Silva English Bangers recalled for labeling error

English Bangers: Comfort
food for traveling Brits

Any citizen of the United Kingdom and Ireland may certainly be homesick for the delicious pork and veal sausages that they refer to as “bangers.”  The name is thought to be derived from the loud popping sound made when the sausages explode over high heat.  It’s a favorite hearty meat often served with mashed potatoes.  

Silva Sausage Company in Gilroy, California has been making these sausages for years, and distributes them for restaurant and other institutional use in the northern areas of Livermore and Sacramento.

On November 28, 2011, Silva Sausage Company announced a recall of specific batch of the sausages when it was discovered that the label on the product did not list wheat as one of the ingredients. The mistake involved 1,010 pounds of the sausage packed in 10-pound cases.

The mistake was attributed to an error in the new printing process they had recently installed at their factory.  It was detected during a routine factory audit by the Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).  No illness or reactions have been reported, but the recall is being conducted to assure consumer safety.

Institutions that have purchased the Silva Sausage English Brand Bangers should check for the following information on the packaging:

• USDA Inspection seal marked EST 6086
• Item #10326
• Lot Codes: 112271, 112911 or 112980

Contact Silva Vice-President, Rick Martins at (408) 293-5437 for questions and instructions for this recall.

Hong Kong consumers warned of problem with eye drops

The Hong Kong Department of Health (DH) has announced the voluntary recall of one specific batch of eye-drops marketed to reduce redness and irritation. The drops, known as Eye Mo 36 Eye Drops 0.05%, are manufactured in Indonesia by PT Sterling Products Indonesia and distributed in Hong Kong by the drug wholesaler, GlaxoSmithKline Ltd.  

Hard boric acid crystal deposits have been found on the dispenser’s nozzle. 

The company indicated that it has imported 31,500 of the drops into Hong Kong mostly to local pharmacies, drug stores and medicine companies. Some of the batch was re-exported to Macau.

The recalled batch #X012FA-1 is marked on the product itself. The batch involved in the recall was the only batch shipped via air freight, and it is suspected that there may have been inconsistent temperature control or cabin pressure during transportation that caused the crystallization of the buffering agent in the drops.

No injuries have been reported yet, but the DH is recalling this batch in an abundance of caution.

Hong Kong consumers should not use the product, and can contact the company’s customer service directly at 3189 8765.

UPDATE: Ocean Spray Craisons® recall expanded

UPDATE:  On December 2, 2011, Ocean Spray added five more “Best By” code dates to their voluntary recall of selected batches of Craisins® on November 25, 2011. This update includes a specific number of production batches shown below:

The new batches shown above were only shipped to retailers in eight western states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, and Washington.

See original post below for consumers instructions.

Ocean Spray Craisons® recalled for metal fragment contamination

Nov, 25,2011

Dried cranberries and raisins are popular all-year ‘round, but during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays their popularity gets kicked into high-gear.  Cranberry sauces for the turkey dinner and cranberry muffins or scones for family breakfast festivities. Ocean Spray has long been known as one of the premier makers of packaged dried fruit for healthy snacking and backing. It was Ocean Spray’s idea to combine these two delicious dried fruits into one delectable creation, Craisins®.

The company’s reputation for safe and quality food handling processes ran into some trouble this week, as the company announced a food safety recall of four styles of their packaged dried “Craisons®”  The recall was done in due caution when small, thin metal fragments were discovered to have possibly contaminated specific batches of the packed fruit.

The recall involves five, ten, forty-eight ounce and 10 lb bulk packs of Ocean Spray Original Flavor Craisins® Dried Cranberries. Although no injuries have been reported, and it is unlikely that these hair-like pieces would cause illness or injury, Ocean Spray is taking these voluntary actions to ensure consumer safety.

To check the details on this recall, click the link to the FDA announcement here.  Consumers who purchased one of the batches outlined in the chart below should remove the UPC label, discard the package and contact Ocean Spray via phone at (800) 662-3263 for a replacement product coupon.

Product Name	Best By Dates
5 oz Craisins® UPC: 00293-000	Oct 27 2012  M
10 oz Craisins® UPC: 29456-000 and 29464-000	Oct 27 2012 M  Oct 28 2012 M  Oct 29 2012 M
48 oz Craisins® UPC: 00678-318	Oct  27 2012 M Nov   3 2012 M Nov   4 2012 M Nov   5 2012 M Nov   6 2012 M Nov   7 2012 M Nov 10 2012 M Nov 11 2012 M
10 lb bulk ingredient & foodservice UPC: 03477-000	30 Oct 2013 M 31 Oct 2013 M 1 Nov 2013 M 5 Nov 2013 M