Parents love the convenience offered by bagged salads. Prepackaged leafy greens and vegetables provide a quick and easy alternative to making a salad the old-fashioned way. However, I became concerned when I read a recent report published on ConsumerReports.org. The title of the article, “Bagged Salads: How Clean?” says it all. Published in the March 2010 issue of Consumer Reports Magazine, the... [more]

Mincing Overseas Spice Company of Dayton, New Jersey announced that it is recalling black pepper Lots 3258 and 3309 because of possible contamination with Salmonella. Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea... [more]

Schmalz European Provisions, a Springfield, N.J., establishment, is recalling approximately 1,485 pounds of ready-to-eat sausage products that may contain foreign materials, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The product subject to recall includes: [View Label] 12-ounce packages of “Applegate Farms CERTIFIED ORGANIC FIRE ROASTED... [more]

The FDA announced a recall by Haifa Smoked Fish, Inc. on February 3, 2010. This recall of vacuum packed Whole Schmaltz Herring has highlighted the link between improperly eviscerated fish and potential botulism food poisoning.  Because the viscera of fish are typically more likely to contain Clostridium botulinum than other segments of a fish, the sale of fish containing viscera is prohibited in New... [more]

On January 29, 2010, the New York State Department of Health issued a statement that Campylobacter food poisoning has sickened five individuals in the New York area who drank raw, unpasteurized milk. Willow Marsh Farm, which received proper governmental authorization to sell raw milk, has been implicated in the Campylobacter cases. New York State lab officials linked the Campylobacter to Willow Marsh... [more]

HP Hood is recalling select Heluva Good branded 8 oz. plastic cup containers of Cold Pack Cheese Food because they may contain Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache,... [more]

Bao Ding Seafood of New York, NY is recalling Boiled Horse Mackerel, because it has the potential to be contaminated with clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. Consumers are warned not to use the product even if it does not look or smell spoiled. Botulism, a potentially fatal form of food poisoning, causes the following symptoms: general weakness, dizziness,... [more]

In mid December of last year, Wllimatte Filbert Growers of Oregon issued a massive recall of Hazelnuts after nut samples tested positive for Salmonella. Soon after the first recall, a domino effect of recalls flooded the FDA’s food safety website. What initially looked like a simple recall involving two states (Oregon and California) quickly emerged as a massive recall involving every line of distribution... [more]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced intentions to ask a federal court to shut down a New Jersey cheese manufacturer with an alleged history of operating under insanitary conditions and producing cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint for permanent injunction against Quesos Mi Pueblito and two of its officers, Felix Sanchez... [more]

Several state health departments, CDC, and the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections. On October 31, 2009, FSIS issued a notice about a recall of approximately 545,699 pounds of ground beef products from Fairbank Farms that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.... [more]