US-UPI-365-brand chocolate bars are recalled

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 (UPI) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced the recall of 365-brand Swiss milk chocolate bars due to a labeling error.

Whole Foods Market Inc. of Austin, Texas, initiated the recall of 3-ounce bars of 365 Organic Everyday Value Swiss Milk Chocolate Bars with Rice Crisps with a Best If Used By date “11/21/07″ because the product might contain undeclared hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans, posing a risk for people allergic to nuts.

The product was sold at Whole Foods Market stores in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Texas and Wisconsin. The recalled bars were sold in blue and white wrappers with a picture of chocolate pieces and the Swiss countryside on the front.

Consumers with questions can contact the company at 512-542-0020.

Canada-Environmental News Network-Canada to crack down on unsafe toys, food, drugs

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Reacting to a recent series of toy, food and drug recalls, the Canadian government pledged tighter regulations on Monday to try to prevent such problems in the future. “As we head into the holidays, there’s growing concern about the safety of the products on the market, and for good reason,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a news conference at a Salvation Army toy depot.

“We’ve all seen the stories in the news — lead-tainted children’s jewelry, tainted toothpaste, toxic toys — and even worse are some incidents involving food and drugs,” he said, mentioning contaminated California spinach and Merck & Co’s worldwide recall of the painkiller Vioxx….more…

US-Eureka Alert-Poultry workers at increased risk of carrying antibiotic-resistant E. coli

Poultry workers in the United States are 32 times more likely to carry E. coli bacteria resistant to the commonly used antibiotic, gentamicin, than others outside the poultry industry, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. While drug-resistant bacteria, such as E. coli, are common in the industrial broiler chicken environment, this is the first U.S. research to show exposure occurring at a high level among industrial poultry workers. The results are published in the December, 2007, edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.

“The use of antimicrobials in industrial food production has been going on for over 50 years in the United States,” said the study’s lead author, Lance B. Price, who serves on the research faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, and is a scientific advisor to the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. “Some estimates indicate that well over half of the antimicrobial drugs produced in the United States are used in food animal production. In the U.S. alone, over nine billion food animals are produced annually.”

The study was conducted with poultry workers and community residents in the eastern shore regions of Maryland and Virginia, and it confirms similar studies in Europe showing that poultry farmers and workers are at risk of exposure to drug resistant E. coli bacteria. The Maryland and Virginia regions on the Delmarva Peninsula are among the top broiler chicken producing regions in the U.S., producing more than 600 million chickens annually….more…

US-Meatingplace.com-Exclusive: Survey suggests fraying consumer confidence in meat safety

An exclusive survey conducted by Meatingplace and its sister publication POULTRY

Although the majority of consumers remain confident in the overall safety of the U.S. meat supply, 34 percent said they are less confident than they were five years ago.

One of primary drivers: the media’s relentless coverage of recalls had triggered “a general distrust of food safety in America,” said Irving Rein, a communications studies professor at Northwestern University.

Only 35 percent of consumers surveyed agree that the U.S. government is doing everything it can to ensure meat product safety.

Consumers were conflicted in assessing processors’ efforts. Nearly 40 percent of them strongly or somewhat agree that meat processors are doing everything possible to safeguard their products. But, roughly the same number indicated that the industry is not doing enough.

What’s more, 36 percent of consumers said they worry about serving fresh ground beef or hamburgers to their families due to concerns about E. coli contamination.

The majority, however, indicated that such concern has yet to impact purchase habits or even intent….more… revealed consumers are beginning to question the safety of the U.S. meat supply.