In the news

Agri Mark Inc (Waitsfield, Vermont) recalled 1701 pounds of butter sold in seven states, which are being recalled, according to the FDA. The recalled butter contains “elevated levels of coliform,” indicating fecal contamination. The product affected is 8-ounce packages of Cabot Creamery Premium Butter, Sea Salted. The butter was packaged as two 4-ounce sticks in cardboard shells. The recalled butter also has a best-by date of September 9, 2025, and was sold at grocery stores in the following states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. To date, no complaints of illness related to this product have been reported. @ https://www.infectiousdiseaseadvisor.com/news/possible-fecal-contamination-prompts-butter-recall/

The Journal of Food Protection published a manuscript comparing the 12 years of 2012–2023, 1,001 food recall incidents that occurred, representing 205.2 million lbs of recalled product. The FSIS classified the recall incidents at 76% as Class I, 20% as Class II, and 4% as Class III. Product Contaminants caused 68% of the FSIS recalls, Processing Issues added 13%, and Other Reasons contributed 19%. Evaluation of these recalls by product type resulted in Poultry at 29%, Beef at 23%, Mixed Animal meat at 23%, and Pork at 22% of the recall incidents. Evaluation of these recalls by product weight showed Mixed Animal meat at 52%, Poultry at 27%, Beef at 16%, and Pork at 4%. Four bacterial species caused almost 59% of the FSIS recalls by weight. Listeria monocytogenes caused 32%, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) caused 12%, Salmonella caused 9%, and Bacillus cereus caused 0.5% of the recalls by weight. The FSIS food recalls were compared to the FDA Food & Beverage recalls from a recent publication. Listeria was the common cause of the highest percentage of FDA recalled by incidents, and FSIS recalls by weight. In both USDA/FSIS and FDA, the most common bacterial species causing the recalls were L. monocytogenes, Salmonella, and E. coli. Live bacteria is a certain sign of improper cleaning and sanitation methods, uncontrolled procedures and processes like GMP failures, or lack of proper thermal process control, which results in recalls. @ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0362028X25000444?dgcid=raven_sd_via_email

The CFIA has issued a recall notice for multiple frozen pastries that were sold under the brands Sweet Cream and D. Effe T. The authority says Sweet Cream brand and D. Effe T. brand frozen pastries in the apollini mignon, mini lobster tail, Apollo K2, big lobstertail, sfogliata Napoli, big sfoglia Napoli, mini sfogliatella and mini sflogliatella cioccolato varieties are affected. One person has become ill in relation to the recalled pastries, according to the CFIA. The agency is continuing an investigation into the situation. The recall has been issued for Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec, but the CFIA warns the recalled product could have been distributed to other provinces and territories. The CFIA says the product might have been sold in clerk-served packages or smaller packages without a label or in a package that doesn’t bear the same brand or product name. @ https://recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-recall/sweet-cream-brand-and-effe-t-brand-frozen-pastries-recalled-due-salmonella?utm_source=gc-notify&utm_medium=email&utm_content=en&utm_campaign=hc-sc-rsa-22-23

According to NBC News, the outbreak linked to E. coli 0157:H7 in romaine lettuce killed one person and sickened at least 88 more. Nine families are suing the California-based produce company. According to NBC News, the FDA did not publicize information about the E. coli outbreak despite months of investigation. The outbreak began in St. Louis County in Missouri in early November 2024, and the FDA officially closed its investigation in February without disclosing what had happened or sharing which companies had produced the infected lettuce. An internal FDA report claimed that it did not name companies because there was no infected lettuce left by the time investigators learned where the E. coli was coming from. The report also noted that there was one death but did not share information about it. “It is disturbing that the FDA hasn’t said anything more public or identified the name of a grower or processor,” said Yiannas, who was at the FDA from 2018 to 2023. Using genetic analysis, the investigators concluded that based on epidemiologic and traceback data, romaine lettuce was confirmed as the source of this outbreak. The victims have all accused Taylor Farms in nine different lawsuits, arguing in court papers that it sold “defective and unreasonably dangerous” food products. Taylor Farms denied that any of its products were responsible for the outbreak. The accusations against Taylor Farms come on the heels of another deadly outbreak: In October, Taylor Farms had recalled onions contaminated with E. coli sold at McDonalds. @ https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ecoli-bacteria-lettuce-outbreak-rcna200236