Food Poisoning Blog

Trader Joe’s of California is recalling 1,000 cases of 12 oz jars of Trader Joe’s Pinjur after customers reported finding small pieces of glass in the product. The Pinjur (a traditional Macedonian condiment made with roasted peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes) affected by the recall has the UPC 00529068 with a Best By date 10/2009. The Best By date can be found printed on the top of the lid.

Trader Joe’s Pinjur was potentially sold from Trader Joe’s retail stores in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin.

The product should not be consumed. Customers should discard it, or  return it to any Trader Joe’s store for a full refund. Customers with questions may call Trader Joe’s Customer Relations at 626-599-3817, or write Trader Joe’s through their website at traderjoes.com.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is urging the Bush Administration to give the Food & Drug Administratio (FDA) a bigger budget to help provide better food safety regulation for 2009.  A recent FDA reportindicates that the FDA does not have the capacity to ensure the safety of food for the nation.

Per the FDA report, “During the past 35 years, the decrease in FDA funding for inspection of our food supply has forced the FDA to impose a 78 percent reduction in food inspections, at a time when the food industry has been rapidly expanding and food importation has exponentially increased.  FDA estimates that, at most, it inspects food manufacturers once every 10 years… The Agency conducts no inspections of retail food establishments or of food-producing farms.”

The CSPI also plans to work with Congress over the next year to develop legislation that will modernize the food safety mandate at FDA and address structural deficiencies as set out in the white paper Building a Modern Food Safety System: For FDA Regulated Foods.

Per an FDA release Decmeber 4, Soma Beverage of San Francisco is recalling bottled Metromint flavored water with a “Best Before” date of 2008/12/21 due to possible Bacillus cereus contamination.  The recalled products were sold in 16.9 ounce bottles and have the lettering “KSA” in a rectangle located on the lower right-hand corner of the back panel on the label.  Distributed nationwide and sold online, these peppermint, spearmint, orangemint and lemonmint waters should be discarded or returned for a refund.

The symptoms of B. cereus diarrheal type food poisoning usually include onset of watery diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and pain 6-15 hours after consumption of contaminated food. Nausea may accompany diarrhea, but vomiting rarely occurs. Symptoms persist for 24 hours in most instances. The vomiting type of food poisoning associated with B.
cereus is characterized by nausea and vomiting within 30 minutes to 6 hours after consumption of contaminated foods. Duration of symptoms is generally less than 24 hours. Infants, children and pregnant women are susceptible to dehydration resulting from diarrhea.

Consumers with questions may contact the company at 1-415-979-0781 Ext. 101.

In case the threat of E. coli and Salmonella aren’t enough, consumers now have to worry about unsafe levels of lead in their snacks.  At least, those who eat Mexican-imported candy do.  Villa-Mex Imports, distributors of the candy Barrilito, have issued a recall because tests on the imported candy revealed potentially dangerous levels of lead.

The FDA considers anything above 0.1 parts per million lead level to be a potential public health hazard.  Lab results from the recalled Mexican candy samples ranged from 0.101 to 0.132 parts per million of lead.  According to a news release, the Texas Department of State Health blames the problem on the product, not on the distributors.  Consumers who have purchases the candy should discard it.  Parents and caregivers are especially urged to not let children eat this candy.

Excessive levels of lead have been the cause of many recent toy recalls, but high lead levels are most dangerous if ingested.Children may not show any immediate signs of lead poisoning, but the long term effects can be detrimental and may include learning disabilities and delays in physical development.  Some symptoms of lead poisoning in children include sudden clumsiness or weakness, inability to concentrate, vomiting or headaches.  The only way to know for sure if a child is suffering from lead poisoning is through a blood test.

A recent survey by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD)
(http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/dec07/071201c.asp) reports 143 were cats and 83 were dogs were killed because of the toxic pet food recalled earlier this year.  The kidney failures of these pets is now being attributed to a combination of melamine and cyanuric acid, which when combined can cause crystals to form in the animals bodies which may impair kidney function.  Cats and small dogs are less likely to be able to pass the crystals.

After Menu Foods issued its pet food recall in earlier this year, ConsumerAffairs.com began reporting stories of numerous pet owners concerned about their cats and dogs, many of which had died due to the contaminated pet food.  Some of these people hired private labs to test the food.  According to a ConsumerAffairs.com article
(http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/10/pet_food_recalls81.html)
one lab, ExperTox, found acetaminophen and melamine in Special Kitty cat food samples but reportedly didn’t find cyanuric acid.

The Expertox findings were called invalid by Dr. Barbara Powers, former president of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD).  “That’s not an AAVLD lab and acetaminophen has never been confirmed (in pet food) by other labs,” Powers told ConsumerAffairs.com in a recent article (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/12/pet_food_recalls82.html).

Last autumn’s spinach E. coli outbreak has sparked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to consider a national safety regulation for leafy green vegetables, although it’s likely that the standards will only be voluntary.

In the wake of three deaths and around 200 illnesses from spinach traced to California farms, 99 percent of California farmers and leafy green handlers are already abiding by safer industry regulations put in place by the California Leafy Green Products Handler Marketing Agreement.  Once signed, leafy green handlers are legally obligated to abide by the standards in place.

The USDA-proposed national safety standards would be similar to those of the California Agreement.  Precautions would include a monthly water supply testing for E. coli and keeping animals off of farmland.
While some farmers are opposed to the proposed regulations, most are in favor of at least voluntary standards.