Daily Archives: March 12, 2009

Health Canada has issued a recall of beef products…yet again.

HEALTH HAZARD ALERT – CERTAIN GROUND BEEF PRODUCTS MAY CONTAIN E. coli O157:H7 BACTERIA

OTTAWA, March 11, 2009 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume certain ground beef products described below because these products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The following ground beef products, sold in Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Ontario, are affected by this alert.

See – http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2009/20090311be.shtml

The following products, sold in British Columbia are also affected by this alert.  They were sold only from the following Thrifty Foods stores (appear on the bottom of the label): #1 – Fairfield,  # 2 – Quadra,  #3 – Mill Bay, #7 – Nanaimo,  #8 – Colwood,  #9 – Broadmead,  #12 – Courtenay, #14 – Central Saanich, #16 – Longwood Station, #17 – Hillside, , # 18 – Tsawwassen, #19 – Campbell River and  #20 – Coquitlam.

See – http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2009/20090311be.shtml

There has been no reported illness associated with the consumption of these products.

Food contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 may not look or smell spoiled.  Consumption of food contaminated with this bacteria my cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses.  Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea.  Some people may have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis.  Others may live with permanent kidney damage.  In severe cases of illness, people may die.

The retailers are voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace.  The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on E. coli O157:H7, visit the Food Facts web page at:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/cause/ecolie.shtml

For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.

Health Canada has finally started to publish more information on recalled peanut products due to the recent incident in the United States.

HEALTH HAZARD ALERT – VARIOUS FOODS CONTAINING PEANUT PRODUCTS RECALLED BY PCA MAY CONTAIN SALMONELLA BACTERIA (5 products)

OTTAWA, March 11, 2009 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the foods described below because these products may be contaminated with  Salmonella.  These foods contain peanut products (butter/paste, as well as whole, crushed, powdered, etc.) that have been recalled in the U.S. and Canada by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) due to Salmonella contamination.

This is an ongoing food safety investigation. The CFIA is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to identify and remove all affected products imported into Canada from the U.S. The CFIA is also working with Canadian manufacturers to recall foods containing affected U.S. peanuts. As more products are identified, the CFIA will continue to update its list of recalled products.

The following foods, manufactured in the United States of America, are affected by this alert:
See – http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarap/2009/20090311e.shtml
(5 products)

These products may have been distributed nationally.

For the complete list of recalled products, including those listed above; please visit our web site at
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/corpaffr/recarapp/2009/2009typhe.shtml

There have been no confirmed illnesses in Canada associated with the consumption of these products.

Food contaminated with Salmonella may not look or smell spoiled. Consumption of food contaminated with these bacteria may cause salmonellosis, a foodborne illness. In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, salmonellosis may cause serious and sometimes deadly infections. In otherwise healthy people, salmonellosis may cause short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Long-term complications may include severe arthritis.

The manufacturers and importers are voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on Salmonella, visit the Food Facts web page at: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/cause/salmonellae.shtml

For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at: www.inspection.gc.ca.

The Financial Post reported that ING Canada is thinking about buying Aviva Insurance. The article can be found here:

http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=1374734