Archive for January, 2010

No other labeling…

Sunday, January 17th, 2010

Another FDA recall release caught my eye.

PEO Chapter FO Recalls Roasted Hazelnuts Because of Possible Health Risk

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm197816.htm

This was another hazelnut product potentially contaminated with salmonella. What was interesting to me was the statement, ‘The roasted Hazelnuts were packaged in 1 lb. plastic bags and labeled “Hazelnuts, Roasted $7.00″. No other codes, expiration date, or UPC is found on the package.’

Obviously with this kind of labeling, traceability is virtually impossible. We need a consistent, simple, lot coding standard that all food products follow so we can truly identify lots of product that are suspected to cause harm and get them out of the food supply chain.

Scary news

Saturday, January 9th, 2010

Rudy Westervelt posted to Food Safety: You Need to Know a note about a recent FDA action. He stated:

The Food Production Daily news reported on a Nashville facility that had been warned about issues but had not corrected them. The FDA had warned the company in writing in May 2009. It detailed violations of Good Manufacturing Practices and lack of rodent and pest control measures. The facility received and stored bulk ingredients in route to restaurants.

In June, the company said that all issues were corrected. When a re-inspection occurred in November, there was “widespread rodent infestation in the building”, said the agency. The facility allowed birds, insects and rodents to enter at will.

US Federal marshalls seized over $1million worth of inventory.

Pretty scary. But what’s even worse in my mind is that between May and November, a lot of probably tained product went out to resturants…and we don’t have a very good way to trace it. It’s in our food. Scary.