In the news

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced that J&J Distributing (a St. Paul, Minnesota) recalled approximately 33 pounds of ready-to-eat meat and poultry salads and wrap products that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes (Lm). The fully cooked, not shelf stable salads and wraps were produced and packaged on Feb. 23, 2021, and list a “Sell-by” date of Feb. 28, 2021. The recalled products are 9-oz. plastic container of “COBB SALAD”; 10-oz. plastic container of “Because life is delicious. Tastebuds Bacon Lettuce Avocado Tomato Wrap”; 10-oz. plastic container of “Because life is delicious. Tastebuds Turkey Ranch Club Wrap”; 10-oz. plastic container of “Because life is delicious. Tastebuds Chicken Caesar Wrap”; 2-oz. plastic container of “Because life is delicious. Tastebuds Southwest Style Chicken Salad”; and 12-oz. plastic container of “Southwest Style Chicken Salad.” The problem was discovered when J&J received confirmation from their third-party lab that a product contact surface sample returned positive for Lm. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. The products were shipped to Minnesota and Wisconsin. @ https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2021/recall-007-2021-release

Food Safety News reported that in Europe, Salmonella Enteritidis infections had been linked to Poland’s frozen breaded chicken products. Denmark has two infections, Finland has four, France has 33, Germany has six, Ireland has 12, the Netherlands has three, Poland has five, Sweden has six, and the United Kingdom has 122, for a total of 193 cases. One probable case was reported in Canada in 2019 from a person that traveled to Europe. One in five people have been hospitalized, and an 86-year-old woman died in France. Half of those sick are children younger than 18. Since January 2020, officials in the UK have identified 480 additional patients. During investigations in Germany, France, and the UK, isolates of Salmonella Enteritidis matching the outbreak strain were detected. @ https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/02/nine-countries-part-of-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-poultry-products/

Scent Theory has recalled 636,416 bottles of its 11-oz. bottles of foaming hand soap in Lemon Citrus, Vanilla Coconut, Eucalyptus Mint, and Fresh Lavender. The recall is due to potential contamination with Burkholderia cepacia. The recall is not the first recall of Scent Theory products since the Covid pandemic. In July 2020, the FDA announced the recall of hand sanitizers (Scent Theory KEEP CLEAN Moisturizing Hand Sanitizer) due to the presence of methanol. @ https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-compliance-enforcement/cosmetics-recalls-alerts

The Guardian reported that more than 200 children had been poisoned. One death is connected to an ongoing salmonella outbreak in the UK linked to cheap breaded chicken products containing Polish poultry. The first cases of the outbreak date back to January 2020. So far, 480 cases of salmonella enteritidis have been recorded, of which 44% were in children aged 16 or under. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued several recalls for suspect processed chicken available at Sainsbury, Morrisons Lidl, Aldi, and Iceland. The latest recalls include SFC Chicken Poppets and Take Home Boneless Bucket, available at Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, and Vestey Foods Chick Inn 32 Jumbo Chicken Nuggets, which have been sold at Heron Food stores and B&M shops. The FSA has confirmed that the salmonella originated in Poland, and it is trying to identify the Polish farm or farms involved. More than a third of the cases were so severe that hospital treatment was required. Salmonella was recorded as a contributory cause of death in at least one case. @ https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2021/feb/22/deadly-salmonella-outbreak-in-uk-linked-to-chicken-products