Recall update: CDC issues warning against consuming ANY Kellogg’s Honey Smacks; Dutch report highlights insufficient food safety standards
Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal
Earlier this month, the FDA uncovered the outbreak strain of Salmonella Mbandaka at the Kellogg’s facility that contaminated its Honey Smacks cereals. At least 100 people in 33 US states have fallen ill since March and 30 people have been hospitalized.
Kellogg’s has recalled the 15.3-ounce and 23-ounce packages of Honey Smacks on the market within the cereal’s one-year shelf life, however, products with earlier dates could also potentially be contaminated.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has strongly advised the public against eating the puffed wheat cereal in any packaging size.
“Even when you recover from this infection, there is still a risk you will develop a serious complication in the future,” said food safety attorney Fred Pritzker.
The Kellogg’s manufacturing facility that made that cereal is no longer operating.
Flowers Foods’ Swiss rolls and bread
Flowers Foods has voluntarily recalled several brands of Swiss rolls and Captain John Dearst’s Old Fashioned Bread sold in Walmart and Food Lion in the US due to Salmonella concerns.
The case against Salmonella
According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control, Salmonella bacteria causes approximately 1.2m illnesses, 23,000 hospitalizations and 450 deaths in the US each year.
Eating food contaminated with Salmonella leads to salmonellosis, a type of food poisoning. Symptoms develop within 12 to 72 hours and include fever, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps. Symptoms include fever, diarrhoea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
In rare cases, the organism can get into the bloodstream and produce more severe illnesses such as aneurysms, endocarditis and arthritis.
The Swiss rolls are sold under the brand names Great Value, Mrs. Freshley’s, Food Lion, H-E-B, Baker’s Treat and Market Square.
The Georgia-based company issued a statement stating there was “the potential presence of Salmonella in an ingredient, whey powder.”
The affected Swiss Rolls contain best-by dates between September 17 and October 19, while the contaminated bread contains best-by dates between July 16 and July 28.
No illnesses have been reported, but the public is advised not to consume the items.
Portland French Bakery’s Seattle Sourdough Pub Buns and Franz Premium Pub Buns
The Portland bakery is recalling 26,635 units of Seattle Sourdough Pub Bun 6pk and 8,022 units of Franz Premium Pub Buns 12pk, because they could contain undeclared soy.
Products were distributed in Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Utah through United States Bakery distribution systems between June 24 and July 17.
No illnesses have been reported.
Utz Carolina Style Barbeque potato chips
Select bags of Utz Carolina Style Barbeque Potato Chips have been voluntarily recalled in 30 US states, due to an undeclared soy allergen.
According to the FDA, the recall was announced after the company learned a certain number of packages were mislabeled.
The affected packs include the 2.875 oz. packet, with expiration dates from October 6 to October 20, and the 7.5 oz. packs with expiration dates from August 8 to October 27.
No illnesses have been reported and no other Utz products are being recalled.
Report highlights need for higher standards
The Dutch Government has released a report concluding there are insufficient food safety standards across Europe, especially in the egg sector.
The report into the 2017 fipronil scandal stated knowledge of statutory regulations was “too limited,” noting, “many farms assessed the risks for food safety insufficiently. The red mite issues and the associated risk when using unauthorized means to combat these issues were known in the sector. However, the risks were assessed inadequately or even ignored.”
The report follows further recent major egg safety issues, where eggs were recalled in the US and Germany due to Salmonella, a new incident of fipronil-contaminated eggs occurred in the Netherlands, and more than four million eggs were recalled in Poland due to higher than accepted levels of antibiotics.
“It’s great that the Dutch Government has written this report, which along with the recent UK government report, shows that egg production standards in the UK are higher and more effective,” said Ian Jones, British Lion egg processors.
“With a number of other major egg safety issues recently reported, including a new fipronil in eggs incident in the Netherlands, we hope that the report acts as a wake-up call for egg producers in Europe and further afield, and that they start to put in place new food safety standards to guard against future incidents.”
