Bravo Farms Recalls Cheese in Five States

• Date: December 01, 2010
• Source: Admin

Evidence of Listeria and E. coli contamination at its plant has prompted Bravo Farms of Traver, California, to recall its products. This was announced by Whole Foods Market to whom Bravo supplies the products.  Whole Foods Market sells the products in its stores in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.  These are part of the recall since they were cut and packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with a Distributed by Whole Foods Market sticker.  Signage posted in Whole Foods Market stores conveys the recall to the customers.  Till date no cases of illness have been reported, though.

The products included in the recall are:

• Sage Cheddar
• Silver Mountain Cheddar
• Chipotle Cheddar
• Premium Block Cheddar
• Premium White Chunk Cheddar
• Chipotle Chunk Cheddar
• White Black Wax Cheddar

Consumers who have bought any of the listed products from Whole Foods Market may return them and claim a full refund. 

E. coli O157:H7 gives rise to diarrhea illness, often accompanied by bloody stools. A form of kidney failure can occur in some cases, but most adults recover completely within a week. Young Children and the elderly are more prone to serious complications, leading to even death.

Listeria

Listeriosis is a condition that can be caused by Listeria. It can affect at-risk people like pregnant women, newborns, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include fever, muscle aches, and sometimes nausea or diarrhea. Symptoms like headache and stiff neck can occur when the infection spreads to the nervous system. Infected pregnant women may experience only a mild flu-like illness.  But infections during pregnancy can result in more serious problems for the fetus.  Immediate medical care should be sought once these symptoms surface. 

Odwalla’s violation of health and safety codes

Violation of health and safety codes can lead to criminal liability. On October 31, 1996 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Odwalla would recall its juice products which contained unpasteurized apple juice. The recall resulted from 13 reported cases of E. coli O157:H7 illness which the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health linked to the unpasteurized apple juice.

During the investigation, a genetically indistinguishable strain of E. coli O157:H7 that had been isolated from case-patients was found in a bottle of un-pasteurized Odwalla apple juice.  Further investigation by federal and state agencies was unable to pinpoint the exact source of the E. coli bacteria at Odwalla’s Dinuba, California plant.  But FDA investigators detected numerous violations of health and safety codes at the manufacturing plant, including lack of proper sanitizing procedures and poor employee hygiene.  The plant accepted decayed fruit from suppliers – all clear violations of health and safety codes.  The outbreak left one child dead and over 65 people infected.  It spurred the government to require that all unpasteurized fruit and vegetable juice containers carry a warning label.  In 1998, Odwalla was indicted and held criminally liable.  The company agreed to pay a fine of USD 1.5 million. 

Source:

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm234903.htm

http://www.billmarler.com/key_case/odwalla-e-coli-outbreak/