Listeria spurs new recalls for frozen peas in multiple products

At least four food companies are recalling fresh and frozen foods because they contain frozen peas from Seattle’s National Frozen Foods Corp. that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

In addition to the company recalls, KGET-TV Channel 17 in Bakersfield, CA, is reporting the California Kern County Aging and Adult Services office is warning operators of senior nutrition centers and recipients of Meals-on-Wheels services about recalled frozen peas from an unnamed supplier that could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The frozen pea recalls — posted yesterday and today — appear to be unrelated to the massive recall by CRF Frozen Foods LLC in Pasco, WA, which has recalled hundreds of products in connection with a Listeria monocytogenes outbreak. That recall has caused a rash of secondary recalls by companies that use CRF products in their own products.

As of tonight, no illnesses had been confirmed in relation to the recalled products that contain frozen peas from National Frozen Foods Corp.

National Frozen Foods had not posted any recall information on its website as of 9 p.m. EDT on June 17. The Food and Drug Administration also did not yet have a recall notice from National Frozen Foods because the agency does not post such notices until recalling firms first publish notices elsewhere, according to an FDA spokeswomen.

 Pinnacle Foods Inc. of Parsippany, NJ, published a recall notice this afternoon on a public relations news site for nationally distributed C&W brand frozen peas. The FDA had not yet picked up that notice tonight. Details from the Pinnacle Foods recall include:

• C&W Early Harvest Petite Peas and C&W Petite Peas — both distributed nationwide to retailers and sold nationwide online. Retailers that carry C&W brand froze vegetables include Walmart and Hy-Vee.
• 
  C&W Early Harvest Petite Peas are sold in 16-ounce bags. The recalled bags have a UPC number of 0-70332-00159-4. Best-by dates for the  recalled Early Harvest Petite Peas were not included in the recall notice.
• C&W Petite Peas are also sold in 16-ounce bags. They have the UPC number 0-70332-00158-7 and have best-by dates of: Mar-07-18; Mar-23-18; Mar-17-18; Mar-28-18; Mar-28-18; Mar-29-18; and Mar-29-18.

Recall notices involving the frozen peas from National Frozen Foods posted on the FDA’s recall website as of this evening were:

Zupan’s Macaroni Salad With Cheddar Cheese, produced by Duck Delivery Produce Inc. of Sumner, WA — distributed to four Zupan’s Markets in Portland and Lake Oswego, OR, between April 9 and June 14.

• Zupan’s Macaroni Cheddar Cheese Salad is a fresh, refrigerated product, was sent to retailers packaged in 5-pound plastic bags with the label listed item #23070 and the UPC number 8 87241 80712 0.
  The product was sold both in Zupan’s Markets service deli salad case, sized to order, and in prepacked round plastic containers in 8- 12- and 16-ounce sizes in retailers Grab & Go areas. Scale label on bottom of the prepacked containers say: Macaroni Salad with Cheddar Cheese and have the code 394.

Frozen peas in meal kits from HelloFresh of New York City — delivered to consumers in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

Specific meal kits that included the recalled frozen peas are:

• Summer Vegetable Salad with Seared Chicken, Garlic Croutons, and Mustard-Chive Vinaigrette delivered June 11-15;
• Lemony Pan-Seared Chicken with Pesto Potato Salad and Peas delivered March 12-18;
• Seared Steak with Spring Veggie Succotash and Mint-Chive Pesto delivered March 19-25; and
• Nir’s Lamb-Stuffed Zucchini with Spiced Lentil Stew delivered March 19-25.

Globespun Gourmet wraps from Essential Foods Inc. of Seattle — distributed in Washington and Oregon to grocery outlets and corporate cafeterias. “The production of the product has been suspended while FDA and our supplier work to resolve the source of the issue,” according to the recall notice.

The recalled 8-ounce wraps are plastic wrapped and ready to eat with date stamps of 06 17, 06 20 and 06 24 on the bottom of each wrap. Specific varieties of wraps subject to the recall are:

• Globespun Gourmet Thai UPC#3232800405;
• Globespun Gourmet Coconut Curry UPC#3232800210;
• Globespun Gourmet Tandoori-flavors of India UPC#3232800211; and
• Globespun Gourmet Dolma La- Tibetan potato UPC#3232800503.

Public health officials advise anyone who has eaten any of the recalled products — or eaten meals at Kern County California Senior Nutrition Centers of from the county’s Meals-on-Wheels program that included peas — and developed symptoms of Listeria infection to immediately seek medical attention.

Food contaminated with Listeria does not look or smell bad. It can take up to 70 days for symptoms of listeriosis infection to develop, but people usually become ill within a few days after being exposed to the bacteria.

Listeria monocytogenes is a microscopic pathogen that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

Although healthy individuals may suffer only short term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

If you believe you have or had any of the recalled products in your home, public health officials recommend the following steps to avoid cross contamination:

• Throw the recalled products away in a closed plastic bag placed in a sealed trash can. This will prevent people and animals from eating it.
• Wash the refrigerator or freezer area and any other areas where the recalled products were stored with hot water and soap.
• Wash your hands with warm water and soap after cleaning up.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)

from Food Safety News » Food Recalls http://ift.tt/24X0jdt