An “urgent” product recall issued Thursday and encouraging “immediate action” to remove breaded trout from commerce because it contains General Mills flour linked to an E. coli outbreak was still not available on the Food and Drug Administration website Monday afternoon.
Clear Springs Foods Inc. of Buhl, ID, sent the recall notice to purchasing officers and distributors Oct. 6, describing it as an “FDA recall for ingredient with E. coli 0121.” The most recent information from FDA related to the E. coli outbreak traced to General Mills flour was posted Sept. 29.
“This notification is to inform you of a product recall requiring isolation of product — Clear Springs Foods, Sun-Dried Tomato & Roasted Garlic Trout — and notification to Clear Springs Foods of remaining inventory of the item,” the recall states.
“A breading ingredient supplied to Clear Springs Foods by a supplier, Newly Weds Foods, was made with wheat flour from their supplier with the potential presence of E. coli 0121 bacteria.”
A spokeswoman for Clear Springs Foods said Monday that the trout recall is related to the General Mills flour recall. Newly Weds Foods officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In a series of three recalls, General Mills recalled more than 45 million tons of flour earlier this year after federal officials found laboratory evidence linking it to a 24 state outbreak that had sickened 63 people as of Sept. 5.
Distribution details for the Clear Springs Foods Sun-Dried Tomato & Roasted Garlic Trout product were not provided in the recall notice.
However, St. Louis-based regional retailer Schnucks alerted its customers about the recall, providing specific details.
“Schnucks customers who purchased any Sun-Dried Tomato & Roasted Garlic Trout filets between May 27 and Oct. 6 from the store’s seafood department should return any unused portions to their nearest store for a full refund,” according to the Schnucks notice. “Customers with questions may contact the Schnucks Consumer Affairs department at 314-994-4400 or 800-264-4400.”
Clear Springs Foods officials said in their recall notice that they were not aware of any illnesses related to the company’s trout. There is some concern that consumers may have the recalled fish in their home refrigerators or freezers.
Consumers can identify the recalled trout by the UPC number 10 070765 08761 2 and the lot number and date SP-08761:317 Packedon04/20/16
“The code is defined: the first two letters are the facility the product was processed at, the next five digits stand for the item number, the sixth digit is the day of the week, and the last two digits are the week of the year,” according to the Clear Springs Foods notice.
“This recall shall be conducted to the retail level. It is important that all product be isolated and stored in such a manner as to assure its separation from acceptable product so it will not inadvertently be used or shipped.
“As of Oct. 6, all future shipments originating at Clear Springs Foods Inc. Buhl, Idaho, or shipments originating from any of our forwarding warehouse will not have used this breading system.”
Any who has eaten the recalled Clear Springs Foods trout and developed symptoms of e. coli infection should seek medical attention and tell their doctors about the possible exposure to E. coli.
Symptoms of infection usually begin between two and eight days after eating or drinking something contaminated with the bacteria. Most people develop diarrhea, which is often bloody, and abdominal cramps, recovering within a week. Although most strains of E. coli are harmless, E. coli 0121 is a potentially deadly bacterium. Seniors, the very young, and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.
For additional details on the E. coli outbreak traced to General Mills flour, please see: “CDC closes flour/E. coli investigation; expects more illnesses”
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