Over half of food processing and packaging firms on the Chinese mainland failed safety inspections in 2011 – a figure food quality control company AsiaInspection has called “alarming.”

 51% failed food safety inspections in the country.

According to a report by the China-based company, 51% of all food facility check-ups conducted in the country failed, with ‘major’ defects including cases of rodent faecal contamination accounting for around 10%.

This figure covers food products inspected in food processing and packaging facilities.

Chemical contamination has also become a worrying factor – with incidents in the Chinese food processing sector becoming commonplace, the company said.

Over 4.5bn tons of food was exported from China in 2011 alone – a potential cause for concern for importers of food products from the state.

A major defect “could be mould, strong odours showing spoiled food, any sort of living specimen, mud or dust traces, feathers in chicken meat, bones in a fish filet, etc. Basically, anything that could turn the food production into a loss or put a consumer at risk,” AsiaInspection CEO Sebastien Breteau told FoodQualityNews.com.

Breteau added that despite 57% of food packaging inspections resulting in a fail, people do not regard packaging defects as ‘critical’.

 “Food packaging defects may not seem critical,” he said.

“But by the time food leaves the factory and hits store shelves, toxic amounts of contaminants like formaldehyde and lead can leech out of packaging, contaminate food and cause serious harm to consumers.”

According to China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce, 62,000 illegal food cases were reported in 2011.

In addition, authorities stopped the operation of 43,000 unlicensed food producing business and nearly 600 food industry operators had their business licenses revoked.

 ‘Purely criminal’

In December 2011, China’s largest dairy company Mengniu was forced to destroy a batch of milk contaminated with aflatoxin – a substance that can cause liver cancer.

Clembuterol, which is also banned by the Chinese government, is routinely found in food products from the country.

The toxic substance, which is often referred to as lean meat powder, is administered to animals to give them more tender meat.

“China is big and their economy is booming. Ignorance and greed are not acceptable qualities for the food industry. In some cases it is either ignorance or sloppiness, but in some cases, such as the 2008 milk scandal in China, it is purely criminal,” Breteau added.

“In the milk scandal example, China’s largest and most reputable milk producers were injecting the powder with melamine to make it appear as if it had a higher protein level than it really did.”

“The Chinese regulatory bodies will not be able to solve all the problems by themselves. We know about things they found, but what about the things they have not found? This is where it lies on the importer and end re-seller to perform their own due diligence and insure the food is safe for consumers,” he concluded.

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Over half of food processing and packaging firms on the Chinese mainland failed safety inspections in 2011 – a figure food quality control company AsiaInspection has called “alarming.”

source: http://www.foodproductiondaily.com/Quality-Safety/China-food-safety-inspection-results-are-alarming-AsiaInspection

Police raided a Rockbank, Australia property this week with representatives from the RSPCA, Melton Shire Council, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and the regulator responsible for meat safety, PrimeSafe.

“The other agencies attended the residential address in relation to information about possible wildlife and animal cruelty offences, as well as the alleged production and selling of meat,” a police spokeswoman said.

An RSPCA spokesman said 22 dogs of varying breeds were found and about 100 goats, one of which had to be euthanased on humane grounds.

PrimeSafe chief executive Brian Casey said two goat carcasses were found and about 20 kilograms of sheep or goat meat was discovered in a freezer.

There was no evidence dogs had been slaughtered, he said.

In Victoria it is illegal to slaughter non-consumable animals such as dogs, horses, cats and donkeys.

“You can slaughter consumable animals [such as goats] but they must be slaughtered at a licensed abattoir,” Mr Casey told AAP.

There was an exemption in place to enable farmers to slaughter edible animals on their properties for their own consumption, but the Rockbank property was not a farm, he said.

More than 45 animals were seized by DSE including 30 frogs, four central bearded dragons, a children’s python and a crucifix toad, which were being kept illegally.

“A wildlife licence is required by anyone keeping and trading protected wildlife in Victoria.”

 This recall is a result of a recent recall by Minnesota-based Michael Foods, Inc., which produces the cooked eggs at its Wakefield, Nebraska facility.

 If you still have these products, do not consume them – discard them at home and return to the store for a full refund.

ONLY PRODUCT SOLD IN THE FOLLOWING NEW YORK STATE STORES IS RECALLED:

Rochester area – East Avenue, Perinton, Canandiagua, Geneva, Hylan Drive, Holt Road, Eastway, Ridgemont, Ridge-Culver, Geneseo, Penfield, Irondequoit, Fairport, Lyell, Mt. Read, Latta, Chili-Paul, Newark, Calkins Road, and Brockport

Buffalo area – Dick Road, Niagara Falls Blvd, Sheridan Drive, West Seneca, McKinley, Transit Road, Amherst Street, Alberta Drive, Losson Road, and Military Road

Syracuse area – John Glenn, Onondaga, James Street, Cicero, Auburn, Pond Street, Taft Road, Fairmount, DeWitt, and Great Northern

 Southern Tier – Hornell, Elmira, and Corning

Hard-Cooked Eggs (sold by the pound in prepared foods or as a choice on the Fresh Foods Bar

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Deviled Deviled Eggs (special-order deli tray,6-pack, or 12 pack)

Cobb Salad (10 oz, 43 oz, and 6.5 lb)

Garden Salad (10 oz, 20 oz, 2 lb, and 5 lb)

Baby Spinach Salad (9 oz, 1.8 lb, and 3.9 lb)

Chef Salad (9 oz. and 18 oz.)

Egg Salad (sold by the pound in prepared foods)

Egg Salad Sub (Sub Shop)

Kosher Macaroni Salad (sold by the pound in kosher deli)

Kosher Pickled Eggs (sold by the pound in kosher deli)

For more information, please call 1-800-WEGMANS (934-6267) and ask for Consumer Affairs, Monday through Friday, 8am-5pm.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health today advised consumers who purchased raw milk from The Family Cow store in Chambersburg, Franklin County, that several recent illnesses indicate the raw milk may contain harmful bacteria. Raw milk is milk that has not been pasteurized.

The department confirmed three cases of Campylobacter infection in persons in Pennsylvania and three confirmed cases in Maryland, all of whom consumed raw milk from this farm. While a formal recall has not yet been announced, the department recommends consumers discard any product purchased after Jan. 1.

The Department of Agriculture is awaiting test results from the raw milk samples. The farm has voluntarily suspended raw milk production.

Campylobacter is a bacterial infection that affects the intestinal tract and can sometimes affect the bloodstream and other organs. It is one of the most common causes of gastroenteritis, which can include diarrhea and vomiting. Nearly 1,300 confirmed cases of Campylobacter are reported each year in Pennsylvania.

The packaged raw milk is sold under The Family Cow label in plastic gallon, half gallon, quart and pint containers. It is labeled as “raw milk.”

The Family Cow sells directly to consumers in an on-farm retail store and at drop off locations and retail stores around Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, as well as south-central Pennsylvania.

The shelf-life for raw milk is about 10 days, but can be longer if it is frozen or used to make other products. Freezing the raw milk will not necessarily kill the Campylobacter bacteria. Onset of illness usually occurs in two to five days after ingesting the bacteria. Patients often do not require specific medical treatment unless they become severely dehydrated or the infection spreads from the intestines. For more information about Campylobacter, visit the Department of Health at www.health.state.pa.us or call 1-877-PA-HEALTH.

Several health departments have reported multiple outbreaks, prompting officials to urge residents to take precautions to prevent possible exposure to the virus, which they identified as norovirus.

The largest outbreak, with 135 cases traced to a single restaurant, was found in Catawba County, said Kelly Schermerhorn, a public information officer with the Catawba County Public Health Department. She said the cases were linked to the Harbor Inn Seafood Diner in Conover. The restaurant is about an hour northwest of Charlotte.

Most of the complaints were from people who had eaten at the restaurant on January 13 or January 14 and became ill 12 to 24 hours after dining there, said the health department in a posting on its website. Health officials are calling about 100 Harbor Inn patrons in a case-control study to find out what they ate and how they may have become sick.

“We are not sure yet how it started,” Harbor Inn Seafood Manager George Ciogas told CNN in a telephone interview.

Following the initial report of illness, Catawba County Public Health’s Environmental Health specialists said they conducted a thorough inspection of the restaurant and found no violations. “There does not appear to be any concern about ongoing exposure to norovirus at Harbor Inn,” said Doug Urland, health director of Catawba County Public Health Department, in a statement. “A case-control study will give us and state health officials the ability to learn more about the nature of norovirus, how it spreads, and what steps may be available to help better prevent this type of illness in the future.”

But health officials acknowledge they may never be able to track down the cause.

“The most important message we have right now is that people who are ill with vomiting or diarrhea should not work, go to school or attend day care while they are having symptoms,” said Dr. Megan Davies, the state epidemiologist. “Everyone needs to wash their hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water. This is the most effective way to protect yourself and others against norovirus, since hand sanitizers alone are not as effective against this hardy virus.”

Common symptoms of norovirus infection include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramps, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some victims may have fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and a general sense of tiredness, it says on its website. The CDC estimates that more than 20 million cases of acute gastroenteritis are caused by noroviruses in the United States each year.

source: http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/01/health/north-carolina-stomach-bug/?hpt=he_c2