The USDA is investigating an outbreak of Salmonella that originated with beef products sold throughout the Northeast at Hannaford grocery stores. Tracing the outbreak source up the supply chain is complicated by weak record-keeping standards for grocers' beef products.

]]> http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/health/usda-investigates-salmonella-outbreak-in-beef/feed/ 0 http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/will-the-usdas-new-livestock-tagging-really-prevent-disease/ http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/organic/will-the-usdas-new-livestock-tagging-really-prevent-disease/#comments Sat, 25 Jun 2011 07:00:01 +0000 Jill Ettinger http://www.organicauthority.com/blog/?p=9505

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to announce a proposed new rule—the Animal Disease Traceability system—that would mandate livestock animal tracking through ID tagging. The agency has proposed similar rules in the past—beginning in the early 1990s and again in 2003 after 3 cases of "mad cow disease," bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) were discovered in the U.S.

Twenty-three products that contain cilantro—including Trader Joe’s salad dressings and California Pizza Kitchen packaged salads—have been recalled because they may be contaminated with salmonella.

Food packager Orval Kent has taken action because the 43,814 pounds of cilantro it purchased from EpicVeg, Inc., may be tainted with the bacterium.

The affected products were distributed at retail stores nationwide. No illnesses have been reported to date.

If you have purchased any of the following items, do not consume them. Return them to the place of purchase for a full refund or replacement.

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., a Jackson, Miss.-based producer and marketer of shell eggs, is recalling approximately 24,000 dozen unprocessed eggs purchased from Croton, OH-based Ohio Fresh Eggs, LLC, because they may be contaminated with salmonella.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently notified Cal-Maine that a routine sample taken at Ohio Fresh Eggs tested positive for the bacterium. The affected eggs were processed Oct. 9–12 and distributed to food wholesalers and retailers in Arkansas, California, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. No illnesses have been reported to date.

Remember Galt, IA-based Wright County Egg—the key factory farm involved in August’s recall of 500,000 eggs after a multistate salmonella outbreak? The company whose owner, Austin “Jack” DeCoster, was called a corporate criminal by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich?

After the recall, DeCoster was required to outline corrective actions in a formal letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Not surprisingly, the agency has found his proposed measures to be sorely lacking. Kansas City District Director John W. Thorsky has sent DeCoster a warning letter that requires “prompt and aggressive actions” to correct a host of unresolved problems. If DeCoster fails to comply, the FDA can enjoin his company from selling eggs or seize the foul farm.

Del Monte Fresh Produce has recalled certain cantaloupes that were grown in and shipped from Arizona, but distributed to limited customers in and around Detroit. The melons may be contaminated with salmonella.

Eighty-one cartons of cantaloupes, each containing 15 melons, were distributed to wholesalers in Detroit. The cantaloupes reached retail and foodservice outlets beginning Oct. 11.

The cantaloupes have a light brown skin and orange flesh. Each has a Del Monte sticker that reads “Cantaloupe USA.”

Iowa-based Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms—the two producers responsible for the recall of 500,000 eggs potentially contaminated with salmonella—should be put out of business.

FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, last week said these companies were “not operating with the standards of practice that we consider responsible,” according to the New York Times.

Now we know some of the specifics: These factory farms, whose eggs have sickened roughly 1,500 consumers, were overrun with rodents, maggots and flies, and chicken manure heaps. Henhouses were filthy and broken down, with rusted holes, structural damage, unsanitary employees and seeping manure.

Cover enough salmonella or E. coli outbreaks, and you become intimately familiar with the “T” word: traceback.

The term refers to the process federal inspectors use to determine exactly where contamination occurred in the food supply chain.

Recent recalls highlight the critical need for an effective product tracing system, according to the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), a Chicago-based organization that represents food scientists and related professionals.

About 8,500 pounds of ground beef have been recalled by Wyalusing, PA-based Cargill Meat Solutions Corp.

This is an E. coli-related Class I recall, which designates “a health hazard situation where there is a reasonable probability that the use of the product will cause serious, adverse health consequences or death.”

This isn’t Cargill’s first time at the recall rodeo. As I reported in November, the company was forced to recall 5,522 pounds of beef tongues because workers neglected to remove tonsils—a violation of both USDA regulations and my personal “ick” meter.