Viking Food Ltd Blog

Texas Firm Recalls Turkey Breast Products

2010-11-16T10:55:00.000-08:00

A Texas firm has recalled about 2,600 pounds of fully cooked, ready-to-eat smoked turkey breast products because they may be contaminated with bacteria that can cause a potentially fatal disease.

The products by the New Braunfels Smokehouse were distributed nationwide, including via catalog and Internet sales, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Sunday.

The meat may be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes, the agency said.

The products subject to recall are:

-- 1-pound packages of New Braunfels Smokehouse Sliced Smoked Turkey, with the package code "2210" on the label.

-- 4- to 6-pound packages of New Braunfels Honey-Glazed Spiral Sliced Smokehouse Hickory Smoked Boneless Breast of Turkey, with the package code "2180" on the label.

-- 4- to 6-pound whole breast packages of Stegall Boneless Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast, with the package code "2210" on the label.

-- 4- to 6-pound whole breast packages of Stegall Spiral Sliced Hickory Smoked Turkey Breast, with the package codes "2180" or "2210" on the label.

Each package bears the USDA mark of inspection and the number "P-975" inside the mark of inspection.

The items were produced on August 4.

Consumption of food contaminated with listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease, the agriculture department said.

Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. But it can cause can cause high fever, severe headaches, neck stiffness and nausea. It also can cause miscarriages and stillbirths, the agency said.

Consumers with questions about the recall may call the company at 1-800-537-6932.

To view article click here

Chef Survey - Whats Hot in 2010

2010-11-16T08:42:00.000-08:00

Keeping up with food and beverage trends is crucial
to develop the right menu mix. That’s why
restaurateurs turn to the National Restaurant Association
to help them stay abreast of the hottest
menu trends.The Association each year surveys
professional chef members of the American Culinary
Federation. The latest survey, conducted in
2009, was based on the input of more than 1,800
chefs. Respondents ranked 214 items by how
trendy they would be in 2010. To view this article click here

FDA considers spice supply safety

2010-03-24T08:15:00.000-07:00

16-Mar-2010
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has met with members of the spice industry to consider ways to make supply safer, following salmonella contamination of salami products linked to black and red pepper.

Earlier this week, further pepper recalls were announced by the companies that supplied spices to Daniele International, Inc., the salami manufacturer that recalled its products after they were found to be tainted with salmonella in January. Daniele recalled more than a million tonnes of salami products on January 23, and soon after, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said its tests suggested the outbreak was related to pepper in the salami.

Now the FDA is trying to work out how to make spices safer. That could involve the spice industry treating its products with one of three possible kill steps for salmonella: irradiation, steam heating or fumigation with ethylene oxide, according to Jeff Farrar, FDA associate commissioner for food safety, quoted by the Washington Post.

"The bottom line is, if there are readily available validated processes out there to reduce the risk of contamination, our expectation is that they will use them," he was quoted as saying.
However, the FDA does not currently have the authority to order the spice industry to treat its products.

The Food Safety Modernization Act, currently awaiting a full Senate hearing after being unanimously passed by committee in November, would give the FDA the power to require food ingredients manufacturers to take steps to prevent contamination. A companion bill, the Food Safety Enhancement Act was approved by the House in July.

Salmonella is the most common bacterial pathogen associated with spice recalls and illness outbreaks, according to the American Spice Trade Association.

The recall of salami due to salmonella contamination at Daniele International has been linked to 249 illnesses across 44 states and the District of Columbia. No deaths have been associated with the recall.

This article is available at http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/On-your-radar/Food-safety/FDA-considers-spice-supply-safety

UK Scientists Devise Global Food Alert

2010-03-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

Source: Kingston University
2 March 2010 - Countries producing food containing harmful bacteria and toxins could be named and shamed more quickly using a worldwide alert system devised by a team of scientists from Kingston University in South West London.
The team, led by Professor Declan Naughton, says the easy to use computer tool can be used to monitor contaminated products; helping to prevent them reaching shop shelves and ensuring that food is safe to eat.

Thousands of alerts about contaminated food are produced each year, particularly by developed countries, but there is no single international system for monitoring food safety. This prompted Professor Naughton and his colleagues, from the School of Life Sciences, to develop a program to analyse alerts and produce a global picture of the countries that trade and detect contaminated food that can be deadly or cause health problems from food poisoning to long term degenerative diseases. Professor Naughton recently presented a summary of the team's findings to a conference organised by the European Food Security Authority, the EU's food safety and security watchdog.

Professor Naughton said the program was the most sophisticated available, providing more detailed information more quickly than its rivals. "No other system can reflect the complexity of this information in a snapshot form," he said."It can be particularly helpful to developing countries new to food testing because information is easy to access and available in minutes." The program could also be applied to other global health hazards such as pest control or illegal animal or plant imports.

China, Iran, Turkey, the United States and Spain were the top five offenders when it came to producing contaminated food, according to an analysis of data from 2003-2008. Over the same five-year period, Italy, Germany, the UK, Spain and the Netherlands were the countries that reported the largest number of contaminated products from other countries. Toxins in pistachio nuts from Iran, food recalled by major supermarket chains and imported products stopped by border agencies were among the alerts included in the analysis.

Professor Naughton said the program could provide profiles of individual countries that had problems with food safety as well as identifying particular contaminants that needed investigating, such as high levels of mercury in fish. He said: "We'd like to develop the tool to create an international alert system that will provide real time information about emerging patterns and problems." The program could also be used to help prepare for malicious or terrorist attempts to contaminate food, he added.

Professor Naughton, a biochemist, worked with Dr Andrea Petroczi, a statistician, and Dr Tamas Nepusz, a computer programmer in a multi-disciplinary team.

This article was taken from FLEX NEWS - Business News for the Food Industry http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/29115/UK/uk-scientists-devise-global-food-alert.html

US: Food manufacturers abandon Smart Choices logo

2009-11-12T07:11:00.000-08:00

30 October, 2009

All eight US food manufacturers participating in the Smart Choice Program labelling scheme have agreed to drop the logo from their products amid claims the label could mislead consumers.

The eight companies - ConAgra Foods, General Mills, Kellog, Kraft Foods, PepsiCo, Riviana Foods, Sun-Maid and Unilever - have agreed to request from Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the US Food and Drug Administration are completed.

"Food manufacturers rightly recognised our serious concerns about a programme that promotes fat-saturated mayonnaise and sugar-laden cereals as smart. Smart Choices sensibly suspended its programmes in the face of my investigation and plans by the FDA to establish industry standards for front-of-package labelling" Blumenthal said. "Dropping the Smart Choices logo was a smart choice - and a sweet step."

The Smart Choices symbol was established as part of the food industry's response to rising obesity in the US and was claimed to be able to guide consumers to make healthier food choices.

However, Blumenthal's investigation has claimed that the logo has been used on products that are high in fat and sugar including mayonnaise, ice cream and sugary processed cereals.

"My investigation into Smart Choices, now supported by the FDA, continues to seek any scientific research of evidence behind a programme that promotes mayonnaise, sugar-loaded cereal and ice cream as Smart Choices," Blumenthal said.

For more on this article and Food Industry News check out http://www.just-food.com/