In the news

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) advised consumers not to eat Fresh Express Sweet Hearts Romaine Lettuce Sweet Butter Lettuce due to Listeria monocytogenes. A sample of product collected as part of routine sampling in December and analyzed by MDARD has tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. The product is packaged in a 9 oz. clear plastic bag with a green and red label with white lettering and has a use-by date and lot code of “DEC 08 Z324B05A 16:04 07; Product of USA” located on the upper right corner of the front of the bag. Currently, no cases of illness have been associated with this product in Michigan. @ https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/0,4610,7-125–574207–,00.html

The EFSA and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control report present the results of zoonoses monitoring activities carried out in 2020 in 27 EU Member States (MS) and nine non-MS. In 2020, the first and second most reported zoonoses in humans were campylobacteriosis and Salmonellosis, respectively. The EU trend for confirmed human cases of these two diseases did not change from 2016 to 2020. Fourteen of the 26 MS reporting data on Salmonella control in poultry met the reduction targets for all poultry categories. For Campylobacter, quantification results from broiler carcasses for the MS group were similar to Salmonellosis. Yersiniosis was the third most reported zoonosis in humans, with 10-fold fewer cases reported than Salmonellosis, followed by Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Listeria monocytogenes infections. The most severe zoonotic diseases with the highest case fatality are caused by L. monocytogenes and West Nile virus infections. In 2020, 27 MS reported 3,086 foodborne outbreaks (a 47.0% decrease from 2019) and 20,017 human cases (a 61.3% decrease). Salmonella remained the most frequently reported causative agent for foodborne outbreaks. @ https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/efs2_6971-FINAL.pdf

According to the CFIA, New Alasko Limited Partnership (Montreal, Quebec) has recalled Alasko Individually Quick Frozen (“IQF”) Whole Kernel Corn products from the Canadian marketplace due to suspected Salmonella contamination. The following Whole Kernel Corn products are subject to this recall: Alasko Individually Quick Frozen (“IQF”) Whole Kernel Corn, packaged in twelve (12) kilogram (6 by 2 kilogram) clear plastic bags with a batch/lot code of GT21120, These Whole Kernel Corn products distributed and sold in Alberta, British Columbia, and Manitoba, The products were sold to hotels, restaurants, and institutions. @ https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/alasko-brand-iqf-individually-quick-frozen-whole-kernel-corn-recalled-due-salmonella

The USDA FSIS reported that Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp.(doing business as Margherita Meats, Inc., of Omaha, Nebraska) recalled approximately 10,990 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) pepperoni products that might be adulterated with Bacillus cereus. The RTE unsliced pepperoni product was produced and packaged on June 17, 2021, in 8-oz. shrink-wrapped plastic packages containing unsliced pepperoni “Margherita PEPPERONI” with lot code P1931C and a “use by date” of 12-14-21 represented on the label. These items were shipped to retail locations nationwide. The problem was discovered when the Department of Defense notified FSIS that they found B. cereus during routine product testing. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to the consumption of these products.  @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/smithfield-packaged-meats-corp.-dba-margherita-meats-inc.-recalls-pepperoni-products