In the news

Dec. 14, 2021 – Dec. 14, 2021 – The USDA/FSIS announced that Smithfield Packaged Meats Corp., doing business as Margherita Meats (Omaha, Nebraska), recalled approximately 10,990 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) pepperoni products that may be contaminated with Bacillus cereus (B. cereus). The RTE unsliced pepperoni product was produced and packaged on June 17, 2021, and packaged in8-oz. plastic shrink-wrapped packages containing unsliced pepperoni “Margherita PEPPERONI” with“ use by date” of 12-14-21. 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

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) reported the recall for Hampton House brand chicken nuggets due to a possible salmonella contamination. The nuggets distributed by JD Sweid Foods were sold in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The chicken nuggets were sold in 3kg packages, with a best before date of Nov. 10, 2022. There have been no illnesses associated with the nuggets. @ https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/hampton-house-brand-chicken-nuggets-recalled-due-salmonella?utm_source=r_listserv

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control published a report on a recent outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis ST11 infections. On 2 September 2021, France reported an increase in Salmonella Enteritidis ST11 infections. By 11 January 2022, 272 confirmed cases had been reported in five European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries and the United Kingdom (UK): Denmark (n=3), France (n=216), the Netherlands (n=12), Norway (n=7), Spain (n=22), and the UK (n=12) in 2021. Two deaths were recorded in adult men. Twenty-five cases were hospitalized. Sixty cases reported consumption of eggs/egg products. Some cases reported in France in 2021 had visited restaurants serving eggs distributed by a Spanish Packing Centre A. The eggs originated from three Spanish farms, one testing positive for the outbreak strain.No other countries received eggs from the same farms via Packing Centre A during summer 2021. Therefore, the source of infection for cases in late 2021 and in countries other than Spain and France could not be established. The risk of new infections caused by the outbreak strain and contaminated eggs remains high in the EU/EEA. @ https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/publications-data/multi-country-outbreak-salmonella-enteritidis-sequence-type-st11-infections

According to the CFIA, Loblaw Companies (Brampton, Ontario) recalled President’s Choice branded Roasted Cashews Nuts with Sea Salt from the Canadian marketplace due to reported off-odor and off-taste caused by possible spoilage and bacterial contamination.  The recalled products President’s Choice Roasted Cashews with Sea Salt, sold in 200 gram cans with a best-before date code of 2022 DE09 or 2022;  and President’s Choice Roasted Cashews with Sea Salt, sold in “Club Size” packages of 1.13 kilograms with a best-before date code of 2022 OC 04 were sold nationwide.@ https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/president-s-choice-brand-roasted-cashews-sea-salt-recalled-due-odour-and-taste