More than 20 years after consumers began buying food via the internet, federal officials are considering whether they should develop recall procedures and notification methods specific to online retailers.
Garden of Life provided the label sample on the left to the FDA for posting with its Jan. 29 recall notice. As the outbreak linked via DNA to its “Organic Raw Meal” powders spread across the country, the company redesigned its labels and changed the word order in the product name to “Raw Organic Meal” as shown on the right.
The novel course of contemplation at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is in response to a new Salmonella Virchow case reported by Wisconsin health officials in recent days. The new patient is victim number 34 in an outbreak declared over on April 21 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“At this time, CDC is not considering reopening the outbreak investigation,” agency spokeswoman Brittany Behm said this week.
Linked by DNA analysis to Raw Meal supplement powders marketed by Garden of Life LLC, the outbreak’s first confirmed case was Dec. 5, 2015. By the time the CDC declared the outbreak over, 33 people in 23 states had been sickened. Six of them had symptoms so severe that they required hospitalization.
The Palm Beach Gardens, FL, company recalled some if its organic Raw Meal products Jan. 29 and expanded that recall Feb. 13. In its recall notices posted on the FDA website, the company said it had “requested that retailers remove the lots of Raw Meal from sale” and offered consumers refunds.
“FDA has been working with CDC and Wisconsin to follow up on this case and to ensure that recalled products are not being offered for sale online,” an agency spokesperson said Thursday.
“In light of this recent case, we are considering other ways to reach retailers and consumers to make sure they are aware of the recall. We have reached out to online retailers about removing this recalled product from their websites and will continue to do so if we become aware that online sales are continuing.”
Wisconsin officials said definitively in their May 20 release that some consumers have received the recalled product from online retailers.
“The product, an organic shake and meal replacement, was recalled earlier this year by the company, but consumers have acquired recalled product from internet retailers such as eBay and Amazon,” according to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).
As of March 21, the CDC reported 27 people across 20 states with confirmed cases of Salmonella Virchow infections matching the outbreak strain found in organic Garden of Life Raw Meal shake and meal replacement powders. By the time the CDC declared the outbreak over on April 21, there were 33 confirmed victims in 23 states.
“Consumers should not consume this product if it is from the lot codes listed in the previous recall announcements found on the FDA recall website. Contaminated product may still be for sale from eBay, Amazon and other internet retailers.”
Amazon officials referred Food Safety News to the company’s product safety page when asked for comment on the Garden of Life Raw Meal recall. The site did not include information on specific product recalls, but provided links to recall roundup websites.
While the FDA considers whether to develop recall protocols for foods sold online, CDC officials do not plan any follow up action.
“As stated on our website, these products have a long shelf life. It is not unexpected to see additional illnesses reported after our investigation closes for outbreaks involving shelf-stable products” according to the CDC spokeswoman. “The ill person in Wisconsin reported eating a product that has already been recalled.”
Neither federal nor state officials indicated whether the new Wisconsin victim knew about the recall of the Garden of Life Raw Meal before buying or consuming it. They also did not indicate whether the online retailer had notified the consumer of the recall.
“In determining whether a recall is sufficient, FDA does not have different standards for products sold online versus through traditional ‘brick and mortar’ retailers, though we recognize that the steps needed to ensure that product has been accounted for may differ. We are still working with Garden of Life to determine the effectiveness of their recall,” the FDA spokesperson said.
Neither CDC nor FDA had added information about the new Wisconsin victim to their outbreak pages, which were last updated April 21 and 22, respectively. Thursday afternoon, after responding to Food Safety News, FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition tweeted three reminder messages about the Raw Meal recall and Salmonella outbreak on the @FDAfood Twitter account.
Salmonella is a life-threatening infection caused by eating food contaminated with the Salmonella bacteria. It is particularly dangerous to children younger than 5, adults over the age of 65, and people with weakened immune systems.
Salmonella symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever between 12 and 72 hours after infection. Anyone who believes they may have become ill with Salmonella should contact their health care provider immediately.
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