Parker's Farm Recall Extended to their Products sold at Wisconsin Cheeseman®

The Wisconsin Cheeseman® has recalls Cheese Logs/Cheese Balls products in conjunction with the voluntary recall initiated by Parkers Farm, Inc. on January 15, 2010.

Parkers Farm, Inc., located in Coon Rapids, Minnesota, believes some of its food items have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. The recall was a result of a sampling done by the state of Wisconsin and the state of Minnesota.

Nine of the recalled products are cheese logs/cheese balls purchased from Parkers Farm, Inc. and then distributed by The Wisconsin Cheeseman®. These products bear the Parkers Farm logo. None of the other recalled products at Parkers Farm, Inc. was purchased or distributed by The Wisconsin Cheeseman®.

The Wisconsin Cheeseman® Food Gifts Impacted by Recall:
Sausage 'N Cheese Logs – Gift #11
Cheese Logs & Cutting Board – Gift #87
Smorgasbord – Gift #325
Cheese Log Trio – Gift #365
Cheese Logs – Gift #411
Cheese Ball Trio – Gift #441
Cheese Logs – Gift #509
Snacker Pack – Gift #751
Cheese Balls & Sausages – Gift #876

The FDA asks consumers who have any of these products in their possession to throw them out. Alternatively, the product can be returned to The Wisconsin Cheeseman® for a refund or replacement. Consumers who believe they may have become ill after consuming these products should immediately contact their health care provider.

Pandemic Flu & Vaccine Supply - A WHO Controversy

India today asked the WHO to explain reports that swine flu was a false pandemic. During a meeting of the WHO Executive Health Board, the Indian Union Health Secretary noted that news reports that the pandemic was false were adversely impacting the public health measures being undertaken in various nations. She also called for greater transparency on terms and conditions on which international vaccine manufacturers were supplying vaccines globally.

In response to this intervention by India, the WHO has agreed to formally write to National Focal Points in all countries clarifying the factual position about the H1N1 pandemic. This should quell all doubts that had been created by recent reports which have placed the organisation squarely and rather uncomfortably in the middle of this controversy.

E.Coli Contamination Leads to Beef Recall

Huntington Meat Packing, a Southern California based meat-packing firm has recalled around 864,000 pounds of ground-beef that might be contaminated with E. coli. The meat is sold under the Huntington, Imperial Meat and El Rancho brands. The affected beef was sold to distribution centers, restaurants and hotels in California between Feb. 19 and May 15, 2008, and between Jan 5. and Jan. 15, 2010. The labels on the recalled meat are stamped "EST. 17967". The recall includes:

• 40-pound boxes of "Huntington Meats Ground Beef"
• 40-pound boxes of "Huntington Meat Pkg. Inc. Beef Ground for Further Processing"
• 40-pound boxes of "Beef Burrito Filling Mix"
• 10-pound boxes of "Imperial Meat Co. Ground Beef Patty"
• 20-pound boxes of "Imperial Meat Co. Ground Beef Patty"
• 10-pound boxes of "El Rancho Meat & Provision All Beef Patties."
  

On Monday, 18th January, the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) observed that so far no illnesses have been reported from the said products. Officials report that a food safety assessment led department personnel to make this discovery.

E. coli is a potentially deadly germ - it can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration and, in the most severe cases, kidney failure. Children and the elderly are most at risk from this bacteria.

Read: USA Today
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