This past week the CDC declared an outbreak of Cronobacter infections over after the FDA received four complaints of Cronobacter infections in infants beginning on September 20, 2021, through January 11, 2022. Two of the babies died. Parents of all four infants reported having fed their children formula produced by Abbott Nutrition before they became ill.…
– OPiNION – ROSEMONT, IL — This year’s keynote at the 24th Annual Food Safety Summit was about “food safety culture.” FDA officials Conrad Choiniere and Donald Prater did a stand-up act, reminding the audience of about 800 that “food safety culture” is already on their radar screen. FDA’s “New Era” acknowledges the importance of…
Attorneys for brothers Stewart and Michael Parnell had no trouble finding errors in a magistrate judge’s recommendations that would deny their 28 U.S.C. §2255 motions. Federal inmates may challenge their convictions, obtain sentence reductions, or be freed from prison altogether through 2255 motions. Both of the Parnells’ convictions were related to a deadly 2008-09 Salmonella…
The Nutricia company has spoken out after Cronobacter was found during Australian testing of infant formula made in Europe. A batch of KetoCal 3:1 was positive for Cronobacter spp. after being sampled at the border by Australian customs officials as part of random routine testing. There have been no known related illnesses. Nutricia said the…
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has raised concerns that potentially contaminated chocolate produced by Ferrero could still be on sale. As many as 200 people across Europe have been sickened in an outbreak linked to the candy. The authority said it was worried about the reach and efficacy of the product withdrawal and recall of…
Food recall guidance for businesses in New Zealand has been updated. The guidance document includes example procedures, checklists, and spreadsheets plus revised recall risk assessment and audit forms. Six steps are listed with the first being investigate to understand the problem and the last is audit so corrective and preventative actions can be reviewed or…
The FDA is reporting that the number of reports of illnesses linked to a dry cereal have almost doubled in the past week, reaching 446. In a weekly update the Food and Drug Administration indicated that the number had increased from the 231 cases of “adverse events” reported on April 20. Although the update does…
By Suzanne Hensell, OPACE A newly named deputy district manager (DDM) in the Des Moines District, Jeffery Jacobsen began his Food Safety Inspection Service career in March 2000 as an intermittent food inspector in Crete, NE. In 2013, he was featured in the Faces of Food Safety when he was an Enforcement, Investigations and Analysis…
Canada’s Northern Goose Processors Ltd. has petitioned USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to amend regulations implementing the Poultry Products Inspection Regulations’ proposed definition of ready-to-cook poultry. The 47-page submission was assigned petition number 22-01 and referred to the FSIS Office of Policy and Program Development. It calls for amending an existing regulation for…
An ongoing Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) recall modernization project workgroup has released its recommendations after a three-year review of data and information. The AFDO team is made up of regulators and industry representatives from across the country. AFDO has released a Recall Whitepaper outlining the group’s work, which it explained as follows: “In 2018, AFDO developed…
The Alabama Department of Public Health is investigating four cases of E. coli O157:H7 and two cases of Rotavirus in younger children in Northeastern Alabama. As of today the department had not reported what the possible sources of the pathogens might be. It is unknown if the sources involve foods or beverages, although food is…
The U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Middle District of Georgia recommends denial of motions to release brothers Stewart and Michael Parnell from federal custody. Judge Thomas Q. Langstaff quietly filed decisions on April 7 after taking both matters under advisement this past October. The Parnells, convicted in a 2014 jury trial of food safety felonies related to the 2008-09…