New Era Canning Company, a Michigan firm, has expanded its nationwide recall of canned vegetable products for a third time because of the potential for its foods to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum (C. botulinum), which can cause botulism, a life-threatening illness.
The affected New Era products are large institutional-sized cans, weighing between six and seven pounds, of various types of beans, blackeye peas, and asparagus.

The potentially contaminated products are marketed under ten different brand names:

• Classic Sysco
• Code
• Frosty Acres Restaurant’s Pride Preferred
• GFS
• Kitchen Essentials
• Monarch Heritage
• Necco
• New Era
• Nugget
• Reliance Sysco
  

According to an FDA news release, “processors other than New Era may be packing these brands. Only products packed by New Era are subject to the recall, so individuals must check the lot numbers on the bottom of the cans to determine if the product is affected by the recall.”

A complete list of specific brands, products, and lot codes subject to the New Era recalls can be found at http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/newera.html.

If you have any of the recalled canned vegetables, do not eat them. It is even dangerous to touch them. The FDA has provided the following instructions for disposing of the recalled New Era canned vegetables:

When disposing of these products, double-bag the cans in plastic bags. Make sure the bags are tightly closed, then place in a trash receptacle for non-recyclable trash outside of the home. Restaurants and institutions should ensure that such products are only placed in locked receptacles that are not accessible to the public.

Any food that may contain the affected products should be disposed of carefully. Even tiny amounts of the C. botulinum toxin can cause serious illness when ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the eye or a break in the skin. Skin contact should be avoided as much as possible, and hands should be washed immediately after handling the food.

Labels: botulism, canned vegetable recall

Microwavable foods present a danger to consumers if the foods are not properly cooked. Risks include the transmission of foodborne pathogens such as E. coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella. In 2007 two foodborne outbreaks were associated with foods that were microwaved: an E. coli outbreak linked to Jeno’s and Totino’s frozen pizzas and a Salmonella outbreak linked to Banquet Pot Pies. Below are efforts by the food industry to address the issue of microwave safety. Note that these efforts do not address the problem of E. coli and Salmonella contamination in food processing plants. Although it is important for consumers to be educated as to the correct use of microwave ovens, consumers need to know that food manufacturers and others are liable for contamination of food products with E. coli and Salmonella, meaning consumers who are sickened by their food should be compensated regardless of how consumers cook the food product.

To address this issue, organizations such as the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) have been working to ensure consumers are properly cooking their food. AFFI put out a guide called “Cooking with Microwave Ovens, Nutrition and Food Safety Considerations” which shows readers how to prepare nutritious and safe meals using their microwave oven. The AFFI is also working with various organizations to make sure the labels of microwavable products have more information to account for varying power ratings and options on different microwaves.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association is also working microwavable food labels to ensure that cooking instructions on labels are valid, especially among not-ready-to-eat (NRTE) products. The validation of cooking instructions lets consumers know that following the instructions will ensure that their food has been properly prepared and has eliminated the risk of foodborne pathogens in NRTE products.

The need to validate cooking instructions comes from the problem of microwaves to unevenly heat food. Uneven cooking allows for hot and cold spots in the food and is ineffective at inactivating foodborne pathogens in the cold spots.

The International Assocation for Food Protection released a series of presentations that address the risks of microwavable foods. The presentations address a variety of areas that affect uneven heating:

Non-uniform distribution of dipolar molecules and ionic materials within the food.
Differences in microwave absorption of frozen/thawed areas.
Product/component edge heating effects.
Areas of high and low microwave field strength within the oven cavity and product.
Different food component and thermal properties.

All of the compiled information allows consumers to see the bigger picture when it comes to safely preparing microwavable foods. More testing and adequate labeling will allow consumer to know what they need to do to make sure that the food they prepare in microwaves is safe to eat.

Labels: canned vegetable recall, daycare E coli attorney, microwave safety, Salmonella