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According to the FDA, Five Crowns Marketing (based in Brawley, California) has announced a voluntary and precautionary recall of select cantaloupes packed under the Majesty label.

The cantaloupes affected by the precautionary recall were packed in various sizes with and without individual “Majesty” stickers. All cartons carry the label "Majesty," and are further identified with lot numbers 198 2 or 198 3, and pack dates of Nov 4, Nov 6, and Nov 10. Additionally, the cantaloupes in the identified lots were harvested and shipped to wholesalers, retailers, and food service operators in the states of Alabama, California, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. Click on the following link to view the FDA Recall Release.

Five Crowns Marketing announced the recall immediately after learning that routine testing on a lot of cantaloupes packed on November 4, 2009 confirmed positive for Salmonella. In turn, the company announced, in an abundance of caution, a recall of all cantaloupe from the same lot.

It is also important to note that, to date, there have been no reports of illness associated with the consumption of these products. According to the company, most of the cantaloupes have likely already passed through the distribution chain. Nevertheless, the company continues to work with its customers to ensure that all of the potentially affected cantaloupes have been accounted for.

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The USDA has published new rules for a proposed program, under which select State-inspected establishments (with 25 or fewer employees) will be eligible to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce. Click on the following link to view the Proposed Rule.

The new program was created as part of the 2008 Farm Bill to supplement the existing Federal-State cooperative inspection program to allow State-inspected plants with 25 or fewer employees to ship products across State lines. This announcement is part of the USDA's new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Initiative, which seeks to better connect consumers with local producers to help develop local and regional food systems to spur economic opportunity.

"This new cooperative interstate shipment program will provide new economic opportunities for many small and very small meat and poultry establishments, whose markets are currently limited," said USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety Jerold Mande. "We can provide new markets for these establishments, while maintaining the integrity of the Federal mark of inspection."

Currently, 27 states operate State Inspection Programs for meat and poultry, and FSIS verifies that the State programs are implementing requirements that are "at least equal to" those imposed under the Federal meat and poultry products inspection acts. Click on the following link to view the Current List of Qualifying States. For these programs, FSIS provides up to 50 percent of the State's operating funds and provides oversight and enforcement of the program.

Under the proposed rule, selected establishments will receive inspection services from federally trained and/or supervised State inspection personnel who will verify that the establishments meet all Federal food safety requirements. Meat and poultry products produced under the voluntary cooperative program will bear an official USDA mark of inspection, thereby enabling interstate shipment of the products.

State-inspected establishments that are not selected for the voluntary cooperative program, including state-inspected establishments with more than 25 employees, are only eligible to sell and ship their products within their State.

Comments must be received on or before Monday, November 16, 2009, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov, by mail to: FSIS Docket Room, USDA, FSIS, OPPD, Docket Clearance Unit, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Stop 5272, Beltsville, MD 20705.

All comments must identify FSIS and the docket number FSIS-2008-0039. Once received and published, interested parties will be able to View All Comments Online.

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According to the FDA, Melon Acres has announced a voluntary and precautionary recall of cantaloupes because they may have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The cantaloupes affected by the voluntary recall were distributed through Farm-Wey Produce (of Lakeland, Florida) between August 13 and 14, 2009. The cantaloupes, identified as 41 MG 10, Bin Numbers 4753-4980, were shipped to Aldi's in Greenwood, Indiana and to Meijer in Lansing, Michigan, Newport, Michigan, and Tipp City, Ohio. Click on the following link to view the FDA Recall Release.

The recall was issued following routine testing by the FDA on Tuesday, August 11, 2009, which revealed that a single sample (from twenty cantaloupes taken by the Agency) tested positive for Salmonella. The FDA reported the positive test to Melon Acres on Friday, August 21, 2009.

In turn, the FDA and Melon Acres worked together to identify the field in which the positive sample was grown. According to the company, no further shipments will be made from the source field. Additionally, on August 7, 2009, Primus Labs, a third party food safety auditing firm specializing in produce, inspected Melon Acres' fields and facilities regarding its food safety practices. Melon Acres received grades of excellent/good respectively, in this audit.

It is also important to note that, to date, there have been no reported of illnesses associated with the consumption of these products. Further, the company wishes to assure the public that stringent Food Safety Programs are in place at its shipping locations and fields, and is working closely with the FDA to identify the potential source of contamination.

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Tanimura & Antle (located in Salinas, California) has announced a voluntary recall of various romaine lettuce products following a finding of Salmonella in a random sampe taken by the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. Immediately after being informed of the positive test result, the company initiated comprehensive trace-back efforts, and was able to contact all customers within hours. Those buyers have been told to destroy the lettuce.

The recalled lettuce, which had been distributed to retail, foodservice and wholesale customers in 29 states, was harvested between June 25 and July 2, 2009. The specific products affected by the recall include cartons of bulk and wrapped lettuce with a lot code 531380. Click here to view a copy of the Company Press Release.

According to Tanimura & Antle, the affected products were distributed to the following states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Chief executive officer Rick Antle stated that Tanimura & Antle practices strict food safety guidelines. Additionally, despite the lettuce being past its shelf life, he cited an "abundance of caution" in issuing the recall. "We will continue to review opportunities for improvement," Antle said. “Although the recalled product is well beyond the 14-16 day shelf life, we are voluntarily issuing this recall because we want to ensure that we minimize even the slightest risk to public health.”

To date, there have been no reports of illness associated with the lettuce. Moving forward, the company also stated that it will continue to update its website with more information. Consumers with questions, or who need information, may call Tanimura & Antle at 1-877-827-7388.

AUGUST 3, 2009 UPDATE:

On August 3, 2009, Tanimura & Antle expanded the geographic scope of its original recall to include product distributed to all 50 states.  Although the volume of cases from the single recalled lot (which is identified above) has not changed, the company recognizesd the possibility that some customers may have distributed the romaine in states beyond the original 29 -- thus, prompting the expansion. Click on the following link to view a copy of the Updated Recall Release.

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The FDA has awarded $1 million in Food Safety and Security Monitoring grants to three states.

Arkansas, Nebraska and Wisconsin will each receive $350,000 to fund Food Emergency Response Network chemistry laboratories, in continuing efforts to facilitate the creation of a nationally integrated food safety system. Last year the FDA awarded $5.2 million in similar grants to state and local agencies in California, Ohio and Colorado.

According to the FDA, the money can be used by the states for facility upgrades, training in current food testing methodologies, increased laboratory sample analysis capacity and other activities.

The Arkansas Department of Health is expected to use the funds to increase its capability for testing for toxic and unknown substances in food products, to enhance its ability to provide regional support during national food surveillance activities, and to increase its state and local emergency response capacities.

The Nebraska Department of Agriculture will reportedly use the grant money to increase its food product and chemical analysis abilities. Nebraska may also use the money to expand laboratory capacities.

Finally, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture has indicated that it will likely use the money to enhance its food-related emergency response systems, specifically in the area of chemical analysis.

According to the FDA, the recipients of the grants may also be required, in the event of a national food-related emergency, to perform selected analyses of food samples collected by the FDA or other government agencies.

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The Ohio Department of Health is currently investigating a potential E. coli O157:H7 outbreak involving numerous cases in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Illinois.

In turn, Valley Meats LLC (a Coal Valley, Illinois, company) announced a precautionary and voluntarily recall of certain ground beef products after learning the products could potentially be associated with reported illnesses. This possible association was announced by the Ohio Department of Health as part of its ongoing epidemiological investigation.

Approximately 95,898 pounds of ground beef were affected by this voluntary and precautionary recall. The products at issue were produced on March 10, 2009, bear establishment number “EST. 5712,” and were sold nationwide to numerous distributors. Several Valley Meats brands were included in the recall, including 3S, Grillmaster, J & B, Klub, Thick 'N Savory and Ultimate. Click on the following link to view a complete list of products affected by the recall.

Because all raw ground beef products can potentially carry harmful bacteria, the USDA instructs consumers to only eat ground beef patties that have been thoroughly cooked to an internal temperature of 160°. Thoroughly cooking raw beef will destroy any pathogens that might be present, and render the products perfectly safe.

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