The job of determining if five poultry companies knowingly hired undocumented aliens is up to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. Immigration officials, however, claim they have plenty of evidence to sustain the charges. Unsealed warrants also hint at some of the evidence prosecutors have to work with. U.S. Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided seven poultry plants in six Mississippi towns on Aug. 7, owned by the…

Another company is recalling Grained Salmon Caviar 95g made from sockeye salmon because it has the potential to be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. AWERS Inc. of Bellevue, WA, says the Grained Salmon Caviar 95g was distributed in California, New York, Oregon, Washington and product may have further distributed to other states and Canada. As noted in a CFIA report Aug. 15, and according to the most current…

Officials in Austria are investigating three different outbreaks caused by Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria. The Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) reported the source of the Salmonella outbreak has been identified but the vehicle of infection for the E. coli and Listeria outbreaks are still unknown. In the Salmonella outbreak, 235 people are ill who live in Styria, Lower Austria, Vienna, Burgenland, Tyrol, Carinthia, Upper Austria and Salzburg. The source was found…

Pet owners are being warned not to feed their pets any of the Texas Tripe brand raw frozen pet food listed below, because several samples of Texas Tripe raw pet food have tested positive for Salmonella and/or Listeria contamination, according to a recall notice posted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The recall was triggered as a result of sampling by The Office of the Texas State Chemist (OTSC). The OTSC collected 23 finished product…

Researchers have reported on a rare Salmonella serotype that caused an outbreak in Australia from 2017 to 2018. Salmonella Hessarek was responsible for 25 infections in South Australia between March 2017 to July 2018 linked to one unnamed brand of eggs which are produced and predominantly sold in the state. The team said any substantial changes in the epidemiology of egg-associated Salmonella needs to be considered in future risk assessments and reviews of regulation.…

Pine Bluff, AR-based Tyson Foods Inc. recalled almost 40,000 pounds of Weaver brand frozen chicken patties that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). The production mistake was discovered after the recalling firm notified FSIS of consumer complaints. Tyson distributed the patties to stores nationwide. “FSIS is concerned that some product may be in consumers’ freezers. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged…

Visitors and residents of Costa Rica should not let their guard down regarding adulterated alcohol. Two more deaths from methanol poisoning were reported this week by the Costa Rican Ministry of Health. The two latest deaths occurred in Santa Bárbara de Heredia and Santa Cruz de Guanacaste. The death total is now 25. At least 59 patients have required hospital treatment for methanol poisoning. In their campaign to stamp out the methanol-tainted liquor, Costa Rica…