Murray Cookies Recalled For Pecan Allergen

We're just seeing this today but back on October 14th Murray Biscuit Company issued a recall of some of its Murray Sugar Free Chocolate Chip cookies due to a production mixup.  The boxes say "Murray Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookies" but they may instead contain Murray Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Pecan cookies.

Murray says that only 12 cases are actually mis-labeled but the company is recalling 900 more as a precaution.  All the recalled cookies have a "best if used by" code of APR1712 EA6.  They were shipped to these states:

• Alabama
• Florida
• Georgia
• Tennessee

No allergic reactions have reported but Murray was apparently only alerted to the problem after a customer discovered the mixup.

The Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, is providing images of the recalled cookies.  You can see a photo of both the front and back labels here.

Some Fiber One Bars Recalled

Image Courtesy of FDA

General Mills announced today that it is voluntarily recalling a small number of chocolate flavor Fiber One 90-Calorie Chewy Bars because of a labeling mixup.  In a press release issued today the company says that boxes with the code 19MAY2012BV may have been put into the wrong boxes.  And that may mean, the company says, that some of the boxes may contain Fiber One Bars made with undeclared allergens like peanuts.

General Mills says that only one day's worth of product is affected.  It is feared, they said, that Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor Fiber One 90-Calorie Chewy Bar packages were put Chocolate Flavor Fiber One 90-Calorie Chewy Bars by mistake.


There have been, says General Mills, no reports of allergic reactions.


Customers will want to look for:

• 5-count boxes of Chocolate Flavor Fiber One 90-Calorie Chewy Bars with the “Better if Used By” code of 19MAY2012BV printed on the top of the box

There's nothing wrong with the bars themselves and General Mills says that the individual wrappers are actually correct--it's just the boxes that are wrong.  You can contact General Mills for replacement or a full refund.


You can see a photo of the recalled Fiber One Chewy Bars here.

Listeria Found In Fair Oaks Royal Blue Cheese

Image Courtesy FDA

Fair Oaks Dairy Products has issued a recall of about 20 pounds of blue cheese sold under its Fair Oaks Royal Blue Cheese brand because testing by an independent lab has found Listeria in a sample of blue cheese it tested for the company.

In a press release we're only seeing today--but which is dated October 17, 2011--Fair Oaks said that the quantity of cheeese affected was very small and sold only in a few states.  The packages being recalled are 1/3 to 1/2 pound blue foil packages.

Fair Oaks says that all their retail stores have been notified of the recall.  Fair Oaks also says the cheese was shipped for sale in these states:

• Illinois
• Indiana
• Michigan
• Ohio

Neither the FDA nor Fair Oaks is reporting any Listeria infections associated with these blue cheeses but anyone who has these on hand is encouraged to return it to the place of purchase for a refund.


The FDA is providing scans of Fair Oaks Royal Blue Cheese labels.  You can see all of those here.

Jensen Farms Warning Letters Says 4 Different Listeria Strains Found

Yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or FDA, made public its official warning letter to Jensen Farms and from it we learn that the agency is accusing Jensen of "poor" cleaning practices that resulted in "widespread" Listeria contamination.  We also learn that 4 different strains of the bacterium were found in multiple parts of Jensen's packing building.

You've probably heard all about the recent Listeria outbreak that was linked to cantaloupes.  Those cantaloupes were traced back to a Colorado producer named Jensen Farms.  In what is being called one of the worst Listeria outbreaks this country has ever seen 23 people (at last count) have died and well over 100 others in 25 different states have been sickened.  Health experts say that all the contaminated cantaloupes should be off the market now but because Listeria can take weeks, in some cases, to present itself it's possible we may see even a few more infections before the month is over.

On September 10th inspectors from the FDA inspected Jensen's packing building in Granada, Colorado.  They took swabs from the surface of several melons and swabs from numerous food preparation surfaces around the plant, too.  When they tested those swabs they found Listeria on both the melons themselves and on surfaces used for food.  The FDA says that half of the melons they swabbed tested positive and more than 1/3 of the surfaces they tested came back positive as well.  All of the surfaces that tested positive, says the FDA, were either food prep surfaces or surfaces that touched food prep areas.

This all proves, says the FDA, that Jensen Farms practiced "poor" sanitary practices that lead to contamination the agency was "widespread".

Jensen has since ceased all production at its plant and has told the FDA, through the farm's attorney, that it will not resume production until FDA inspectors give Jensen the green light to do so.  Jensen has also promised to fix all the problems that may have lead to the contamination.  The letter did not say how the Listeria came to be on the cantaloupes in the first place.

One footnote to this story . . . While 3 strains of Listeria were found in the facility and linked to confirmed cases in humans there was a 4th strain found that, so far, hasn't been linked to any actual illnesses.

Larry Schultz Eggs Recalled, Linked to 6 Salmonella Cases

Minnesota's Department of Health says that 6 residents have contracted Salmonella after eating eggs that were ultimately traced back to Larry Schultz Organic Farm of Owatonna, Minnesota.  In a joint press release issued yesterday, the Minnesota Department of Health, or MDH, and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, or MDA, said that the first illness occurred on August 12th but by September 24th a total of 6 people had been sickened.  All have since recovered but 3 of them required hospitalization.  The illnesses affected both children and adults.

Larry Schultz Organic Farms is cooperating with the investigation, says the press release, and has issued a recall for these eggs:

• Larry Schultz Organic Farm Label Extra Large with codes "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12"  (If the carton has a plant number or "sell by" date it is NOT recalled.)
• Larry Schultz Organic Farm Label Large with codes "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12" (If the carton has a plant number or a "selly by" date it is NOT recalled.)
• Larry Schultz Organic Farm Label Jumbo with codes "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12"
•  Larry Schultz Organic Farm Label Medium with codes "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12" (If the case has a plant number or "sell by" date it is NOT recalled.)
• Larry Schultz Organic Farm Label Jumbo Bulk with codes "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12" (If the case has a plant number or "sell by" date it is NOT recalled.)
• Lunds & Byerly's Label Large with codes "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12"
• Lunds & Byerly's Label Extra Large Cartoned On or Before Jullian date "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12"
• Lunds & Byerly's Label Large Cartoned 6-packs On or Before Jullian date "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12"
• Kowalski’s Organic Egg Label On or Before Jullian date "286 EXP NOV 12" or "286 NOV12"

Anyone who believes he or she has these eggs on hand should return them to the place of purchase.

Fresh Selections, HEB, Marketside, Taylor Farms Salads Recalled for Salmonella

Taylor Farms Retail Inc. has announced what it's calling a "voluntary, precautionary recall" of more than 3200 cases of its salad blends because of fears that they might be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria.  In a press release issued late yesterday Taylor Farms says that Salmonella was found in a finished package of its salad.  The test was conducted during routine, random sampling performed by Washington's Department of Agriculture. 


This recall covers 4 brands.  Customers will want to look for packages with these codes:

• Fresh Selections Hearts of Romaine 10 oz. bag 0-11110-91044-8 TFRS277B07OOKR5L Best By 10-18-11
• Fresh Selections Leafy Romaine 10 oz. bag 0-11110-91046-2 TFRS277B07OOKR5H Best By 10-18-11
• Fresh Selections Field of Greens 10 oz. bag 0-11110-91042-4 TFRS277B07OOKR5F Best By 10-18-11
• Fresh Selections Romaine Blend 10 oz. bag 0-11110-91038-7 TFRS277B07OOKR5N Best By 10-18-11
• HEB Spring Mix 5 oz. bag 0-41220-19752-1 TFRS277B07 Best By 10-20-11
• Marketside Fresh Spinach 10oz bag 6-81131-32946-0 TFRS277A07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-21-11
• Marketside Caesar Salad Kit 14.6 oz. bag 6-81131-38744-6 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Marketside Asian Salad Kit 15 oz. bag 6-81131-53211-2 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Marketside Southwest Salad Kit 15oz bag 6-81131-38747-7 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Marketside Premium Romaine 9 oz. bag 6-81131-38753-8 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Marketside Premium Romaine Family 18 oz. bag 6-81131-38807-8 TFRS277B07 Guaranteed Delicious By 10-19-11
• Taylor Farms Field Greens 8 oz. bag 0-30223-04036-1 TFRS277B07 Best If Used By 10-20-11 

Taylor says that these salads were sent to retail supermarkets in Puerto Rico and these U.S. states:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Kentucky
• Missouri
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Oregon
• South Carolina
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington

Taylor says that no illnesses have been reported.  They are, they say, cooperating with the FDA.  If you have any of the recalled Fresh Selections, HEB, Marketside or Taylor Farms salads you're asked not to eat them.  Just dispose of them, says the company.  If you have questions you can contact Taylor Farms Retail by calling 1-877-323-7374. 


The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, is providing scans of all the recalled salads' front labels.  You can see those here.

Nancy Adams S'Mores Recalled, Allergy Alert Issued

Image Courtesy FDA

Nassau Candy Distributors announced late yesterday that it has issued a recall and allergy alert for Mini S'mores sold under its Nancy Adams Classic brand.  The treats, says a company press release about the recall, may contain peanuts that are not declared on the products' boxes.

Nassau Candy says the s'mores were sold nationwide.  For folks who are not allergic to peanuts the products pose no safety risk but customers should look for candies with this labeling:

• NANCY ADAMS Classic MINI S‘MORES, Net Wt. 5.5 oz. (155g), in a red & silver box with a manufacturing code of either I1119 or I1120 under the following UPC 6 18645 21923 9

Nassau says that no allergic illnesses have been reported so far but admit that this recall and allergy alert was originally prompted by a customer compliant about the s'mores containing peanuts.  Nassau says it investigated and found that some boxes of s'mores may, in fact, have been filled with peanut clusters instead of s'mores.

The company also says that retail stores have been notified and the recalled Nancy Adams S'Mores are being removed from store shelves.

You can see front and back scans of the realled candies here.