Peanut Snack Bar Recall

Peanut snack bar added to Canadian recall over salmonell

Canadians should not eat a brand of chocolate-dipped honey peanut bar, the latest salmonella-linked product that's part of a growing recall of peanut products in the United States.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it has expanded a voluntary recall to include another snack food made in the U.S.

Isagenix's Chocolate Dipped Honey Peanut IsaLean Bar in 2.29 oz or 65 gram size contains peanut butter or peanut paste recalled in the U.S. by Peanut Corporation of America, CFIA said.

The bars may have been distributed nationally, the agency said.

No reported illnesses are associated with consumption of the bars.

Investigators in the U.S. have traced the outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium to a peanut processing plant in Blakely, Ga.

More than 400 kinds of cakes, cookies, ice cream, other snack foods, Asian-style sauces and dog biscuits have been recalled in the outbreak.

Company 'devastated'

More than 500 people in the U.S. have fallen ill in the outbreak, which may have contributed to eight deaths.

On Wednesday, the Peanut Corp. expanded its recall to all peanut products produced at the Georgia plant since Jan. 1, 2007, as a precaution.

"We have been devastated by this, and we have been working around the clock with the FDA to ensure any potentially unsafe products are removed from the market immediately," Peanut Corp. of America president Stewart Parnel said in a statement late Wednesday.

Company officials are co-operating with state and federal officials, he added.

'One of the largest recalls we've had'

There have been calls for a criminal investigation into the company, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has said that is premature and the agency's investigation continues.

"We feel very confident that it's one of the largest recalls we've had," said Stephen Sundlof, head of the FDA's food safety centre. "We're still in the process of identifying products, but it certainly is among the largest."

The expanded recall includes contamination with salmonella strains not associated with the current outbreak, Sundlof told a telephone briefing with reporters.

"The additional salmonella strains discovered at this plant underscore that this plant was shipping adulterated product, but as for now we are not aware of any illnesses connected to any other salmonella strains shown at this facility," Michael Rogers, head of FDA's field investigations, told reporters.

FDA inspection reports showed problems including live cockroaches, mould and signs of a leaking roof at the Georgia plant.

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Source: CBC.ca

Frozen Fish Recall

CFIA Recalls Frozen Fish Due To Toxin Concern

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has pulled a product off the shelves and issued a warning after two people fell ill after eating possibly contaminated frozen fish.

The brand is called School of Fish and the product is frozen Leatherjacket. It shouldn't be eaten because it may contain a toxin known as ciguatera.

Ciguatera is a marine biotoxin that accumulates in fish and causes an illness in humans called ciguatera poisoning.

Even worse, contaminated fish may not look or smell spoiled, and the toxin is not destroyed by cooking.

'Frozen Leatherjacket' was produced in China and imported by Frobisher International Enterprise Ltd. The company has started a voluntary recall which CFIA is monitoring.

The product was distributed in British Columbia and Ontario. It was sold in packages of various weights bearing Production Code HI04 and one of the following size and UPC combinations:

a) Size 100/200 and UPC 8 74718 00074 0

b) Size 200/400 and UPC 8 74718 00073 3

There have been two reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

Symptoms of ciguatera poisoning include

• gastroenteritis (vomiting, cramps, diarrhea)
• itching of the skin
• central nervous system dysfunction, which often includes hot and cold inversion

If you have any questions, call Frobisher 604-523-8108 or CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8am to 8pm Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

Find out more about ciguatera - click here.

Source: CityNews.ca

Lower Fluoride Levels In Water - Panel Recommendation

Fluoride levels should be lowered, panel tells Health Canada

A panel of experts convened by Health Canada is recommending new optimal concentrations of fluoride in drinking water and suggesting the levels of fluoride ingested from a variety of sources by children and infants be lowered and monitored.

The authors suggest Health Canada adopt a level of 0.7 mg/L as the optimal target for fluoride in drinking water, to limit exposure. This level, they say, balances the need for dental cavity protection with the risk of dental fluorosis, which leads to staining or pitting of the teeth if too much fluoride is ingested.

The report, which was released in January of last year, was posted on Health Canada's website in April.

The panel notes in the report that the overall intake of fluoride in recent years has decreased, as have the concentrations of fluoride in infant formula.

It also does not find any link between fluoride and cancer, a decrease in IQ or reproductive, immunological or developmental toxicity. Previous studies have raised concerns about the toxic effects of fluoride and made connections between excessive consumption and such diseases as bone cancer.

The panel does acknowledge that excess fluoride intake, which constitutes 10 mg/day after 10 or more years of exposure, can lead to skeletal fluorosis, which is caused by too much accumulation of fluoride in the bones and leads to brittle and deformed bones.

However, "the current maximum acceptable concentration of 1.5 mg/L of fluoride in drinking water is unlikely to cause adverse health effects," reads the report.

The report does caution however, that infants are particularly vulnerable if they ingest powdered infant formula reconstituted with fluoridated water. "The risk of excessive intake of fluoride is higher for infants consuming larger quantities of infant formulas," reads the report.

The panel subsequently calls on the manufacturers of infant formula to lower and standardize the fluoride concentration in infant formula.

Source: CBC.ca

Sweet Substitute Prevents Decay

Yum! Candy that fights cavities

Children everywhere may have scored a major coup this week in the eternal battle with parents over the consumption of candy, after new evidence found sweets made with the sugar substitute xylitol could actually reduce the risk of cavities.

But the findings are already creating some worry among leaders of Canada's dental industry who are concerned candy companies could overstate the limited advantages of the sugar substitute to boost their products.

Although xylitol has been found to reduce the bacteria that cause cavities and tooth decay, some experts fear the evidence could dilute messages children receive about the critical importance of brushing, flossing and a proper

diet.

"You're talking about a very small benefit," said Larry Levin, president of the Ontario Dental Association. "I think you always run the risk that people can misinterpret what that message is."

A study published this week in the journal BMC Oral Health and led by a researcher at the University of Washington found that children who ate Gummi Bears made with the teeth-protecting sugar substitute xylitol showed a decrease in the amount of bacteria that can cause cavities.

Xylitol is commonly used to make sugarless chewing gum, which has been associated with a decrease in cavity-causing bacteria in those who chew it. Since many children are considered too young to chew gum, researchers used Gummis to determine whether candy could carry the same bacteria-fighting benefits as sugarless gum.

They found that children who ate four xylitol Gummi Bears three times a day during school hours showed a decrease in the amount of plaque bacteria. The findings have led to the start of a clinical trial that will explore whether it's feasible to distribute Gummis made with xylitol in schools to combat tooth decay, according to the researchers.

But it's possible that kind of initiative could erroneously convince parents and children that candy made with xylitol is an adequate cavity-fighting tool that could even substitute or replace proper brushing and flossing, according to Dr. Levin.

"I think it's good to see it in proportion, that this xylitol chewing gum [and candy] is just a small adjunct to overall good health," he said. It's not going to counteract meals containing naturally occurring sugars that can also contribute to tooth decay, he said.

Introducing cavity-fighting candy may also confuse some children over the presence of sugar in other types of candy, said Euan Swan, manager of dental programs at the Canadian Dental Association.

"A young child might beconfused if they don't realize the Gummi Bear is a special [sugarless] Gummi Bear," he said. "They might go on eating other candy that has sugar in it."

Source: TheGlobeandMail.com

Eye Drop Recall - Health Canada

Prescription eye drops recalled due to risk of adverse effects

Health Canada is warning consumers not to use some strengths of the prescription drug Sandoz Timolol Ophthalmic Solution because some bottles may contain more of the active ingredient than indicated on the label, exposing patients to an increased risk of adverse events.

Sandoz Timolol Ophthalmic Solution 0.25 per cent and 0.5 per cent are eye drops taken for treatment of increased intraocular pressure (high fluid pressure inside the eye) and glaucoma. The active ingredient is timolol maleate.

Potential adverse events may include red eye, eye irritation, inflammation of the eyelids and-or cornea, drooping of the upper eyelid, double vision, dizziness, headache, abnormally slow heartbeat, abnormally low blood pressure, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing and cardiac failure Health Canada said in an advisory Friday.

Patients taking either Sandoz Timolol Ophthalmic Solution 0.25 per cent or 0.5 per cent eye drops should discontinue use and consult their health-care practitioner immediately to ensure that treatment of the original condition (intraocular pressure) is not interrupted. Consumers should return the product to their pharmacist for safe disposal.

The manufacturer, Sandoz Canada Inc., is recalling the products. Sandoz will also be notifying doctors and pharmacists of the recall.

Consumers requiring more information about this advisory can contact Health Canada's public inquiries line at (613) 957-2991, or toll-free at 1-866-225-0709.

To date, there have been no cases of adverse reactions linked to the use of this product reported in Canada.

Source: CBC.ca

Hot Peppers Implicated in Salmonella Outbreak

U.S. food agency says consumers should avoid jalapenos from Mexico only

Only jalapeno peppers grown in Mexico are implicated in the countrywide salmonella outbreak, the government announced Friday in clearing the U.S. crop.

The Food and Drug Administration urged consumers to avoid raw Mexican jalapenos and the serrano peppers often confused with them, or dishes made with them such as fresh salsa.

But the big question is how those who love hot peppers would know where the chiles came from, especially in restaurant food.

"You're going to have to ask the person you're buying it from," said Dr. David Acheson, the FDA's food safety chief, who is advising restaurants and grocery stores to know their suppliers and pass that information to customers.

The big break in an outbreak that now has sickened nearly 1,300 people came on Monday, when FDA announced it had found the same strain of salmonella responsible for the outbreak on a single Mexican-grown jalapeno in a south Texas produce warehouse.

Tomatoes had been the prime suspect for weeks. And while those now on the market are considered safe to eat, health officials still haven't exonerated them from causing illnesses when the outbreak began in April.

The pepper discovery threatened to paralyze that industry, too. Chile production is a $500 million crop in New Mexico alone, which produces most of the U.S. crop, state agriculture commissioners wrote the FDA on Thursday.

Friday's move clearing U.S. peppers came because clusters of illnesses around the country all seem to be tracing back to Mexican jalapenos, though not all sold through the McAllen, Texas, produce warehouse, Acheson said.

"Domestically grown products are not tracing back at all to the outbreak," he said in an interview with The Associated Press. "On Monday, we didn't know exactly where they all were coming from. Today we're certain these are coming from Mexico."

FDA inspectors are on the farm that grew the only tainted pepper discovered so far, trying to determine where else it sent a harvest that began in April, Acheson said. The farm is large, but the question now is whether it harvested enough to be responsible for such a geographically large outbreak.

Mexican officials blasted the announcement as premature, saying the fact that no additional salmonella was found in the Texas warehouse doesn't eliminate that site as a suspect.

"Both U.S. and Mexican tomato producers are still dealing with the impact of premature public information given by the FDA in the past, and we expect the FDA to present solid scientific evidence to back today's announcement as soon as possible," said Ricardo Alday, spokesman for the Mexican embassy in Washington.

The news is a relief for U.S. pepper growers.

"It's good news, late in the process. It's an announcement they should have made some days ago," said John McClung of the Texas Produce Association.

He called the warning still too broad, because many peppers from Mexico are grown on farms in regions not implicated.

At the same time, investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are retracing the probe's early steps to see if jalapenos were missed early on, or if tomatoes did indeed play a role. Initial reports from the first ill in New Mexico and Texas provided a strong link to tomatoes, but salsa was eaten, too, with less attention paid to its other ingredients.

"We're still very interested in looking at the role tomatoes played in this outbreak given the strong epidemiological association," said CDC's Dr. Ian Williams. That is "very much part of the active investigation at the moment."

To date, the CDC has confirmed 1,294 people sickened from the outbreak. It doesn't appear to be over yet, with people falling ill as late as July 10.

Source: CBC.ca