Chef Gaynol

Wright County Egg Recall Due to Salmonella Contamination

All right people you know the drill.  There have been confirmed cases of Salmonella relating to shell eggs distributed by Wright County.  Eggs were sold to food wholesalers and distributed nationwide.  Here are the brand names affected; Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946. Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1946 223.

For the full FDA press release go here.

Check your eggs and let's be careful out there.

Ready Pac Baby Spinach Recall

Okay people you know the drill.  Ready Pac is recalling Baby Spinach, Spinach Temptations in the 6 ounce size.  During random testing the FDA found samples of the product to be contaminated with Ecoli 0157:H7. The spinach was sold in California, Washington and Arizona.  For more information, see the complete press release here. 

Kellogg's Recalls Cereal

Kellogg's has made the news again. Go here for my previous post about Kellogg's.    This time the company is voluntarily recalling cereal distributed nationwide that has a weird smell and off flavor. If you live in Canada, you're off the hook, no icky cereal was distributed in your neck of the woods. Consumers in the US are reporting nausea and diarrhea.  Below is a list of the cereals that are being recalled as of this date. 

Kellogg's® Apple Jacks®

• UPC 3800039136 1: 17 ounce package with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 10 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039132 3: 8.7 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between JUN 03 2011 and JUN 22 2011

Kellogg's® Corn Pops®

• UPC 3800039109 5: 12.5 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039111 8: 17.2 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039116 3: 9.2 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between APR 05 2011 and JUN 22 2011

Kellogg's® Froot Loops®

• UPC 3800039118 7: 12.2 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039120 0: 17 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011
• UPC 3800039125 5: 8.7 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011

Kellogg's® Honey Smacks®

• UPC 3800039103 3: 15.3 ounce packages with Better if Used Before Dates between MAR 26 2011 and JUN 22 2011

Consumers who have concerns or would like their cereal replaced can call the Kellogg Consumer Response Center at 888-801-4163 from 8 am to 8 pm Eastern time.  Go here for the full text of the FDA recall.

Maybe it's time to switch to yogurt and fruit for breakfast.....I'm just saying......

Nestlé® TOLL HOUSE® Refrigerated Cookie Dough Recall

Okay folks, here we go again.  If you've got Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough in your home, it could be contaminated with E. coli 0157:H7.  Go here for a complete list of recalled products.  The FDA has issued this voluntary recall.  So far there have been 66 victims in 28 states.  Twenty-five of those victims required hospitalization, seven victims were reported to have severe complications.  Look for this number to grow in the coming days. 

Peanuts and Salmonella

I've gotten quite a few emails lately with questions regarding peanut products and the recent outbreak of salmonella.  So here are the answers to my emails.  Warning!  I do mention the existence of sanitation failures,  if you're squeamish, you may want to skip this post.

Q: What the heck is salmonella and how did it wind up in peanut butter?

A: Salmonella is a bacteria that many farm animals carry naturally but it never makes them ill.  This outbreak is basically a sanitation failure, someone or something in the peanut plant came into contact with an infected animal or its waste.  If a worker became infected with salmonella, the infection could have been passed on due to poor hand washing since the bacteria remain active in the human intestinal tract and feces for several weeks after an illness.

Q: How can it be affecting so many products?

A: The Peanut Corporation of America sold peanut paste in bulk containers.  Some of the paste was sold in quantities as small as five pounds but it was also sold by the tanker container.  So envision if you will, huge tanker containers rolling  across the country to various food manufacturers.  Once those manufacturers incorporated the peanut paste into their product and shipped it out to stores in multiple states, we had a full scale outbreak on our hands.