Topsfield Town Government

Public Health Information

FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION NEWS

Recall-Nestle Pure Life Purified Drinking Water-Adulterated
This product recall is for the one gallon Nestle Pure Life Purified Drinking Water sold ONLY in Shop Rite stores in the five Northeast states of Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. This affects ONLY the one gallon size.

Fewer than 150 one-gallon bottles of Nestlé Pure Life Purified Water are implicated, produced in a short timeframe on May 5, 2008 between 8:00 AM and 9:00 AM. The product date code is printed on the shoulder of one-gallon bottles.

The code is:

First line…………050508126WF024

Second line……... Starts with the numbers “08”

For example: 0801BB05/2010

 

The product in question may contain a diluted form of a common food grade cleaning compound that results in a bitter or sour taste. This could pose a potential health concern if ingested in large quantities over an extended period of time and should not be consumed or used in preparing infant formulas or other foods or beverages. No illnesses have been reported.

 

To further assure consumers, Shop-Rite, as of Monday, June 23 rd , has removed any remaining affected product from their stores and warehouses. Consumers who possess this product or have questions should contact the company at a toll free number 866-599-8980 available 24 hours a day. This same toll-free number is also printed on the front of all product labels for the one-gallon size.

 

MA to begin precautionary testing of some shellfish impacted by Red Tide
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health-DPH today announced plans to conduct precautionary market testing of shellfish harvested from marine waters potentially impacted by red tide.

The testing will be done on surf clams and ocean quahogs harvested from federally designated waters off the coast of Massachusetts. Testing of shellfish in state coastal waters is routinely conducted by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries-DMF, but shellfish caught in federal waters is not.

There have been no cases of PSP in Massachusetts since the early 1990s. Fish, scallops adductor muscles without the roe, crab, shrimp and lobster meat are not affected by PSP.

Due to increasing levels of PSP toxin, DMF has closed shellfish beds in the Nauset Estuarine system in Eastham and Orleans and in waters from New Hampshire to the Bourne-Sandwich line near the east end of the Cape Cod Canal, with the exception of the Plymouth-Kingston-Duxbury Bay complex. DPH continues to work closely with DMF in monitoring state coastal waters.

Retail stores and restaurants are required to maintain shellfish source identification tags for up to 90-days as required by state regulations. The DPH Food Protection Program and local boards of health are advising commercial food establishments and seafood distributors to closely verify that their shellfish are coming from approved sources.


For a more detailed warning, please click on 61608PRRedTide and for a list of waters closed to shellfish harvesting and additional red tide information, please click on MA Deptartment of Fish And Game

 

FDA Warns Consumers Nationwide Not to Eat Certain Types of Raw Red Tomatoes

 

6-23-08 Update - click on 12 Cases in MA

 

Click on U.S. Food and Drug Administration Salmonellosis Outbreak in Certain Types of Tomatoes updated 6-25-08 and U.S. Food and Drug Administration Salmonellosis Outbreak in Certain Types of Tomatoes Questions & Answers for Consumer and Industry for additional information.


 6-12-08 Update-Tomatoes-Massachusetts
Massachusetts has been added to the list of states that that HAVE NOT BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE TOMATO OUTBREAK. FDA recommends consuming raw red plum, raw red Roma, or raw red round tomatoes only if grown and harvested from those areas listed.

 

6-9-08 FDA Warns Consumers Nationwide Not to Eat Certain Types of Raw Red Tomatoes
The Food and Drug Administration is expanding its warning to consumers nationwide that a salmonellosis outbreak has been linked to consumption of certain raw red plum, red Roma, and red round tomatoes, and products containing these raw, red tomatoes.

FDA recommends that consumers not eat raw red Roma, raw red plum, raw red round tomatoes, or products that contain these types of raw red tomatoes unless the tomatoes are from the sources listed below. If unsure of where tomatoes are grown or harvested, consumers are encouraged to contact the store where the tomato purchase was made. Consumers should continue to eat cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, or tomatoes grown at home.

On June 5, using traceback and other distribution pattern information, FDA published a list of states, territories, and countries where tomatoes are grown and harvested which have not been associated with this outbreak. This updated list includes: Arkansas, California, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Belgium, Canada, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Netherlands, and Puerto Rico. The list is available at www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/tomatoes.html#retailers. This list will be updated as more information becomes available.

FDAs recommendation does not apply to the following tomatoes from any source: cherry, grape, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached.

FDA recommends that retailers, restaurateurs, and food service operators not offer for sale and service raw red Roma, raw red plum, and raw red round tomatoes unless they are from the sources listed above. Cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached, may continue to be offered from any source.

Since mid April, there have been 145 reported cases of salmonellosis caused by Salmonella Saintpaul nationwide, including at least 23 hospitalizations. States reporting illnesses linked to the outbreak include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

 

Supreme Cuts "Off The Cob" Fresh Kernel Corn

Supreme Cuts LLC, Mahwah, NJ has announced that it is voluntarily recalling 87 cases of Off the Cob Fresh Kernel Corn in 12 oz bags. The product may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The recalled product comes in a 12 oz clear plastic bag marked with a "best if used by" date of May 26, 2008 and lot # 5343. Off the Cob Fresh Kernel Corn with other lot numbers and "best if used by" dates are not affected. Package instructions call for cooking this raw corn product. While thorough cooking would be an effective control of Listeria monocytogenes contamination, consumers are urged to dispose of the product to avoid risks of undercooking or contamination of other foods. Other Supreme Cuts products also are not affected.

The recalled product was distributed to a small number of stores in New Jersey and Massachusetts. No illnesses have been reported to date. All retail outlets carrying the product have been notified, and the bags affected by the recall are believed to have been removed from store shelves.

 

Red Tide (Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning)Update
Please note that the latest information on Massachusetts coastal waters closed to shellfish harvesting due to PSP toxin (also known as red-tide) is available at www.mass.gov/dfwele/dmf.  Note that this information can change on a daily basis based on water monitoring conducted by the MA Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). For more information on red tide and shellfish notices visit Mass Division of Marine Fisheries.

 

Recall-Ground Beef Patty's-Plastic Pieces

Fairbank Reconstruction Corp., an Ashville, NY, establishment, is voluntarily recalling approximately 22,481 pounds of ground beef products that may contain pieces of plastic, the U.S. Department of Agricultures Food Safety and Inspection Service announced today.

This recall includes trays of Ground Beef Pattys from Shaw's, Price Chopper and BJs.

The products were produced on May 3, and were distributed to retail establishments in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and New York.

 

Everett-Based Ice Company Recalls Bags of Ice
Warning Issued for 5-Lb Bags of Ice Distributed by Triumph Foods, DBA True Ice Company. No illnesses reported, consumer urged to discard product.

 

Recall-Malt-O-Meal Puffed Rice & Puffed Wheat

Malt-O-Meal announced today that it is voluntarily recalling unsweetened Puffed Rice and unsweetened Puffed Wheat cereals with best if used by dates ranging from APR0808 -April 8, 2008 to MAR1809 -March 18, 2009 because they may have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

The recalled product was distributed nationally, marketed under the Malt-O-Meal brand and as some private label brands including Acme, Americas Choice, Food Club, Giant, Hannaford, Jewel, Laura Lynn, Pathmark, Shaws, Shoprite, Tops and Weis Quality.

 

A comprehensive listing of affected products can be found at

www.malt-o-meal.com/recallinfo

 

CDC Health Advisory - Adverse Effects Associated with "Total Body" Formulas

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working collaboratively with state health departments, the American Association of Poison Control Centers, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on reports of adverse health effects following consumption of the dietary supplement "Total Body Formula," and "Total Body Mega Formula" manufactured in the USA exclusively for Total Body Essential Nutrition, Inc. This dietary supplement has been found by FDA to contain hazardous levels of selenium (up to 200 times the label value) and chromium (up to 17 times the label value).

 

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