Wichita, U.S.A. – Cargill Beef, a business unit of Wichita-based Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation, on July 22, 2012 announced an immediate Class I voluntary recall of approximately 29,339 pounds of 85-percent-lean, fresh, ground beef produced at the company’s Wyalusing, Penn., facility on May 25, 2012, due to possible contamination from Salmonella Enteritidis. Cargill is initiating this recall as a result of its own investigation and information provided by federal health and regulatory agencies.

The ground beef involved was repackaged for sale to consumers by Cargill’s customers. For a list of packages associated with this recall, consumers should refer to the USDA recall website.

USDA has confirmed that the strain of Salmonella Enteritidis associated with the ground beef recall is not antibiotic resistant. There are more than 2,400 strains of naturally and randomly occurring Salmonella found throughout nature.

“Food borne illnesses are unfortunate and we are sorry for anyone who became sick from eating ground beef we may have produced,” stated John Keating, Cargill Beef president. “Ensuring our beef products are safe is our highest priority and an investigation is underway to determine the source of Salmonella in the animals we purchased for harvest and any actions necessary to prevent this from recurring.”

USDA food safety guidelines for safely handling and preparing food can be found on the USDA Internet website and serve as helpful food safety reminders. Beneficial ground beef food safety tips include:

• Cook ground beef to an internal temperature of 160° F using a thermometer to confirm;
• Be careful not to cross-contaminate food preparation surfaces or other fresh foods by proper handling, keeping them separated and properly washing cutting boards;
• Properly defrost frozen ground beef in a refrigerator for at least 24 hours before cooking.

Cargill is contacting its customers to make certain they know which of their ground beef products are affected by this recall. Consumers are urged to return any opened or unopened packages of listed ground beef to retailers. Cargill is working closely with its customers to make certain as much of the product is retrieved as possible. Consumers with questions about recalled ground beef products may go to http://www.cargill.com/products/ground-beef-recall.

The article Ground Beef Recalled due to Possible Contamination appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

Cargill’s cocoa & chocolate business – in close cooperation with the Ghana Cocoa Board – is expanding its Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program with the launch of an extensive four year commitment to farmer training in Ghana.

The training will be delivered in partnership with Ghanaian licensed cocoa buying company Akuafo Adamfo and the non-governmental organization Solidaridad West Africa. This program aims to train 15,000 farmers and support cocoa farming communities over the next four years in the Ashanti and Western regions of Ghana.

In Farmer Field Schools, farmers will receive extensive training to help them rejuvenate cocoa farms and apply best agricultural practices related to pest control, harvest and post-harvest practices. The initiative will also cover social issues like raising awareness of HIV and the importance of schooling for children. Crucially the program will help strengthen farmer organizations and encourage knowledge sharing amongst cocoa growers. All training will be in accordance with the UTZ Certified Code of Conduct.

“Helping farmers adopt better farming practices so they can improve the quality and size of their yields is a central part of the Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program,” explained Kojo Amoo-Gottfried, Managing Director of Cargill Ghana. “Over the next four years, these training activities will help Ghanaian cocoa farmers to achieve better results and benefit from achieving UTZ certification.”

The target for the first year is to train 5,000 farmers to become independently certified. By 2016 the program aims to have significantly improved agricultural practices adopted by farmers and farmer organizations. Throughout the program, agricultural extension officers from the Ghana Cocoa Board will receive coaching to act as facilitators in order to provide farmers with guidance and best practice examples.

The certified cocoa beans will be processed at Cargill’s state-of-the-art cocoa processing plant in Tema and can be traced throughout the supply chain as they become Gerkens(R) Ghana cocoa powders – used by food manufacturers worldwide. From certified farmer to final product, Cargill is developing a fully traceable and sustainable cocoa supply chain in Ghana.

Anthony Fofie, Chief Executive of the Ghana Cocoa Board, said: “We are pleased to see that Cargill is investing in sustainable cocoa farming practices in Ghana and is strengthening its current efforts. This new program of farmer training will complement our existing initiatives and assist in our development of the industry, by improving the lives and living standards of Ghanaian cocoa farmers.”

The launch of farmer training in Ghana complements Cargill’s successful farmer training activities in Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Vietnam and underlines Cargill’s belief that training farmers successfully is key to building a sustainable supply chain as well as helping increase farmers’ incomes and supporting the future growth of cocoa farming.

The Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program

The Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program ensures a better life for cocoa farmers and their families and strengthens the cocoa supply chain for the future, exercising responsible environmental stewardship.

The program increases farmer incomes through efficient cocoa production. It offers tangible customer solutions which enable them to join Cargill in the journey towards a sustainable future for cocoa.

For more information visit: for EMEA http://www.cargillcocoachocolate.com and for North America http://www.cargill.com/food/cocoachocolate

Image Courtesy of   http://www.cargillcocoachocolate.com/

The article Ghana: Cargill Sustainable Cocoa Program Expanding with Farmer Training appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

A second recall of Cargill Meat Solutions Corp’s turkey ground meat has been issued after extensive testing has found the meat to be contaminated with salmonella bacteria. This has been the second recall from the company in less than six weeks, with the first recall being one of the largest meat recalls in history, affecting 36 million pounds of ground meat turkey.

One person in California died following the last outbreak and over 76 fell ill. Only 2 million of the 36 million pounds of meat was retrieved and buried in a landfill. This recall is of a much smaller proportion, affecting 185,000 pounds of ground turkey meat. The contaminated meat was produced at the company’s plant in Springdale, Arkansas between August 23 and 24 and 30 and 31.

The plant was shut down for a week and reopened on August 10th after extensive cleaning and U.S. Department of Agriculture review. Former Food and Drug Administration food safety chief David Acheson says there are two possible explanations for the continuing contaminations.

Either the problem could be the initial source of the turkeys or it is possible that the cleanup in between recalls was inadequate. He stated “Salmonella can be living in a drain or on a mop or on the walls or in an air vent, so it can recolonize.” Cargill spokesman, Mike Martin, declared that the source isn’t the same as last time, and the company hasn’t yet traced the source of the contamination.

He also claims the latest incident was based on a single positive sample taken by USDA. Martin says the recall “underscores the challenges and frustrations associated with managing naturally and randomly occurring bacteria which exist throughout our environment.” Salmonellosis occurs after consuming food contaminated with salmonella and is one of the most common bacterial food-borne illnesses.

Salmonellosis can be fatal, particularly to those with weak immune systems, such as the elderly, small children, and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy. Salmonella symptoms appear within 6 to 72 hours and usually lasts four to seven days. Common side-affects includes fever, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and nausea.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that roughly 76 million people in the United States suffer food-borne illnesses yearly, 300,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die. Children under the age of 4 are sickened by food illnesses more than those in any other age group, but adults over the age of 50 are more likely to be hospitalized and have the illness become fatal.

To prevent the possibility of getting salmonellosis the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service recommends meat be cooked at a the temperature that kills bacteria, 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The products subject to recall today bear the establishment number “P-963″ inside the USDA mark of inspection.

To find out more about which products are subject to recall, go to United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The article Contaminated Meat From Cargill Foods Recalled appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.