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Listeria Warning for Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread

May 13, 2008 | Parker Waichman Alonso LLP

The Georgia Department of Agriculture food scientists have discovered Listeria monocytogenes in a sample of Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread, according to Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin. The Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread is manufactured by Bright Water Seafoods, LLC, of Charlotte, North Carolina 28217.  The Bright Water Smoked Salmon & Cheese Spread contamination was found in a seven-ounce package marked BEST BY 060608; UPC code 1971100073.

According to Commissioner Irvin, “We have notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of today’s lab findings and we are warning the public about the contamination.”  Irvin added, “We discovered this contamination as part of our sampling program.  Sampling on a regular basis with a scientific protocol is a very important part of our food safety program.”

Also this week, in an unrelated contamination, R&R Alsatian Sausage and Products recalled its beef jerky products that were sold in bulk quantities at its Castroville location on April 25 and later.  The recall was initiated due to possible contamination with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, according to the Department of State Health Services in Texas.

Laboratory testing of the product conducted as part of a routine health services inspection detected Listeria monocytogenes in samples of the beef jerky.  Packages contain the product name and company name.

Listeriosis is a type of food poisoning generated by the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria and is dangerous to the elderly, pregnant women, newborns, those with chronic medical conditions, people with HIV, or those who are undergoing chemotherapy.  Most experience only mild flu like symptoms—fever, muscle aches, nausea, or diarrhea.  In serious cases, the disease spreads to the nervous system, causing headaches, stiff neck, and convulsions.  In pregnant women, Listeriosis can result in miscarriage or stillbirth.  Listeria lives in soil, stream water, sewage, plants, and food and can easily contaminate dairy and beef products; listeria thrives in cold environments.

This year, listeria has been the focus of a number of outbreaks, including three cases in North Carolina linked to soft cheeses and an outbreak at Massachusetts’ Whittier Farms dairy where four people died and more were sickened.  In Washington, the Ca Rem #1 Ice Cream, SeaTac recalled coconut-flavored popsicles for listeria contamination; the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) alerted the public to avoid consuming smoked pork and beef bratwurst produced by J&B Meats; Meijer Inc. of Grand Rapids, Michigan, pulled 2,184 pounds of frozen entrees for possible contamination; and Stop and Shop recalled four types of prepared chicken.  Raw milk from Piney Ridge dairy farm and Clark and Elaine Duncan's farm was contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes in Pennsylvania.  Recently, the Rhode Island Department of Health issued a warning about soy sprouts infected with listeria that were sold under the Chang Farms label.  Last week, in a second such move, Gourmet Boutique of Queens, New York recalled about 286,000 pounds of fresh and frozen beef, pork, and poultry products that may be contaminated with listeria, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) said.