Current Recalls and Alerts - Research Paper Example

Recalls and Alerts Summary of Recalled Items On March, 26 the Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS) issued a public health alert, on the processed egg products that were proven as not fit for consumption by people. The egg products were processed by Nutriom LLC. Nutriom LLC thus recalled the processed egg products delivered to the public, except for the egg products purchased by the military that were proven as safe. An estimated 226,710 pounds of the product was declared unfit for consumption due to Salmonella contamination.

The FSIS also provided a health alert on January 16 2014 on the chicken products from the Three Foster Farms. The public health alert is due to infectious outbreak from the seven Salmonella strains. The FSIS illustrates that the illness due to Salmonella Heidelberg strains are related to the raw chicken products of Foster Farms in the three California facilities. The products were majorly distributed to the Washington, California and Oregon state outlets. The alert has been issued due to the approximately 278 illnesses identified in the 18 states with a huge concentration in California.

Facts of the Recalls There are several key facts and also similarity in the two recall scenarios. In both cases, the public health alerts were issued by the United States Department of Agriculture, through the Food Safety and Inspection Services (FSIS). The agency is responsible for ensuring that all food products distributed in the United States are fit for consumption. There is a common factor in the outbreak of the health hazard. The common cause is the Salmonella strain outbreak. Nutrion LLC was uncooperative in efforts to ensure healthy egg products.

The business allegedly illustrated forged the laboratory results to illustrate a negative lab test for Salmonella. The company also explained that sampling took place; however, it was proven that no microbial test took place. Foster Farms was linked to the Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak through the epidemiologic and laboratory analysis done by the state and the federal staffs.Policy or Regulation The FSIS policy is not too restrictive on the processed egg products produced by Nutriom LLC and the chicken products from the Three Foster farms.

This is because it is the sole responsibility of the agency to safeguard public health in the entire United States. Thus, the restrictions in the food processing sector should be adequate to ensure strict compliance of public health standards. The agency should engage in periodic monitoring and inspection activities on all food processing plants, to minimize the outbreak of health infections like Salmonella. Company Websites The recalls are adequately illustrated in public health websites. The Nutriom LLC recalled the contaminated egg products as illustrated in www.nutriom.com.

Thus the business organization accepted the health recall as initiated by the FSIS. The recall was important to ensure public safety, and earn back the trust of the consumers. The Three Foster Farms and the FSIS continuously partner in ensuring that health and safety of the processed products are not compromised, as explained in fosterfarms.com. Eating food that has Salmonella contamination results into salmonellosis, which is a common bacterial illness. The infections may also be life threatening to individuals with poor immunity, like the elderly and infants.

Referenceshttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/recalls-and-public-health-alerts/recall-case-archive/archive/2014/recall-015-2014-releasehttp://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/newsroom/news-releases-statements-transcripts/news-release-archives-by-year/archive/2013/QA-101613http://store.bcltechnologies.com/productcart/pc/instPrd.asp?idproduct=1