K A S H R U T . C O M_©

December 19, 2024 from CPSC :

Silicone spoons for babies have been recalled because the silicone spoon can break apart while in use, posing a choking hazard to babies.

Consumer Contact: Melii Baby Inc. toll-free at 855-492-4470 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or online at https://meliibaby.com/pages/recall or https://meliibaby.com and click on the “Recall” on the homepage for more information.

Description: This recall involves Melii Baby Silicone Spoons for babies with animal shapes at the handle. They were sold in packs of either three or four and as a five-piece silicone feeding set. The feeding sets were sold in cat, dino, dog, shark and unicorn shapes. The spoons measure about six inches long. The affected spoons have the following date codes: the three-pack 2024-01 and the four-pack have 2023-12 to 2024-05 printed on the back of the spoons. All spoons in all Baby 5-Piece Silicone Feeding Sets are affected by this recall.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled spoons, keep them away from children and contact Melii Baby Inc. to receive a free replacement set. Consumers should take photographs of the spoons, discard the spoons in household waste, and then email the photographs to care@meliibaby.com to receive the free replacement set.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received two reports of the spoon tip breaking. No injuries have been reported.

Sold At: Aldi Grocery Stores and Ross and online at buybuyBaby.com, Amazon.com, Sierra.com, MotherandDaughterCreations.com, Just Between Friends (jbfsale.com), MacroBaby.com, TrendyLilTreats.com, TheBrickKitchenStore.com and AdventureSnacks.com from April 2024 through August 2024 for between $8 and $9.

December 16, 2024 from Food Safety News

"Drinking raw milk — even from a certified dairy — puts you at risk for intestinal foodborne diseases, among them E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria. Not only that, diverting contaminated milk to raw cheese production is not necessarily safe.

"That’s the warning from a team of public health scientists from California and local, state, and and federal partners who investigated a multi-jurisdictional outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium associated with raw (unpasteurized) milk.

"Carried out from Oct. 18, 2023, through May 4, 2024, the investigation, which was in relation to 171 cases with the outbreak, swung a spotlight onto the likely source of the outbreak: Raw Farm’s raw milk. Originally Organic Pastures, Raw Farm is based in Fresno, CA.

"According to the report, as of May 4, 2024, 171 cases — 159 confirmed and 12 probable — were identified from five states: California with 167, New Mexico with 1, Pennsylvania with 1, Texas with 1, and Washington with 1. The California cases were from 35 local health jurisdictions throughout the state.

"wenty states explicitly prohibit raw milk sales within the state where it is produced in some form and 30 allow it in various scenarios, including on-farm sales only. Federal law prohibits the sale of unpasteurized milk across state lines, but individual state laws govern the sale of unpasteurized milk within the state.

"According to the recent report, the majority — 65 percent — of cases occurred in October. Specimen collection dates ranged from Sept. 23, 2023, through March 12, 2024.

"The median age of patients was 7 years, and nearly 40 percent of the patients were younger than 5 years old. Sixty-four percent were male. Twenty-two , or 14 percent, of 162 patients with available information required hospitalization; no deaths were reported.

"Of the patients with information available, 93 percent reported consuming Raw Farm LLC unpasteurized milk.

"And while some people assume that food poisoning isn’t all that serious, a look at some case histories in recent lawsuits filed against Raw Farm reveal that some patients can suffer severe intestinal problems, intense pain for a considerable length of time, and even kidney failure.

December 12, 2024 from CPSC :

Switchback and Trigger Action travel mugs have been recalled because these mug's lid threads can shrink when exposed to heat and torque, causing the lid to detach during use, posing a burn hazard.

Consumer Contact: Toll-free at 866-792-5445 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.Stanley1913TMrecall.expertinquiry.com, or visit www.stanley1913.com and click on the corresponding link to submit a recall claim or obtain more information.

Description: This recall involves all Stanley Switchback and Trigger Action stainless steel travel mugs sold in the United States. The recalled double-walled mugs were sold in a variety of colors including white, black and green, in 12 oz., 16 oz. and 20 oz. sizes with a polypropylene lid. The Stanley logo appears on the front and bottom of the mug. The recalled mugs have one of the following product identification numbers printed on the bottom of the mug.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled travel mugs and contact Stanley to receive a free replacement lid, including shipping.

Incidents/Injuries: Stanley has received 91 reports worldwide, including 16 in the U.S., of the recalled travel mugs’ lids detaching during use, resulting in 38 burn injuries worldwide, including two burn injuries in the U.S., with 11 consumers worldwide requiring medical attention.

Sold At: Amazon.com, Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Target and other stores nationwide and online from June 2016 through December 2024 for between $20 and $50, depending on the model.

December 5, 2024 from Times of Israel:

"Over 250 experts in nutrition, farming, planning and other disciplines from the public, private, academic and civil society sectors gathered online on Sunday for updates on an ambitious plan to create Israel’s first food security program.

"Coordinated by the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry, in partnership with the health, economy and environmental protection ministries, the plan will develop into a draft policy document for ensuring food security through to 2050. It is to be submitted to the government by the end of April.

"However, with a quarter of the Agriculture Ministry’s staff to be slashed this year and next, along with NIS 360 million ($98.6 million) in funds for research and investment, a large question mark hangs over implementation.

"On Monday, ministry officials told a special meeting of the Knesset Economy Committee that the cuts — part of wider government moves to fund the wars against Hamas and Hezbollah — would “paralyze” both the ministry and Israeli agriculture.

"Drying up agricultural R&D budgets constituted a “long-term strategic risk,” they went on, and would “irreversibly harm” Israel’s ability to remain a world leader in agricultural innovation and to continue producing sufficient food.

"Work to develop a food security policy began almost two years ago, at the initiative of the National Security Council’s climate adviser, Victor Weiss. But it was turbocharged by the war against Hamas in Gaza, which exposed the limits of the state’s growing reliance on food imports over recent years.

"In May, Turkey, Israel’s fourth-largest trading partner, halted all exports to Israel, including food staples such as tomatoes. Azerbaijan has been picking up some of the slack, but thanks to timely Agriculture Ministry grants, Israeli farmers stepped up to the plate. In November, they grew around 15,000 tons out of 16,000 tons consumed in Israel.

"The growing dependence on imports without a parallel process to equip Israeli farmers to compete had led to a decline in local production, Lipkin said. He cited the example of garlic imported from China, which has wiped out local garlic production. Cheap at the beginning, imported garlic has since risen in price. Meanwhile, with wars and climate change, countries focused on their own needs first, Lipkin went on. Among other global byproducts, climate change has affected imports and prices, of olive oil, for example.

"Israel’s population is expected to double by 2050, yet many crops are no longer grown locally, and agricultural productivity has not increased for years.

"The food security administration’s self-stated goals include ensuring “the ability to produce local food and the regular supply of healthy and affordable food in the medium and long term, in quantity, quality, variety and physical and economic accessibility, to enable a healthy lifestyle for the entire population in Israel, while promoting local agriculture and food industry and sustainable and climate-adapted food systems.

"The next stage will see the working groups set goals, targets and metrics. Starting in January, the third stage will look at alternative approaches, and from March, the focus will be on formulating an operational implementation plan.

"A second webinar will be held on March 3, with a conference set for April 27 to present the plans to the public in the presence of ministers and ministry directors general."

November 30, 2024 from The Guardian:

"The World Beekeeping Awards will not award a prize for honey next year after warnings of widespread fraud in the global supply chain.

"The decision came as beekeepers and importers face a mounting crisis over the scale of fraud, with warnings that genuine products are bulked out with cheaper sugar syrup. Some common tests to detect fraud can easily be defeated, and beekeepers say there has been a failure by food watchdogs and the industry to combat the fraudsters.

"There was widespread adulteration in cheaper commercial honeys. The fraud can occur at any point of the supply chain, with many importers and retailers unwittingly trading in fake honey.

"An EU investigation published last year found 46% of imported sampled products were suspected to be fraudulent, including all 10 from the UK. Samples used in October by the UK branch of the Honey Authenticity Network for a novel form of DNA testing found that 24 out of 25 jars from big UK retailers were suspicious.

"China is the world’s biggest producer of honey, but experts say it can be fraudulently blended with cheaper sugar syrup. The UK is the world’s biggest importer of Chinese honey, with more than 39,000 tons imported last year."