineapple-chunks-recalled-for-listeria/

The Department of Public Health of Illinois said that an outbreak of salmonella infections in the Chicago area had been linked to ground beef. Health officials have identified 26 confirmed cases in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties, the department said. Those people fell ill between April 25 and May 18. A source of the tainted meat has not yet been identified. A small number of salmonella cases in other states also are under investigation by the CDC and state health departments. @ https://apnews.com/article/salmonella-outbreak-chicago-suburbs-ground-beef-c0bc72304c1eb9df2cfdc2b5dce275a5

The FSA published the revised Food Law Code of Practice (the Code) for England and Northern Ireland, introducing a new model for delivering food standards controls. The changes will help local authorities to take a more risk-based and intelligence-driven approach to inspection, focusing their time and resources on food businesses that pose the greatest risk to consumers. The new model will drive more frequent checks on non-compliant businesses while reducing the checks on businesses demonstrating good sustained compliance. It will increase the use of intelligence to inform understanding of risk in the food chain. The new regulations followed a successful pilot with seven local authorities in England and Northern Ireland last year. The pilot indicated that the new model is more effective at directing officers to businesses where they are more likely to find non-compliance. @ https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/updated-code-of-practice-for-local-authorities-in-england-and-northern-ireland-to-focus-inspection-efforts-on-higher-risk-food

The FDA, CDC, and state and local partners investigated a multistate outbreak of  Salmonella  Infantis infections linked to Gold Medal (General Mills Minneapolis, MN)unbleached and bleached flour with “Better if Used by” dates of March 27, 2024, and March 28, 2024.  CDC reports a total of 14 illnesses in 13 states (CA (1), IL (2), IA (1), MN (1), MO (1), NE (1), NJ (1), NY (1), OH (1), OR (1), TN (1), VA (1), and WA (1)). The last illness onset was May 2, 2023. FDA’s investigation is complete. Five of nine cases report exposure to raw Gold Medal brand flour, and seven of eight cases report consuming raw dough or batter. FDA initiated an inspection at the General Mills Kansas City, MO facility and collected retained product samples. One sample was positive for Salmonella, and subsequent analysis by WGS found that the Salmonella in the positive sample matched the strain of Salmonella making people sick in this outbreak. On April 28, 2023, General Mills announced a voluntary nationwide recall of two-, five- and 10-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached and Bleached All Purpose Flour. The CDC announced that the outbreak is over.@ https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/outbreak-investigation-salmonella-flour-april-2023?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery