Salmonella Blog

Egg Producers Look To Be More Ready Than Not For "New" Regulations

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:01:57 -0800

Some reform, some recycled policies, and something the bureaucracy could dust off and make new. Those are among the comments that can be made about the recommendations made earlier this week by the President’s Food Safety Working Group.

The “new” are the “public health regulation(s) to improve egg safety and reduce salmonella illnesses.”

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has published the “final rule” for the regulations in the Federal Register. They will take effect on September 8, 2009; almost five years after they made their debut as a draft.

During the time between the “draft” and the “final” FDA rule, U.S. egg production has increased to 6.41 billion table eggs annually, up from about 6 billion five years ago. Americans are now eating 250 eggs per person per year, up from 234 five years ago.

And its fair to say, United Egg Producers –the industry association—has used the last five years to get egg farmers ready for tougher safety standards. The U.S. Department of Agriculture funded a UEP study that created the “5-Star” egg safety program. Its five critical points are:

Cleaning and Disinfecting of poultry houses
Eliminating pests and rodents.
Proper egg washing.
Biosecurity.
Refrigeration at 45 degrees F. from point of packing through delivery.

The “new” FDA rule would require egg producers to:

Buy chicks and young hens only from suppliers who monitor for Salmonella.
Establish rodent, pest control and biosecurity measures to prevent spread of bacteria throughout farm by people and equipment.
Conduct testing in the poultry house for Salmonella Entertidis. If the tests finding the bacterium, a representative sample of the eggs must be tested over an eight week time period (four tests at two week intervals); If any of the four egg tests is positive, the producer must further process eggs to destroy the bacteria or divert the eggs to non-food use.
Clean and disinfect poultry houses that have tested positive for Salmonella Enteritidis
Refrigerate eggs at 45 degrees Fahrenheit during storage and transportation no later than 36 hours after the eggs are laid.

Thus, in comparing the UEP “5-Star” list with the FDA’s new rule, the real difference between the two is the required sampling program. And as Seattle attorney Denis Stearns recently noted:

"Moreover, hard data does not exist with regard to the prevalence of Salmonella in eggs in the United States, making the estimates about potential savings and illness-reduction speculative at best. As the USDA Agricultural Research Service pointed out in a report issued in 2007:

"Market egg sampling data has never been collected in the United States on a national basis and no regional sampling data has been collected in 10 years. Salmonella outbreaks continue to be attributed to eggs and no progress has been made in several years in decreasing incidence."

FDA estimates the new rule will cost egg producers $81 million a year or less than one cent per dozen eggs. The goal is to eliminate 79,000 Salmonella illnesses in humans annually; thereby preventing 30 deaths. Health costs will be reduced by $1.4 billion annually, according to the FDA analysis.

Egg producers will more than 3,000 laying hens would be covered by the new regulations. FDA and USDA both regulate egg producers and the new regulations are touted as a coordinated strategy.

Milk Coop's Ingredient Recall Is Growing Rapidly--202 Products To Date

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:10:36 -0800

After the Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, located in Plainview, MN, discovered salmonella contamination on its equipment, it asked on June 29th that the ingredients its sold over the past two years to others-- instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers and gums (thickening agents)--be recalled.

The third ingredient recall of 2009 is now growing rapidly. The Milk Coop did not sell anything to the general public. "The company sells these products to other industry customers, including distributors and manufacturers, who may have incorporated them into their own products, says the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which is maintaining a database of all products being recalled by customers of the Milk Coop.

That database is showing 202 products recalled as of today. The FDA database is the best place to go for specific product information, including code and lot numbers that you will be to make sure you do not have any potentially contaminated product in your pantry.

Here's a quick run-down on all the Milk Coop related recalls that have come in during the first nine days of July.

Landover, MD-based Giant Foods recalled Giant Nonfat Dried Milk in 9.6-ounce size.
The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company recalled its Non Fat Dried Milk products in 16 and 32-ounce sizes.
Robert St.John recalled its Rich, Rich Hot Chocolate Mix in 13-ounce plastic bags packaged inside metal tin cans.
Meijer Brand Instant Nonfat Dry Milk sold in Meijer Stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky was recalled.
McClancy Seasoning recalled Alba Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk (25.6 oz), Alba Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk (9.6 oz), Alba Creamy Milk Chocolate Snack Shake Mix (6 oz), Alba Double Fudge Royale Snack Shake Mix (6 oz), Alba Smooth Vanilla Bean Snack Shake Mix (6 oz) and Alba Strawberry Banana Snack Shake Mix (6 oz).
Precision Foods Inc., of St. Louis, Missouri, recalled certain Madagascar Vanilla cocoa. It is labeled as Land O Lakes International Drinking Cocoa “Madagascar Vanilla”.
NOW Foods recalled a dozen of its NOW Foods products containing whey protein concentrate.
CPI Foods, Inc Dallas, TX recalled approximately 15,000 packets of non-fat dry milk
Max Muscle Sports Nutrition recalled Max Muscle products containing whey protein concentrate due to potential Salmonella contamination.
Malt-O-Meal Company recalled “Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal” and “Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal” packets sold in “Variety” cartons.
Trans-Packers Services Corp. of Brooklyn, NY, is recalled approximately 6,300 packets of Dairy Shake blends
Traditions Meal Solutions recalled approximately 104,500 packets of 25-gram non-fat dry milk packets.
Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. of Davie, Fl recalled 17 lots of the powdered dietary supplement, Stealth Chocolate and Stealth Vanilla,
C. F. Sauer Company, of Richmond, VA recalled brown gravy, brown gravy with mushrooms, brown gravy with onions, turkey gravy, pork gravy, country sausage gravy, country style gravy, Alfredo sauce mix, Cajun gumbo mix, and Hollandaise sauce mix produced under the Sauer’s, Gold Medal, and Piggly Wiggly labels because they contain instant non-fat dry that was milk manufactured by the Plainview Milk Products Cooperative.
Westport, CT-baded Lewis Laboratories International, Ltd. is recalled Weigh Down Chocolate Flavor Nutrition Drink Mix

Meanwhile, back in Plainview, MN, the Milk Coop says: it "is presently in the process of disassembling all equipment in question for cleaning and is taking other precautionary measures such as the use of anti-microbial surface coatings in order to ensure environmental safety."

Virginia And Texas Communities Combat Local Salmonella Outbreaks

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:15:31 -0800

Charlottesville, VA and Lockhart, TX are the latest examples of communities dealing with nasty little outbreaks of Salmonella.

In Central Virginia, a half dozen patrons of the Mona Lisa Pasta Shop were sickened with salmonella that apparently came from frozen lasagna product.

Dr. Lilian Peake of the Thomas Jefferson Health District says the investigation is ongoing. Peake says her team has not yet officially pinpointed the lasagna as the cause and will look at all possibilities.

“We have to do a thorough investigation of what people were doing, where they ate, where they've been, so that we can really understand what is going on,” she stated.

While the Health District interviews people who ate food from the pasta shop, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs is checking out the venue itself.

In Texas, 27 people tested positive for salmonellosis in Caldwell County in the last month. Health officials have questioned all affected, but have not been able to determine the source.

Lockhart -- the proclaimed the barbecue capital of Texas—is seeing people stay away from local restaurants because a specific source of the salmonella outbreak has not been found. The investigation continues.

Read more on the Virginia outbreak at WVIR-TV and on Texas at KVUE.

Salmonella Contamination Causes Wegmans To Pull Anaheim Peppers

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:46:16 -0800

Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. the 73-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland, is recalling all Anaheim peppers its sold since June 11, 2009.

On July 2nd, Wegmans removed fresh Anaheim peppers from its produce departments due to the possibility of salmonella contamination. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently investigating the situation.

Anyone who purchased Anaheim peppers at Wegmans is asked just to throw them away. Refunds are available by contacting a Wegmans customer service desk.

Wegmans is a family owned company founded in 1916. For more information, please call Wegmans Consumer Affairs at 1-800-934-6267, x-4760, Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm.

Dunkin' Donuts Stops Pouring Beverages With Coop's Milk Products

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:45:11 -0800

When it learned that one of its suppliers had equipment contaminated with salmonella, Dunkin' Donuts removed hot chocolate and its Dunkaccino beverages from its menu.

Behind that action was the decision by Minnesota's Plainview Milk Products Cooperative to recall all the instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers and gums or thickening agents that it has manufactured over the past two years because of possible Salmonella contamination.

“Product safety is our first priority and none of the Plainview products that were tested by government agencies and our independent labs found any signs of product contamination," Dallas Moe, coop general manager says. " After the product cleared quality testing and left our facility it was blended with other ingredients and that’s when contamination was found, but in situations like this it’s in the public’s best interest to be overly cautious.”

Further, according to the coop:

Plainview sells its products to other customers who may then incorporate them into their own products. Testing by the USDA of a product produced by one of Plainview’s customers found Salmonella. The product that was produced, a dairy shake powder, contained Plainview product that had been dry blended with a number of other ingredients not manufactured by Plainview.

As part of an investigation by the FDA prior to the recall, environmental and product testing was conducted at the Plainview facility. Product testing found no contamination. Environmental testing (swab samples from walls, ceilings, floors, and equipment) found some positive test results for Salmonella. Plainview is presently in the process of disassembling all equipment in question for cleaning and is taking other precautionary measures such as the use of anti-microbial surface coatings in order to ensure environmental safety.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued this press release on the coop's recall.

Yes, It's Looking Like The Caterer Did It --She Raised Chicks And Did Business Without A License

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:08:49 -0800

If you raise chicks and you are in the catering business, you need to be extra careful not to cross contaminate the food you serve with salmonella from the chicks you keep.

It’s looking like that’s what happened in North Dakota where an unlicensed caterer linked to three separate incidents of salmonella food poisoning that sickened more than 75 people and hospitalized nine turned out to also be a chicken rancher.

On the second and third weekends in June, Aggie Jennings of rural McLean County, North Dakota catered a family reunion in Wilton, and weddings in Washburn and McClusky. At each event, people were poisoned with salmonella.

North Dakota health officials say Ms. Jennings did not have a catering license, an apparent Class B misdemeanor. As for charging her with legal responsibility for the outbreaks, they are first waiting for laboratory reports.

Food samples from one of the weddings, along with swab and water samples from the Jennings’ home are being tested for salmonella bacteria. Jennings’ kitchen is not separate from her home, which is required for a catering licenses.

Read about the investigation in the Bismarck Tribune.

Orca Repacked And Sold Setton Pistachios As California Prime Products & Orange County Orchards

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:57:51 -0800

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers not to eat two brands of pistachios repacked by Orca Distribution West Inc. of Anaheim, California. The brands are:

California Prime Produce
Orange County Orchards

The pistachios may be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. The products affected by the current warning are associated with an earlier recall by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. The distributor, Orca, received and repacked some pistachios recalled by Setton Pistachio.

The two brands of pistachios, California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards, were distributed to retail locations in airports and hotels nationwide. Both brands were packaged in clear 6-ounce flexible plastic Ziploc bags, UPC Number: 8 10826 01116 2, with Sell By Dates of 7/30/09 and 8/30/09.

FDA visited Orca as part of its follow-up checks on Setton Pistachio’s recall. The agency found that products that were part of the recall had been repacked and distributed by Orca under the California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards brands.

Same Caterer In North Dakota May Have Spread Salmonella To Two Events

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:03:17 -0800

There was a wedding in Washburn and a family reunion in Wilton that will probably be remembered for a long time. Both North Dakota towns are north of Bismarck. There apparently was a common ingredient at both events--salmonella. And it was not pretty.

About 40 people got sick, 11 were hospitalized, and two were in intensive care.

Doug Ness told KSYR-TV that he had to take four days off of work from his job as a chiropractor at Active Life Chiropractic in Bismarck last week. "I couldn`t leave my bed," Ness says. " Basically it was bed to bathroom and it wasn`t much fun."

He was just one of many who got sick from salmonella bacteria after eating from the taco bar at his friend`s wedding in Washburn. "Later than afternoon I`d heard from some of my friends that went to E.R. and they had I.V.s and were given morphine for the pain or discomfort so from there we kind of knew something was going on," Ness says.

Others reported the same symptoms of nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea after a reunion in Wilton hosted by the same caterer.

"There`s a common caterer but it`s really too soon to identify what`s really happened here," state epidemiologist Kirby Kruger told the television station. "We`re still doing some investigation and we`re still waiting for some results to come back."

Read more about the outbreak in the North Dakota's press release from last Friday.

Companies Recalling Peanut Products Tell Bankruptcy Court They Are Victims Too!

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:55:32 -0800

To list all the peanut products they've recalled takes a couple pages each for Kellogg Co. and Clif Bar Inc.

For Kellogg's, it includes products like Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies. For Clif Bar, MOJO Dipped Chocolate Peanut and MOJO Dipped Peanut Butter and Jelly are on the lengthy recall lists.

Neither Kellogg's nor Clif Bar paid much if any attention to conditions at the Peanut Corporation of America, which produced the peanut products used as ingredients by the other food companies. PCA peanut butter and peanut paste was found to be the source of a Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that made at least 700 people sick and killed nine people.

Yesterday, Kellogg's and Clif Bar weighed in as the latest "victims," filing claims in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Lynchburg, respectively for $60 million and $27 million to cover their recall costs. Those were among the claims that raised the total amount of creditor claims against PCA to nearly $311 million.

Most of the food companies who bought peanut butter and paste from PCA as ingredients for their goods did not file claims for the cost of recall. As of June 12th, 3,916 products were on the recall list. The deadline for businesses to file claims was yesterday.

Meanwhile, the deadline for filing personal income claims with the Bankruptcy Court has been extended to Oct. 31.

Bar Date Extended to October 31, 2009 for Filing of Salmonella Personal Injury Claims Against Peanut Corporation of America

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:20:36 -0800

Salmonella Was The Big Bacteria On The Block In 2006

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 10:39:16 -0800

Perhaps the most interesting statistic about salmonella is that only 6.1 percent of all the thousands of illnesses it was responsible for in 2006 could be attributed to the recognized outbreaks that are laid out in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).

And while the Centers on Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) acknowledges that its picture is incomplete, it's Foodborne Disease Outbreak Surveillance System (FBDSS) with the states did manage to track total of 1,270 Food-Borne Disease Outbreaks, resulting in 27,634 confirmed illnesses and 11 deaths.

Salmonella was second only to Norovirus in causing the most food-borne illnesses. And among bacteria, Salmonella was No. 1, being the most commonly reported bacterial etiologic agent causing 112 or 52 percent of the confirmed outbreaks attributed to bacteria.

Salmonella serotype Enteritidis caused most of those outbreaks, a total of 28 or 13 percent.

Salmonella was responsible for four of the 11 multi-state outbreaks. The salmonella bacteria was transmitted by tomatoes in two of those four multi-state outbreaks. Together they made 307 sick.

Fruit salad was the transmission source in the third multi-state salmonella outbreak, making 41 people sick. And, finally, there was the 2006 peanut butter outbreak that cross many state lines in jars of Peter Pan peanut butter that carried salmonella. That outbreak made 715 sick.

CDC also looked pathogen-commodity pairs responsible for the most outbreak-related cases. Salmonella came up as a partner with fruits and nuts in 776 cases; and with vine-stalk vegetables in 331 cases.

Read the entire report, "Surveillance for Foodborne Disease Outbreaks --- United States, 2006," in MMWR.

"Team D" Profiled On Blog at Consumer Reports: Credited For Role In Finding Salmonella In Peanut Butter

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 13:09:54 -0800

The Consumer Reports Blog has a nice profile up on "Team D," the environmental science students at the University of Minnesota who've been at the center of tracking down recent outbreaks of food-borne illness, including salmonella. Here's how CR begins the story:

"Graduate students in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health vie to get on an elite team, even if they have to put up with its icky nickname—Team D. That's D as in diarrhea. The team's claim to fame is the speed at which it has tracked down the culprits in several recent high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness involving salmonella and E. coli.

"Team D played a vital role in figuring out that jalapeño peppers were behind a nationwide outbreak of salmonella last summer, accurately contradicting the best guesses of federal food-safety officials that tomatoes were the likely source. Earlier this year, Team D played a similarly critical role in identifying institutional jars of peanut butter as the source of a cluster of salmonella cases in Minnesota, a finding that ultimately led to one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history by the Peanut Corporation of America."

Check out the rest of "Fast-acting 'Team D' sleuths out sources of foodborne illness" here.

Speaking of Peanut Corporation of America, the Texas corporation that operated its Plainview plant has also now filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Creditors may attend a meeting on June 24, 2009 at 10 a.m. in Room 266 of the U.S. Courthouse in Lynchburg, VA. A list of the creditors can be found here.

Usually All Is Well In Lee's Summit, MO; But Not Today--Salmonella Sends Two Little Ones To The Hospital

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:01:44 -0800

Richardson Elementary School students in Lee's Summit, MO were sent home with warning letters yesterday after two kindergartners were hospitalized with salmonella.

A boy, listed in fair condition, and a girl, whose condition was not being released, were enrolled in Richardson's Kids Country during the school year.

Health officials could not say if the illnesses are school related.

Salmonella is often spread through contaminated food and less frequently from person-to-person or on toys and other objects. The school has instructed its district custodians to do additional cleaning and disinfecting at Richardson Elementary as a precaution.

FOX-4 in Kansas City is covering the situation here.

Tested Positive For Salmonella Last September, Union International Just Gets Around To Recalling White Peppers With Red Labels

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 11:11:01 -0800

Somebody must have hit the "re-send" button overnight at the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as we received a number of recall notices from earlier May that we've already written about.

One that is somewhat new, however, is from last Friday when Union International Food Company recalled Lian How Brand White Peppers with red labels because of possible Salmonella contamination.

The City of Industry, CA-based company said the Lian How Brand White Peppers were packaged in 5 pound containers with red labels for distribution to Southern California restaurants and wholesalers between Sept. 2008 and March 2009. So, the possibility of any of these White Peppers still being around is probably pretty small.

Why it has taken so long to identify this problem is not clear. Union says the recall was the result of a testing done on a shipment of peppers that was purchased around September of 2008 which revealed that the finished products contained the salmonella bacteria.

Why it took until May 29, 2009 to issue a recall on products that tested positive for salmonella in September 2008 is question we do not know the answer to. Union claims it is cooperating fully with FDA; and no illnesses are yet associated with this recall.

Consumers who have purchased the affected white peppers with red label product are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at (626) 854-8880

Here's what the FDA has on it.

Setton Pistachio Claims It "Never Knowingly" Shipped Tainted Product

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Wed, 27 May 2009 14:12:50 -0800

After the recall since March of a couple million pounds of pistachios in over 660 separate products, Setton Pistachio sent its Chief Operating Officer (COO) out to deny the California company continued to ship its seeds after discovering they were contaminated with salmonella.

In doing so, Setton’s COO Mia Cohen took exception to the Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) investigative report, known as a 483 for its form number.

“We adamantly disagree with portions of the 483 and we have responded accordingly…Our company never knowingly shipped pistachios potentially contaminated with Salmonella. All pistachios, which tested positive, were either reconditioned or held in quarantine and never hit the marketplace, ” Ms. Cohen told the industry site foodnavigator-usa.com.

Since FDA took pre-emptive action with Setton , there are no known illnesses associated with the massive recall. This dispute about the facts will remain between FDA and Setton. With peanuts, salmonella contamination made over 700 people sick and was responsible for nine deaths. As part of the discovery process involving victims of the Peanut Corporation of America, third party experts extensively inspected those facilities in Texas and Georgia last month.

FDA was very critical of Setton’s action to “recondition” pistachios that tested positive for salmonella. In at least one instance, the company re-roasted pistachios that tested positive for Salmonella and then blended them together with other nuts for sale.

Setton says re-conditioning is an accepted way of killing salmonella. However, there is potential for cross contamination.

Much of Setton’s defense of its action rests on its hiring of the American Council for Food Safety and Quality (known as DFA in California ) once it had positive salmonella test results.

“They conducted hundreds of tests from October to February and could find no evidence of Salmonella in our facility,” Cohen said. “There was never a suggestion from DFA not to ship.”

It should be noted that Peanut Corporation of America also had a third-party auditor that did not question its practices.

Our report on the 483 report can be found here.

Raw Milk Used To Make Mexican-Style Cheese Blamed In Utah Salmonella Outbreak

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Tue, 26 May 2009 07:59:43 -0800

Homemade queso fresco , a Mexican-style soft cheese made with raw milk, is being blamed by health officials for a salmonella outbreak in Utah's Salt Lake Valley.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported last week on seven salmonella cases that were being linked to someone in Kearns, Utah who was making queso fresco using raw milk from a cow on a nearby farm.

Larry Lewis, spokesman for the State Department of Agriculture, said officials believe the contaminated cheese was sold or given away to friends and neighbors, but not produced or sold commercially.

"We believe the contamination came from the raw milk," Lewis said. However, the cheese maker would not tell officials where he obtained the milk.

Health officials say the sick in Utah are suffering from "Salmonella Newport." They believe the outbreak is more widespread than just the seven cases as other salmonella cases have been reported. For more from the SL Tribune, go here.

Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Makes Its 483 Inspection Report of Setton Pistachio Public

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Fri, 22 May 2009 19:15:24 -0800

In a 483 Inspection Report released today, FDA inspectors identified multiple food-safety shortcomings at the Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella California that was linked to a Salmonella outbreak earlier this year:

1. The company detected the bacteria in roasted pistachios in October but did not change its processing procedures until March

2. In one instance, the company re-roasted pistachios that had tested positive for Salmonella and blended them together with other nuts for sale.

3. Inspectors identified a "failure to manufacture, package and store foods under conditions and controls necessary to minimize the potential for growth of microorganisms and contamination."

4. Specific physical problems ranged from a rusty hole in the roof above one pistachio roaster to "thick layers of dust and debris" in a packaging room.

5. Procedural shortcomings included failure to monitor roasting temperatures and allowing raw and roasted pistachios to potentially come into contact.

6. Between October 2008 and March 2009, the report noted that "there were at least eight reported Salmonella-positive test results" coming out of the Terra Bella plant. When the firm learned of the private laboratory test results, inspectors said, there were no "procedures in place" to respond appropriately.

7. Prior to January, inspectors added, the Terra Bella plant did not monitor roasting temperatures, roasting times or the depth of pistachios placed on the roasting conveyor belts.

8. Inspectors checked records for 14 lots of roasted pistachios. In a potentially dangerous step, 10 of these lots had raw pistachios packed on the same packaging equipment prior to the roasted pistachios being run.

Does this not sound just a bit like the 483 Inspection report at the Peanut Corporation of America? Setton is just lucky they did not sicken and kill people or they may too be facing bankruptcy and jail time. When are companies going to get a clue?

WAL*MART Cantaloupes In Carolinas And South Hill, Virginia Recalled After Testing Positive For Salmonella

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) — Sat, 16 May 2009 20:27:46 -0800

How big is "a lot?" Raleigh, NC-based L&M Companies, Inc. has recalled "one lot of whole cantaloupes because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

One lot must be a lot because there were enough cantaloupes to fulfill the needs of Walmart Supercenter Stores in North Carolina and South Carolina, and in the Walmart Supercenter Store located at 315 Furr Street in South Hill, Virginia. The cants were sold between the 10th and 15th of this month.

No illnesses have yet been associated with the recall.

"Consumers who have purchased whole cantaloupes from these Walmart stores during this time period should not consume them, and should destroy the product," L&M said in its recall statement.

The recall comes after a cantaloupe at a small farm from which L&M Companies sources product tested positive for Salmonella. L&M has ceased shipments from this farm, and the grower continues to investigate the cause of the problem.

L&M's statement can be found on the FDA's website here.

Peanuts & Pistachios Will Mark The History Of Change At Food & Drug Administration

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Lawyer) — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:31:53 -0800

Few would have predicted that when history is written on the first term of the Obama Administration that peanuts and pistachios would play such prominent roles. Those unlikely products, however, will be used by historians to demonstrate the bad old ways versus the new U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA).

Maybe because the new President himself came from the streets of Chicago, he went to the front lines of the country's public health challenge to select Dr. Margaret Hamburg as FDA Commissioner and Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, as her deputy. Dr. Hamburg, an expert in biological defense and disease control, was during the 1990s the youngest person in history to serve as New York City's health commissioner. Dr. Sharfstein, a pediatrician, came to FDA directly from heading up the Baltimore Health Department.

It is really hard to overstate how unusual it is to have two top FDA officials from the gritty streets of big cities. Almost all previous FDA Commissioners come from academic and research backgrounds. You can go through each biography of past FDA Commissioners here.

Few had any in-the-streets experience. LBJ's last commissioner, Dr. James Goddard, came out of the Public Health Service at a time when federal doctors wore uniforms and saw patients. And Nixon's appointee, Dr. Herbert Lay, Jr., was known for his service as an epidemiologist for our troops in Korea and Vietnam.

But that's about it. FDA Commissioners have not been folks who got their hands dirty, knocking down the TB rate in the Big Apple as Dr. Hamburg did or taking on the dangers of over-the-counter cold and cough medicines for children under age 2 as Dr. Sharfstein did. The typical FDA honcho creates process, not results.

So when Sharfstein took over FDA, while waiting for Hamburg to clear the Senate, it really should have come as no surprise that he opted to recall Salmonella-contaminated pistachios before anyone got sick.

The FDA has completed its inspection of Salmonella contamination in pistachios and pistachio products at Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc., Terra Bella, Calif., and presented a 483 Inspection Report to the firm.

It now says that the 606 products involved in the pistachio recall to date should be about it, but consumers are advised to check the list before eating anything that contain pistachios. That list can be found here. FDA’s recall database contains pistachios and pistachio products that have been recalled because they contain pistachios recalled by Setton Pistachio.

And FDA warned the public: "Consumers should not eat pistachios or food products containing them (such as pistachio bakery goods and pistachio ice cream) until they can determine that the products do not contain pistachios recalled by Setton. FDA's warning does not apply to pistachios and pistachio products not associated with recalled pistachios from Setton Pistachio."

Costly to the pistachio industry? Most certainly. Anybody sick? Not that we know of.

The contrast to the peanut fiasco would not be more stark.

The Peanut Corporation of America's conduct is now the subject of a criminal investigation. Its products made at least 714 in 46 states and Canada sick with Salmonella Typhimurium. One out of four of those confirmed cases required time in the hospital to recover and nine people died.

The eventual recall of products and ingredients that came from PCA has exceeded 3,900. Check it out here. PCA's plants in Plainview, TX and Blakely, GA are modest by manufacturing standards, but have had a devastating impact on the entire peanut industry.

Costly to the peanut industry? $1 billion lost, according to the Georgia Peanut Commission. PCA is in bankruptcy. Its customers, who put PCA peanut butter in their products, are probably going to have to eat the cost. And we already spoke of the sick and the dead.

PCA's Texas plant escaped state and federal regulation entirely. The Lone Star State imposed a $14.6 million fine. Lot's luck with that one. In Georgia, PCA paid for the best outside inspection report money could buy. (There is an audit company out there that should be zapped by the Almightly.)

Peanuts and Pistachios. Before and After. FDA Commissioners from ivory Towers versus the Streets. History in the making, that much is for sure.

FDA Updates Its Alfalfa Sprout Investigation And Continues To Ban Their Consumption; Tells About The Seeds of Destruction

marler@marlerclark.com (Salmonella Attorney) — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:59:36 -0800

Here are the highlights of an update just posted from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the sprout-caused Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak that has impacted at least 14 states:

A preliminary report of the investigation is available from CDC's, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, MMWR [PDF - 114 KB].
Since February 2009, 235 persons from 14 states have been infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul. Patients range in age from < 1 to 85 years old with reports of 3% persons hospitalized and no deaths.
Collaborative investigative efforts of many local, state, and federal public health, agriculture and regulatory agencies led to the implication of alfalfa sprouts.
The alfalfa sprouts were produced at several sprout growers and appear to involve only seeds sold by one seed company that originated from one grower which strongly suggests that the seeds were contaminated.
This outbreak may indicate a need to determine how well existing FDA guidance is being implemented (since it is voluntary), as well as to explore additional studies of measures that can be taken to prevent, detect, and eliminate contamination of seeds and sprouts.
FDA and CDC continue to recommend that consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts, including sprout blends containing alfalfa sprouts, until further notice because the product has been linked to Salmonella serotype Saintpaul contamination. Other types of sprouts have not been implicated.

Cases Infected with the Outbreak Strain of Salmonella Saintpaul Via Alfalfa Sprouts

United States, by State, as of May 7, 2009 (n=235)

As of May 7, 2009, 235 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Saintpaul have been reported from 14 states. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Nebraska (111), Iowa (35), South Dakota (38), Michigan (19), Kansas (8), Pennsylvania (7), Minnesota (5), Ohio (3), Illinois (2), Virginia (2), West Virginia (2), Florida (1), North Carolina (1), and Utah (1).

Among the 234 persons with known illness onset dates, illnesses began between February 1 and April 15, 2009. Patients range in age from < 1 to 85 years; 68% are female. Among persons with available information, 3% reported being hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

The outbreak can be visually described with a chart (see below) showing the number of persons who became ill each day. This chart is called an epidemic curve or epi curve. It shows that illnesses began in early February, peaked in early March and have been tapering off in April. Illnesses that occurred after April 17, 2009 may not yet be reported due to the time it takes between when a person becomes ill and when the illness is reported. This takes an average of 2 to 3 weeks. Please see the Salmonella Outbreak Investigations: Timeline for Reporting Cases for more details.

For more from the current update, go here

Infections with the Outbreak Strain of Salmonella Saintpaul

By Date of Illness Onset by State (n=234*)