Landover, Maryland. — Giant Food of Landover, following a voluntary recall by Ready Pac Foods, announced it removed from sale select Ready Pac Apple Snax products due to a positive finding of Listeria monocytogenes on equipment used to produce the apple products.

The following products, all with a use-by date of July 8, 2012 through August 20, 2012, are included in this recall:

• Ready Pac Snax Apple & Cheese with Caramel Dip, 4.2 oz., UPC 7774523896
• Ready Pac Apple Granola Yogurt Snax, 4.3 oz., UPC 7774523089
• Ready Pac Snax Apple, Celery, Raisins with Peanut Butter, 3.9 oz., UPC 7774523897

To date, Giant has received no reports of illness associated with consumption of this product. Customers who have purchased the product should discard any unused portions and bring their purchase receipt to Giant for a full refund. Listeria is a common organism found in nature. Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.

Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. However, listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.

Consumers looking for additional information on the recall may visit the Giant website at www.giantfood.com.

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A Maine food processing and storage company destroyed its cold smoked salmon product under the supervision of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after inspectors found Listeria monocytogenes within the firm’s facility and on processing equipment.

Based on conditions at Mill Stream Corp. of Hancock, Maine, FDA investigators ordered an administrative detention of the firm’s cold-smoked salmon product, a ready-to-eat food, during an inspection in December 2011. Once the food was detained, Mill Stream Corp. agreed to voluntarily destroy the cold-smoked salmon, under FDA supervision.

The FDA may order the detention of food when an investigator has a reason to believe that the food is adulterated or misbranded. Food subject to an FDA detention order may not be moved, without agency permission, until the agency releases it or the detention order expires. A detention order may remain in place for up to 30 days.

“FDA will not hesitate to take immediate steps to protect the public’s health,” said Dara A. Corrigan, the FDA’s Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs. ”We will aggressively use our enforcement tools to prevent potentially adulterated food from reaching the public.”

Listeria monocytogenes is an organism which can cause listeriosis, a rare and serious illness caused by eating food contaminated with the bacteria. Healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea.

However, listeriosis can be fatal, especially in older people, those with compromised immune systems, and in those with certain chronic medical conditions such as cancer. In pregnant women, listeriosis can cause miscarriage, stillbirth and serious illness or death in newborn babies, though the mother herself rarely becomes seriously ill.

No illnesses have been reported to date from Mill Stream Corp. products. Illnesses or adverse events related to use of these products should be reported to the FDA.

The FDA carried out its action against Mill Stream Corp. under the administrative detention authority for foods as amended as part of the FDA Food Safety and Modernization Act. The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices.

The Agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that a Chicago-area company has agreed to stop making its ready-to-eat sandwiches and produce after FDA investigators repeatedly found unsanitary conditions and bacterial contamination in the facility.

The company, Triple A Services, and its owners and operators, Thomas J. Whennen, Scott C. Whennen and David A. Frisco, have agreed to stop producing and distributing the sandwiches and produce as part of a consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois.

The terms of the decree would also require Triple A to hire a sanitation expert to help establish an effective sanitation program, to comply with FDA regulations and to eliminate Listeria contamination from company facilities.

The government’s complaint, filed by the U.S. Department of Justice on December 22, 2011, describes Triple A’s history of operating under unsanitary conditions and Listeria monocytogenes contamination in the processing facility. It also outlines Triple A’s failure to comply with Current Good Manufacturing Practice and seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point regulations.

Listeriosis, the illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes, can be serious and sometimes causes fatal infections in young children, older people, and in those with weakened immune systems. Healthy people may experience short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

“FDA took these aggressive actions because Triple A Services continued to violate current good manufacturing practice regulations and allow for conditions that could affect the health of consumers,” said Dara Corrigan, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.

No illnesses have been reported to date from Triple A Services’ products. Illnesses or adverse events related to use of these products should be reported to the FDA at https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/medwatch-online.htm.

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