FOOD SAFETY CENTRAL

In addition to the ground beef it has removed from its stores in Michigan and Ohio, Kroger Co. is removing some ground-beef products from its Smith’s Food & Drug stores in Utah. The company is removing all beef products produced by one of its suppliers, Nebraska Beef, from all its stores in 20 states.

The E. coli-infected beef has affected 35 people in Michigan and Ohio, but there have been no reports of illnesses in Utah or the other states.

There is a list of all the brands supplied by Nebraska Beef on the USDA’s FSIS website.

The recall of Nestle Pure Life drinking water mentioned in a previous blog is for the one-gallon size only. The photo in the blog was of a different size and could lead to confusion. The recalled gallons of water are sold only at Shop-Rite stores in the five Northeast states of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

Now that the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has announced that tomatoes may not be the only source for the salmonella epidemic that has affected more than 850 people, the search is on for other sources, starting with foods that are commonly eaten with tomatoes (bacon? lettuce? mayo?).

If it turns out not to be tomatoes at all, the already fragile trust in the government’s investigation of outbreaks will be shattered, according to officials quoted in USA Today.

The produce industry is already up in arms at how long the FDA has taken to find the salmonella source. Now, with more people still coming down with Salmonella St. Paul, tomatoes may be off the hook - there can’t be a “field” that produces tomatoes over such a long period of time.

Giant Foods has recalled all of its garlic bread and garlic spread products, according to the FDA. The products contain a milk ingredient that wasn’t labeled. Stop n Shop has also pulled the same products from its shelves.

The grocery chain, Kroger Co., is recalling all of its ground beef products sold between May 21 and June 8 thoughout Michigan and Ohio. The beef was linked to an E. coli strain that has sickened several people in those two states, according to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

Though none of the products remains on grocery shelves, consumers are encouraged to check their freezers or refrigerators and return the beef to their local Kroger store.

Kids in Arizona, Nevada and California will be that much hotter for awhile as several brands of frozen novelty pops were recalled by the manufacturer due to a safety hazard from pieces of plastic, according to the FDA.

The recall includes Rainbow Glacier Astro Pops, sold at Wal-Mart; Sunnyside Farms Missile Pops, sold at Save Mart and Raley’s; and, Vitafreze Frozen Astronot Pops, sold in various California stores.

One-gallon sizes of Nestle Pure Life Purified Drinking Water have been recalled from Shop-Rite stores in Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

The water may contain a cleaning compound (food grade) that gives it a bitter or sour taste. Perfect to wash down that tomato and burger meal.

Sixteen cases of E. coli in central Ohio are being investigated by both federal and state officials, according to the Columbus Post-Dispatch. The source is expected to be identified by mid-week, but similar cases in Michigan are believed to be related to ground beef.

If there is something wrong with your pet’s food, it may not be China’s fault this time. After repeated visits and warnings to PETCO, the FDA requested U.S. Marshals to seize animal food products stored under “extremely unsanitary conditions,” according to an FDA press release.

The storage facility, in Joliet, Illinois, distributes pet food to 16 states. Though no illnesses have been reported, consumers are advised to wash any products purchased at Petco as well as any surfaces that the products have touched.

USA Today has published a timeline from when the first salmonella case was reported in New Mexico (April 10) to when a pattern was discovered (May 19) to when warnings were posted and so forth. You can view the response as timely or not, possibly depending on your view of federal regulation in general.