Tag Archives: National

Hale and Hearty Soups, LLC Recalls Ready-To-Eat Chicken Chili Soup Due To Possible Listeria Contamination

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WASHINGTON — Hale and Hearty Soups, LLC, a Brooklyn, N.Y. establishment, is recalling approximately 455 pounds of ready-to-eat chicken chili soup product that may be adulterated with Listeria monocytogenes, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today.

The ready-to-eat chicken chili soup product was produced and packaged on Nov. 9, 2016. The following products are subject to recall:
113-2016-label

6.9-lb. bags containing “CHICKEN CHILI SOUP” with an “Expires:12/09” date.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “P-34800” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to food service distributors in Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Vermont.

The problem was discovered during routine FSIS verification testing. There have been no confirmed reports of illness or adverse health effects due to consumption of the products subject to this recall.

Consumption of food contaminated with L. monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, a serious infection that primarily affects older adults, persons with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women and their newborns. Less commonly, persons outside these risk groups are affected.

Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. An invasive infection spreads beyond the gastrointestinal tract. In pregnant women, the infection can cause miscarriages, stillbirths, premature delivery or life-threatening infection of the newborn. In addition, serious and sometimes fatal infections can occur in older adults and persons with weakened immune systems. Listeriosis is treated with antibiotics. Persons in the higher-risk categories who experience flu-like symptoms within two months after eating contaminated food should seek medical care and tell the health care provider about eating the contaminated food.

FSIS and the company are concerned that some of this recalled product may be in food service distribution refrigerators.

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

H.J. Heinz Co. Recalls Products Incorrectly Labelled As Pork Gravy Due To Misbranding and Undeclared Allergens

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gravy111-2016-labels-1WASHINGTON— H.J. Heinz Co., a Muscatine, Iowa, establishment, initiated a recall on Nov. 19, 2016, of approximately 5,022 pounds of bistro au jus gravy product that is incorrectly labeled as pork gravy due to misbranding and undeclared allergens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The au jus gravy product contains milk and soy, known allergens, which are not declared on the incorrect labeling for pork gravy.

The au jus gravy labeled incorrectly as pork gravy was produced on June 4, 2016. The following products are subject to recall:

558 cases containing 12 – 12-oz. jars (per case) of “HEINZ HOMESTYLE BISTRO AU JUS GRAVY” that is mislabeled with Homestyle Pork Gravy labels with “Best By 12/28/2017 MU6F04” on the jar cap and “Case Best By 12/28/17 MU6F04” on the cases.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number “M2041” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to a distributor and to retail locations nationwide.

The problem was discovered by the company on Nov. 17, 2016, after they were notified by a customer that a jar labeled as “Heinz Homestyle Pork Gravy” looked darker than expected. The company determined the mislabeling incident occurred on June 4, 2016, when a box of labels for the company’s “Heinz Homestyle Pork Gravy” product was brought to the processing line and used during the production and packaging of the au jus gravy. When the company initiated the recall, they contacted all of their customers that may have received the mislabeled gravy product (including more than 1,000 retail stores) informing them to remove the products from their store shelves. The company also provided a press release about the incident and initiation of a voluntary recall of incorrectly labelled products to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). FSIS was notified of the issue by a FDA representative on Nov. 21, 2016 and, out an abundance of caution, FSIS is issuing its own press release.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider.

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

The Popcorn Shoppe Issues Allergy Alert on three products

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The Popcorn Shoppe in Tiffin, Ohio is voluntarily recalling its Olde Tyme Recipe Popcorn Balls, Edwards Orchard Popcorn Balls and Edwards Orchard West Popcorn Balls (4 individually wrapped 5oz. popcorn balls in a clear plastic bag) due to an undeclared milk and soy allergen. This recall has been initiated due to the ingredient label not stating the milk and soy allergen. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk and soy run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume this product. Individuals exhibiting signs or symptoms of food bourne illness or allergies should contact a physician immediately.

Products were available for sale at retail locations in Illinois and Ohio. An Ohio Department of Agriculture inspector discovered the mislabeling issue during a routine visit. There have been no reports of illness to date involving products addressed in this recall.

Customers with a milk and/or soy allergies or sensitivity who have purchased the affected product should dispose of it or return it to The Popcorn Shoppe for a replacement. Consumers with questions regarding this recall can contact Melissa Molyet at (567) 207-5432 Monday – Friday 9:00 am. – 5:00 pm. EST.ucm529506ucm529507ucm529510

Naval Academy Students Planning CubeSat with HF Uplink

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usna-logo1ARRL News — Students at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, are planning an Amateur Radio CubeSat — dubbed HFSAT — that would carry an HF transponder as a primary payload as well as 2-meter APRS as a secondary mission when power is available. The 1.5 U CubeSat will have a linear uplink at 21.4 MHz and a downlink at 29.42 MHz.

“HFSAT is a small 1.5 U CubeSat that will demonstrate the viability of HF satellite communications as a back-up communication system using existing ubiquitous HF radios that are often a part of every amateur station,” said USNA Instructor Bob Bruninga, WB4APR, who developed APRS. Bruninga said HFSAT would be similar to the 1990s-era RS-12/13 Russian Amateur Radio satellite.

Bob Bruninga WB4APR

Bob Bruninga WB4APR

“HFSAT will continue the long tradition of small amateur satellites designed by students and hams at the US Naval Academy,” Bruninga told ARRL. The uplink will be at 21.4 MHz and downlink at 29.42 MHz, similar to [earlier] Mode K HF satellites. No launch has yet been identified.” Bruninga said HFSAT would be gravity gradient-stabilized by its full-sized, 10-meter, thin-wire, half-wave dipole.

Other unique features of HFSAT include its APRS telemetry command-and-control capability. “For VHF the students have modified a popular Byonics.com MTT4B all-in-one APRS Tiny-Track4 module for telemetry, command, and control to fit on a single 3.4-inch square card inside the CubeSat, that they will use for this and for future CubeSats,” Bruninga said. The students are working with Bill Ress, N6GHZ, on the HF transponder card, which will provide a bandwidth of 30 kHz, employing an inverting transponder to minimize Doppler. Todd Bruner, WB1HAI, will be the HFSAT control operator.

Bruninga said the HF transponder is a follow-on from the USNA’s existing PSAT 10-meter PSK31 transponder, still operational. HFSAT‘s telemetry downlink will be captured via stations in the worldwide ground-station network. The packet link is a secondary mission compared to the HF transponder on this spacecraft.

Once HFSAT is in space, Bruninga recommended using a vertical HF antenna, because it would match well with the antenna patterns and geometry of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. “When low on the horizon, both the satellite and the user antennas are in their main lobes, providing maximum gain at the distant horizons,” Bruninga said. “At the higher elevations, the satellite is 6 dB to 10 dB closer, significantly making up for the reduced antenna pattern geometry.”

He said hams would be able to use “simple, manual” pass-prediction tools, much as they used the old Oscar Locator in the early years of Amateur Radio satellites.

Forest Service Hiring for 2017 Temporary Positions

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ALBUQUERQUE NM — The Forest Service is gearing up for another round of temporary hiring. From November 08 – November 14, 2016, the agency will be accepting applications for over 1,000 temporary spring and summer jobs in New Mexico and Arizona. Positions are available in multiple fields, including fire, recreation, natural resources, timber, engineering, visitor services, and archaeology.

Applications must be submitted on www.USAJOBS.gov from November 08 – November 14, 2016. Interested applicants are encouraged to create a profile on USAJOBS in advance to save time once the hiring process begins.

Forest Service representatives will notify selected applicants by email or phone. Applicants not selected will be notified by e-mail. More information about temporary employment in the Forest Service’s Southwestern Region can be found at: R3 Jobs Outreach.

The Southwestern Region consists of 11 National Forests in Arizona and New Mexico; and national grasslands in New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Working in the Southwestern Region is very rewarding and requires talented people working safely as part of a team in a variety of specialized positions; including Archeology, Range, Timber, Recreation, Engineering, Wildlife, Administration and Fire and Aviation Management. To learn more about the U.S. Forest Service in the Southwestern Region National Forests, please visit http://www.fs.usda.gov/main/r3/home.

The Forest Service is an equal opportunity employer. The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations.

Grand Canyon hosts Native American celebration and waives fees on Veterans Day

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640-grand-canyon-veterans-1GRAND CANYON — On Wednesday, November 9, Grand Canyon National Park will host a Native American Indian Heritage Celebration with special presentations and demonstrations. Grand Canyon visitors and residents are invited to participate in this special day to recognize and celebrate the many accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices made by First Americans.

From 10 am to 3 pm at Shrine of the Ages, visitors can see cultural demonstrations and buy direct from artists. The celebration continues at 7:30 pm at Shrine of the Ages with presentation of colors by the Cameron Veterans Color Guard, a traditional Hopi prayer, the Dupkia Hopi Dancers, the Dishchii’bikoh Apache Crown Dancers, and the Havasupai Guardians of the Grand Canyon Ram Dancers. To end the evening, enjoy Dine Nation’s Milton Tso playing traditional flute music. All Native American Indian Heritage celebration events are free and open to the public.

Later in the week, and in honor of those that serve and have served in the United States military, Grand Canyon National Park will offer everyone free entrance on Veterans Day Friday, November 11.

Fee-free designation applies to entrance fees only and does not affect fees for camping, reservations, tours, or use of concessions. Park entrance stations will have the Interagency Senior and Annual passes available for those who wish to purchase them. Visitors who plan to spend time in the park beyond November 11 will need to pay the regular entrance fee the remainder of their stay.

This is the last fee-free day of 2016. Fee-free days for 2017 have not been announced yet. Once those dates are announced, they will be posted here: http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm.

FCC Requesting Public Comments on amateur vanity call signs

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ARLB039 Rule Making Petition to FCC Calls for Vanity Call Sign Rule Changes

The FCC is inviting comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM-11775) from a Nevada radio amateur that seeks changes to the rules governing the Amateur Radio Vanity Call Sign Program. Christopher LaRue, W4ADL, of North Las Vegas, is proposing that any licensee obtaining a vanity call sign be required to keep it for the full license term. LaRue contends in his petition that excessive and frequent vanity call sign filings are hampering the ability of other qualified licensees to obtain vanity call signs in one of the more desirable 1 x 2 or 2 x 1 formats. LaRue said that since the FCC dropped the fee to file for a vanity call sign, some applicants are taking advantage by regularly obtaining new call signs, thereby keeping them out of circulation.

The petition can be found on the web in PDF format at, https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/1004220986407/Petition%20.pdf.

“Some are changing call signs almost monthly, just to keep the newer code-free Extra class operators from obtaining a shorter call sign,” he said in his petition. “I even saw an older operator that said he does it all the time and has not even owned a radio in over 6 years. When I looked him up, he has had 16 different [call signs] in 18 months.”

LaRue said his proposed minor rule change would require any licensee applying for and obtaining an Amateur Radio vanity call sign “be required to keep it for the duration of the license, which is currently 10 years.”

He said this would “alleviate a lot of the stress on the ULS system and manpower requirements” at the FCC. “It will also keep inactive amateurs from changing call signs regularly, thereby tying up call signs for 2 years after dismissal of said call.”

Interested parties may comment using the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) at, https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Comments are due within 30 days of the October 26 posting date.

Nutrisystem Retail Division Voluntarily Recalls One Product Containing Chocolate Cookie Dough Pieces

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nutrisystem-1Fort Washington, PA – Nutrisystem Everyday, LLC, the retail division of Nutrisystem, Inc., is voluntarily recalling the Nutricrush Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough bar, manufactured by Noble Foods, Inc. This bar contains a chocolate chip cookie dough ingredient supplied by a third party supplier, which advised that its ingredient might potentially contain Listeria monocytogenes.

The product had very limited distribution of 1 lot/455 cases to ShopRite and Hannaford stores in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, and online through Amazon.com and Walmart.com. No other code dates of this product or other Nutrisystem® products in retail are affected. No Nutrisystem ‘direct to consumer’ product is impacted in any way.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

This voluntary recall covers the Nutrisystem Nutricrush Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bar. The bar was sold as a 5-count carton. The product can be identified by the UPC 6 32674 85579 4, Enjoy by Aug 22 2017 and Lot Code NF082216A. All code information is found on the back panel of the carton.

Nutrisystem is initiating this recall out of an abundance of caution. This recall is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Consumers should not eat the recalled product. Consumers may discard the product or return it to the ShopRite or Hannaford from where it was purchased for a full refund. Twenty-four customers of Amazon.com and Walmart.com have already been identified, instructed to discard the product, and will be issued a refund. No illnesses have been reported.

We continue to work closely with regulatory agencies, and remain committed to ensuring we are providing safe products for our consumers to enjoy. Consumers seeking information may call toll-free 1-866-293-8118, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., and 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, Eastern Daylight Time.

Members of the news media requiring more information should contact Robin McConnell Shallow at 215-346-8068 or via email at rshallow@nutrisystem.com.

Nestlé USA Initiates Voluntary Recall Of Nestlé® Drumstick® Club 16 Count Variety and 24 Count Vanilla Pack

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ucm524635Glendale, CA — Nestlé USA, Inc. is initiating a voluntary recall of its Nestlé Drumstick Club 16 count Variety Pack and 24 count Vanilla Pack (with cones marked for easy individual sale) due to a possible health risk. The two pack sizes contain 4.6 fl.oz. cones and were manufactured in Bakersfield, Calif. and distributed nationally. No other production codes, sizes or varieties of Nestlé Drumstick products are affected by this recall.

The company received positive test results for Listeria monocytogenes (LM) from equipment contact surfaces from a location on the production line where these products are made. There have been no positive test results for LM present in the Drumstick cones themselves. The products impacted by the voluntary recall were put into distribution inadvertently. No illnesses have been reported to date; the company is initiating this recall as a precautionary action to avoid any potential for consumer illness.

Listeria monocytogenes can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

The Nestlé recall is limited to the Drumstick Club 16 Count Variety Pack and 24 count Vanilla Pack, made at the company’s Bakersfield, Calif. ice cream production facility. The product identification codes can be found on the back of the packages and on the individually marked vanilla cones from the 24 count pack. The two packs being recalled carry distinct UPC codes, as well as a “best before” date and production code.

Description

Production Code

UPC

Best Before Date

DSTK Club CP 16×4.6floz US

 6244580212 72554-11096

Between June 2 – June 15, 2017
6245580212
6246580212
6247580212
6248580212
6249580212
6250580212
6251580212
6252580212
6253580212
6254580212
6255580212
6256580212
6257580212

DSTK Vanilla 24×4.6floz US

 6258580212

72554-00160

Between June 16 – June 19, 2017
6259580212
6260580212
6261580212

Consumers who may have purchased the product listed above should not consume it, but instead should return it to the place of purchase or contact Nestlé Consumer Services for replacement. Please call or text 1-800-681-1676 or email Nestleproductinquiry@casupport.com; representatives are available 24/7. News about this recall also can be found on Nestléusa.com and Drumstick.com.

The quality and safety of Nestlé products remain our number one priority. We apologize for any inconvenience this action represents for both our consumers and retail customers.

Blue Bunny Hoppin’ Hollidoodle Ice Cream Voluntary Recall

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bluebunny524818Le Mars, Iowa — Wells Enterprises, Inc. is voluntarily recalling two lots of Blue Bunny Hoppin’ Holidoodle ice cream sold at retail outlets, because they contain snickerdoodle cookie dough pieces recalled by the supplier, Aspen Hills, due to potential contamination with Listeria monocytogenes. Wells has received no reports of illness attributable to this product.

Only Hoppin’ Holidoodle ice cream with the following lot numbers and best if used by dates are included in this recall. The recalled product is a seasonal holiday flavor with very limited geographic distribution in six states. Consumers should check the side of their ice cream packages to check for the following lot numbers and best if used by dates:

Product Name Size UPC, Lot #, Best Used by Date States Distributed
Blue Bunny Hoppin’
Holidoodle
Ice Cream		 46 fluid ounces  UPC 070640014644
LOT 60001 MM 19115 6228
BEST IF USED BY 02/13/18
UPC 070640014651
(High altitude)
LOT 60001 MM 19115 6229
BEST IF USED BY 02/14/18		 NE, OK, KS, MO, AZ,TX

No other Blue Bunny product is included in this recall.

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, Listeria monocytogenes infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women.

Consumers with product matching lot numbers and best if used by dates should return the products to the retail outlets where purchased for a full refund. Anyone requiring more information should telephone Wells Enterprises, Inc. consumer affairs at 1-800-331-0830.