Statewide—Will you be hosting Thanksgiving this year? If so, it’s time to check your pantry and fridge. Multiple Federal health officials are warning people to avoid some foods due to a series of issues — from E. coli to lack of inspection.
Here are the foods to keep away from your holiday table.
Romaine lettuce
Romaine lettuce from Salinas, California has caused 40 people in 16 states to be sick due to an E. coli outbreak. The agencies are warning consumers, retailers, and restaurants not to purchase or sell all types of romaine lettuce harvested in the town.
Raw pork products
In Illinois, a company is recalling more than a half-million pounds of pork products because they were not inspected.
The 515,000 pounds of raw pork items were produced and distributed in Illinois, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service said. They were produced between November 25, 2017 to November 9, this year.
They include pork loin, pork back ribs, and pork chops. The complete list of affected items can be found here.
Federal officials received an anonymous tip that the company was producing products without an inspection, leading to the recall.
Cheese Nips
Check your Cheese Nips — the cracker’s parent company has issued a voluntary recall for select boxes over contamination with small plastic pieces.
Mondelēz Global LLC announced it is voluntarily recalling 11-ounce boxes of the cheese crackers “due to the potential presence of small food-grade yellow plastic pieces,” the Food and Drug Administration said. It said the yellow plastic pieces came from a dough scraper that was incorporated into the production process.
Only Cheese Nips boxes of 11 ounces that have a “best by” date of May 18, 19 or 20, next year could be contaminated.
Cottage cheese
The recall will affect three types of Breakstone’s cottage cheese after a customer found a piece of red plastic in a container.
So far, Kraft Heinz reports there have been six consumer complains of contamination, but no reports of injury or illness related to the issue. The three cottage cheese products included in the recall are Breakstone’s 2% Milkfat Lowfat Large Curd Cottage Cheese, as well as their small and large curd 4% Milkfat Cottage Cheese.
All three of the recalled batches are marked with a use-by date of December 10, 2019.
Blackberries
An outbreak of hepatitis A in Indiana, Nebraska, and Wisconsin has been potentially linked to blackberries from the Fresh Thyme chain of grocery stores, authorities say.
Federal health officials are investigating after people who fell ill reported consuming fresh blackberries from the chain based in Illinois.
