In the news

September 15, 2022- The CDC published an update on the investigation of consumer complaints of gastrointestinal illness, and abnormal liver function that may be attributable to eating Daily Harvest French Lentil & Leek Crumbles frozen product. On June 17, 2022, in response to consumer complaints, Daily Harvest voluntarily initiated a recall of their French Lentil & Leek Crumbles. In response to Consumer Adverse Event Reports (CAERS) and Consumer Complaints submitted to the FDA, the FDA has initiated an investigation. As of September 15, 2022, the FDA has received 386 CAERS reports and Consumer Complaints related to this product, and there were 130 hospitalizations. Thirty-nine states (AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, ME, MD, MA, MN, MS, MI, MO, MT, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA,  and WI) had CAERS. The last reported illness was on September 4, 2022. The products were sold online and in two retail stores (Daily Harvest store in Chicago, IL, and a store in Los Angeles. The update does not provide any reason for the illnesses three months after the recall. @ https://www.fda.gov/food/outbreaks-foodborne-illness/investigation-adverse-event-reports-french-lentil-leek-crumbles-june-2022?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

The FDA sent a warning letter to Banks Square Market Corp (dba the Produce Connection) processing facility of ready-to-eat (RTE) fresh-cut fruit and vegetable (Wakefield, MA), after the inspection from February 8, 2022, through March 21, 2022. During our inspection, FDA investigators found severe violations of the cGMP, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls during this inspection. FDA collected environmental swabs from various areas in your processing facility. The FDA laboratory analysis of the environmental swabs found the presence of Listeria monocytogenes. The FDA has determined that the RTE fresh-cut fruit and vegetable products processed in the facility are adulterated in that they were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions. @ https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/banks-square-market-corp-dba-produce-connection-631118-09022022

The FDA inspected Connecticut’s Royal ice cream ready-to-eat (RTE) manufacturing facility from January 19 through February 22, 2022. The inspection exposed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in environmental swabs collected during the inspection, and other GMP, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls violations. One swab from the filler head contained Listeria monocytogenes. Listeria monocytogenes were also detected in the finished product. The results indicate inadequate control of pathogens. @ https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/warning-letters/royal-ice-cream-company-inc-630433-07282022

The CDC reports that the E. coli O157:H7 that caused the outbreak linked to HelloFresh ground beef sickened at least seven people in six states (MD (1), NJ (2), NY (1), PA (1), VA (1), and WA (1)). There were six hospitalizations and no death. The contaminated ground beef in HelloFresh meal kits shipped from July 2 to July 21, 2022. It was packaged in 10 oz plastic vacuum-packaged HelloFresh meal kits. All six people interviewed in this outbreak reported eating ground beef from HelloFresh before they got sick. Investigators are working to determine if any other ground beef might be contaminated. @ https://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2022/o157h7-09-22/index.html