K A S H R U T . C O M_©

November 20, 2023 from the Star-K:

Consumers should note that when using a delivery service to deliver kosher food from a STAR-K or STAR-D certified establishment – whether through the establishment's delivery driver or through a third party (e.g., Uber Eats, GrubHub, DoorDash, Postmates) – they should carefully check that the delivered food has kosher seals that:

• bear the STAR-K or STAR-D logo
• are intact and show no signs of tampering

Stores are required to affix approved kosher seals on all delivery orders.

Consumers must reject an order whenever the kosher seal is missing or broken.

AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT THE DELIVERY SERVICES

Neither the STAR-K establishment nor STAR-K has any control over third-party services. The delivery service reserves the right to use another location within the same chain to fulfill the delivery order.

Thus, for example, an order from one of the two kosher Dunkin' stores in Pikesville (located at 7002-A and 1508 Reisterstown Road) could actually be fulfilled from the non-kosher Dunkin' nearby, which sells bacon and other non-kosher items. Orders from the certified Dunkin' store will bear a seal with the kosher logo and the store's address.

FOR MORE INFORMATION Please refer to the article, "Delivery and Ride Apps" about the halachos involved in using food delivery services.

November 17, 2023 from the FDA:

The HMC Group Marketing, Inc., which does business as HMC Farms, is voluntarily recalling peaches, plums and nectarines sold in retail stores between May 1 and November 15, 2022 and between May 1 and November 15, 2023. The fruit is being recalled because it has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes,.

The recalled fruit was distributed nationwide and sold at retail stores as individual pieces of fruit bearing PLU stickers (see photos) or in consumer packaging (also shown in the attached photos) AND sold at retail between May 1 and November 15, 2022 and between May 1 and November 15, 2023.

This recall includes only conventionally grown fruit – no organic fruit is being recalled. Peaches, plums, and nectarines currently available for sale at retail stores are not included in this recall.

Consumers: Although the recalled fruit is no longer available in retail stores, consumers may have frozen the recalled fruit at home for later use. Consumers are urged to check their freezers for the recalled fruit, not consume it, and discard it. Consumers with further questions can contact the company’s consumer information desk at 844-483-3867, Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

November 16, 2023 from the CFIA:

PC Milk Chocolate Covered Raisins have been recalled because of a food - Allergen - Tree nut
What to do: Do not consume recalled products to which you are allergic or sensitive.

The affected product is being recalled from the marketplace because it may contain almonds which are not declared on the label.

Vinyard Fruit and Vegetable Company Recalls Cantaloupe Due to Potential Salmonella Contamination

November 14, 2023: From the FDA

Vinyard Fruit and Vegetable Company, located in Oklahoma City, OK, has initiated a voluntary recall of all fresh-cut cantaloupe products listed below because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella,

Due to the 11/8/2023 recall of fresh, whole cantaloupes by Sophia Foods, LLC (DBA Trufresh) of Nogales, AZ, in response to a notification by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency of a potential contamination with Salmonella, Vinyard Fruit and Vegetable Company is issuing this recall. Cantaloupes recalled by Sophia Foods LLC were used as a raw material in Vinyard cantaloupe products listed here.

Consumers may obtain additional information by calling Jennifer Vogler at 1-405-639-2451, Monday through Friday 9AM to 5PM CST.

Grandy Organics Cancels Recall of Gluten Free Honey Oat Granola. Third Party Laboratory Error Resulted in Falsley Identifying Presence of Coconut

November 9, 2023: From the FDA

Grandy Organics, makers of organic granolas, nuts and trail mixes based in the rural town of Hiram, Maine, announced today that they have retracted their recall of Gluten Free Honey Oat Granola that was publicized over the weekend. After proper testing and cooperation with the FDA, all Grandy Organics products, including Gluten Free Honey Oat Granola, are proven safe to consume.

Grandy Organics provided repacked samples of the product to the potential distributor who in turn had it tested at their labs for their own Quality Assurance records. Friday November 3rd the distributor informed Grandy Organics that traces of coconut were discovered at 6 parts per million in the Gluten Free Honey Oat sample they were given. Because coconut is a dangerous allergen, Grandy moved quickly.

Concurrently, Grandy sent two additional batches of product out for testing to confirm there was no further contamination. What they learned from the third-party lab was incredible: There are known cross-reactivity events with certain ingredients that can cause a false positive when testing for the coconut allergen. Lab technicians are, in fact, trained to use a different testing procedure when these ingredients are present. Once the correct procedures were run, Grandy was notified that all products sent for testing were, in fact, free of allergens, as is stated on Grandy’s packaging.

Previous alert is at here