K A S H R U T . C O M_©

The following health alert is from the FDA on February 1, 2012.

Michael Foods, Inc. is recalling specific lot dates of hard-cooked eggs in brine sold in 10- and 25-pound pails for institutional use that were produced at its Wakefield, Nebraska facility because the product has the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
The recalled eggs were purchased by food distributors and manufacturers located in 34 states (AL, AR, AZ, CA, CO, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MN, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NJ, NV, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, UT, WA, WI, WV). The recall is limited to hard-cooked eggs in brine in 10- and 25-pound pails prodced at its Wakefield, Nebraska facility, which are labeled under six brand names (Columbia Valley Farms, GFS, Glenview Farms, Papetti's, Silverbrook, Wholesome Farms) and bearing lot codes of 1 LOT 1350W through 1 LOT 2025W and expiration dates ranging from 1/30/2012 to 3/10/2012
Only lot codes immediately preceded by a “1” AND ending in a “W” are affected, please see the following example: Here is an example of the lot codes on the packaging: USE BY 11 FEB 12 1 LOT 1362 W

The following milk allergy alert is from the FDA on December 15, 2011.

Ohio Processors, Inc., London, OH announced a voluntarily recall on Instantwhip B/C Topping because the product contains an undeclared milk ingredient (sodium caseinate). The product in question is Instantwhip B/C Topping packaged in ½ gallon containers only, and include codes 060, 080, 124, 143, 145, 167, 179, 188, 193, 244, 256, 300, 313, and expiration codes 12/16/11, 12/21/11, 12/28/11, 12/30/11, 1/7/12, 1/12/12. Instantwhip B/C Topping is not packaged for retail distribution and the affected products were sold to Instantwhip foodservice distributors in OH, MD, NY, IN, PA and MI. The recall was initiated after it was discovered that a supplier had provided the wrong packaging.
Ohio Processors, Inc. has already notified all of its distributors and customers who received the products in question by telephone and in writing regarding the recall. Customers with questions or concerns about the recall may contact Ohio Processors, Inc. at (877) 488-0816 between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET.

The following kashrus alert is from the OU on December 15, 2011.

Anhui BBCA International Co., Ltd - CHINA - Forged Certificate:
An LOC came to to the OU's attention that claimed OU certification for Anhui BBCA International Co., Ltd, a non-OU company, from January 2009 through December 2012 - an unusually long time. This company is not OU-certified and the LOC is apparently forged.

The following kashrus alert is from the Kashrut LeMehadrin KMBE of Madrin, Spain on December 12, 2011.

"OLEYA Foods" from Spain has forged a Kosher certificate from a Spanish Rabbi, and dated it June 30th, 2011. It has used the fake certificate to sell various food products to clients in Canada and the USA, including products containing vinegar. Anyone receiving merchandise with such a certificate should reject it.
Also, please be advised that "OLEYA Foods" is not a factory, but rather a company that buys merchandise from various suppliers for resale, and that each supplier must provide its own Kosher certificate.

The following kashrus alert is from the OU on December 2, 2011.

Pfeil & Holing Products: Company: Issue: Mislabeled A limited quantity of the following Pfeil & Holing, CakeDeco.com industrial bakery product were mistakenly labeled with a plain OU symbol:

• Sixlets Pearl Bright Pink
• Sixlets Navy Blue

The following health alert is from the FDA on November 25, 2011.

Ocean Spray today announced it has taken the precautionary measure of voluntarily recalling certain production lots of its Original Flavor Craisins® Dried Cranberries product in 5-ounce, 10-ounce and 48-ounce packages as well as bulk sweetened dried cranberries in 10-pound packages due to the possible presence of very small hair-like metal fragments that are unlikely to cause consumer injury.

To date, the company has not received any reports of consumer complaints relating to this recall. No injuries or adverse effects have been reported regarding these products to date. Ocean Spray issued the voluntary recall out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of our consumers.

No other Ocean Spray brand products are affected.

The following Ocean Spray Original Flavor Craisins® Dried Cranberries are part of this recall:
 

• 5 oz Craisins® UPC: 00293-000
  1. Best By Dates (ONLY THESE DATES FOLLOWED BY THE LETTER “M” ARE AFFECTED):
     1. Oct 27 2012 M
• 10 oz Craisins® UPC: 29456-000 and 29464-000 
  1. Best By Dates (ONLY THESE DATES FOLLOWED BY THE LETTER “M” ARE AFFECTED):
     1. Oct 27 2012 M
     2. Oct 28 2012 M
     3. Oct 29 2012 M
• 48 oz Craisins® UPC: 00678-318
  1. Best By Dates (ONLY THESE DATES FOLLOWED BY THE LETTER “M” ARE AFFECTED):
     1. Oct 27 2012 M
     2. Oct 28 2012 M
     3. Nov 3 2012 M
     4. Nov 4 2012 M
     5. Nov 5 2012 M
     6. Nov 6 2012 M
     7. Nov 7 2012 M
     8. Nov 10 2012 M
     9. Nov 11 2012 M
• 10 lb bulk ingredient & foodservice UPC: 03477-000
  1. Best By Dates (ONLY THESE DATES FOLLOWED BY THE LETTER “M” ARE AFFECTED):
     1. 30 Oct 2013 M
     2. 31 Oct 2013 M
     3. 1 Nov 2013 M
     4. 5 Nov 2013 M

Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are urged to destroy the product, save the UPC label and best by date and contact the Ocean Spray Consumer Hotline at 1-800-662-3263 for a coupon replacement.

The following kashrus alert is from the Star-K on November 23, 2011.

FENCHEM BIOTEK Ltd., is not certified by Star-K. Any documentation to the contrary is forged. Corrective measures are being taken.
The forged certification letters were for Triacetin and Ascorbyl Palmitate.

The following kashrus alert is from the Star-K on November 23, 2011.

WMB NUTRITIONAL CORPORATION, is not certified by Star-K. Any documentation to the contrary is forged. Corrective measures are being taken.

The following kashrus alert is from the OU on November 18, 2011.

The following health alert is from the FDA on November 4, 2011.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat Turkish pine nuts distributed by Sunrise Commodities, based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, after FDA tests confirmed the presence of Salmonella on the product. FDA is collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and State public health and agriculture officials to investigate a multistate outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections. To date, the CDC reports there are at least 42 illnesses associated with the outbreak in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. As part of FDA's investigation, the Agency collected samples of Turkish pine nuts from a warehouse used by Sunrise Commodities. Additional testing is underway on FDA’s Salmonella positive samples of pine nuts to determine if the Salmonella detected matches the outbreak strain. FDA's State partners also collected samples of pine nuts distributed by Sunrise Commodities; some of those samples tested positive for Salmonella and matched the outbreak strain. Sunrise Commodities has voluntarily recalled four lots of the implicated product, totaling more than 21,000 pounds of pine nuts. Each lot was packed in 22-pound boxes and included the markings:

• Warehouse Lot 27963 with the identifying code “PO#: 50165”
• Warehouse Lot 29628 with the identifying code “PO#: 50558”
• Warehouse Lot 27713 with the identifying code “PO#: 49595”
• Warehouse Lot 27427 with the identifying code “PO#: 50032”