Metz Fresh seeks answers in wake of salmonella finding
Metz Fresh seeks answers in wake of salmonella finding
As of Wednesday, Sept. 5, King City, CA-based Metz Fresh LLC didn't yet know the cause of a salmonella contamination finding that led to the voluntary recall of 8,118 cases of its bagged spinach.
Routine testing determined a presumptive positive for salmonella found in a single sample from one of three packinglines of bagged spinach. The presumptive positive test for salmonella on Aug. 24 came after the lot was processed and bagged.
All the spinach in question was grown in southern Monterey County by Metz Fresh and packed in Moss Landing, CA, by Watsonville Produce Inc., said Metz Fresh spokesman Greg Larsen.
The Food & Drug Administration confirmed to Metz Fresh late Tuesday morning, Aug. 28, that the presumptive positive had tested positive for salmonella. As of Wednesday, Sept. 5, there had been no reported cases of illness in the Metz Fresh episode.
Infection with salmonella bacteria causes symptoms including diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, which begin 12 to 72 hours after ingesting the bacteria. Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the United States and kills about 600, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Mr. Larsen said that upon learning news of the FDA's positive finding for salmonella, Metz representatives got on the phone to try to corral the product and "grab it in the channel," before it reached store shelves. Upon learning of the presumptive positive test, the company initially had requested that its customers put a hold on product and not put it out for consumer consumption. The FDA's positive finding led Metz to do a voluntary recall.
The spinach was distributed under the "Metz Fresh" label in both retail and foodservice packages. The one line where the salmonella was found accounted for 4,100 cases, but as a precaution Metz recalled all three lines. In speaking with The Produce News Aug. 31, Mr. Larsen said that more than 90 percent of the product had been corralled. It was unknown whether any product had made it to store shelves, he said.
About 75 percent of the more than 8,000 cases were destined for foodservice and the other 25 percent were destined for retail. With its clubstore accounts -- a portion of the product was destined for Costco, for instance -- all product was absorbed by Metz and none of it made it to Costco store shelves. The product never left the warehouse, Mr. Larsen said.
The recalled product included 10- and 16-oz. bags as well as four 2.5-pound bags (foodservice) and four-pound cartons. The only Metz Fresh product affected was intended for distribution in 48 states and Canada.
Mr. Larsen said that Metz Fresh's growing and harvesting operations go beyond the food-safety requirements of the California Leafy Green Handler Marketing Agreement. The company tests raw product in the field, tests product while on the packingline and tests from the final package. The salmonella was found in a Metz Fresh package.
Response from its customers on the recall had been "very, very good," Mr. Larsen said.
"The good news is that we're a week into the hold and three days into the recall and there's been no report of anybody becoming ill," Mr. Larsen told The Produce News, adding that the company was receiving a lot of calls from consumers.
The California Department of Public Health and the FDA are investigating the Watsonville Produce processing facility in Moss Landing as well as Metz Fresh company records and products.
Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, said that from the standpoint of the agreement, the Metz Fresh episode "underscores what the industry is trying to do."
He added that Metz Fresh "has good, strong tracking and traceback" systems in place, and that Andrew Cumming, managing principal of Metz Fresh, "immediately called us and kept us in the loop."
Mr. Cumming is an alternate on the California Leafy Green Handler Marketing Agreement for Salinas-Watsonville-San Joaquin Valley-Kern County. Jim Bogart, president of Salinas, CA-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, said that the Metz Fresh situation "shows that the system works."
"Everybody is very proud of Metz Fresh and how they handled this," Mr. Bogart said.
Routine testing determined a presumptive positive for salmonella found in a single sample from one of three packinglines of bagged spinach. The presumptive positive test for salmonella on Aug. 24 came after the lot was processed and bagged.
All the spinach in question was grown in southern Monterey County by Metz Fresh and packed in Moss Landing, CA, by Watsonville Produce Inc., said Metz Fresh spokesman Greg Larsen.
The Food & Drug Administration confirmed to Metz Fresh late Tuesday morning, Aug. 28, that the presumptive positive had tested positive for salmonella. As of Wednesday, Sept. 5, there had been no reported cases of illness in the Metz Fresh episode.
Infection with salmonella bacteria causes symptoms including diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, which begin 12 to 72 hours after ingesting the bacteria. Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the United States and kills about 600, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
Mr. Larsen said that upon learning news of the FDA's positive finding for salmonella, Metz representatives got on the phone to try to corral the product and "grab it in the channel," before it reached store shelves. Upon learning of the presumptive positive test, the company initially had requested that its customers put a hold on product and not put it out for consumer consumption. The FDA's positive finding led Metz to do a voluntary recall.
The spinach was distributed under the "Metz Fresh" label in both retail and foodservice packages. The one line where the salmonella was found accounted for 4,100 cases, but as a precaution Metz recalled all three lines. In speaking with The Produce News Aug. 31, Mr. Larsen said that more than 90 percent of the product had been corralled. It was unknown whether any product had made it to store shelves, he said.
About 75 percent of the more than 8,000 cases were destined for foodservice and the other 25 percent were destined for retail. With its clubstore accounts -- a portion of the product was destined for Costco, for instance -- all product was absorbed by Metz and none of it made it to Costco store shelves. The product never left the warehouse, Mr. Larsen said.
The recalled product included 10- and 16-oz. bags as well as four 2.5-pound bags (foodservice) and four-pound cartons. The only Metz Fresh product affected was intended for distribution in 48 states and Canada.
Mr. Larsen said that Metz Fresh's growing and harvesting operations go beyond the food-safety requirements of the California Leafy Green Handler Marketing Agreement. The company tests raw product in the field, tests product while on the packingline and tests from the final package. The salmonella was found in a Metz Fresh package.
Response from its customers on the recall had been "very, very good," Mr. Larsen said.
"The good news is that we're a week into the hold and three days into the recall and there's been no report of anybody becoming ill," Mr. Larsen told The Produce News, adding that the company was receiving a lot of calls from consumers.
The California Department of Public Health and the FDA are investigating the Watsonville Produce processing facility in Moss Landing as well as Metz Fresh company records and products.
Scott Horsfall, chief executive officer of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, said that from the standpoint of the agreement, the Metz Fresh episode "underscores what the industry is trying to do."
He added that Metz Fresh "has good, strong tracking and traceback" systems in place, and that Andrew Cumming, managing principal of Metz Fresh, "immediately called us and kept us in the loop."
Mr. Cumming is an alternate on the California Leafy Green Handler Marketing Agreement for Salinas-Watsonville-San Joaquin Valley-Kern County. Jim Bogart, president of Salinas, CA-based Grower-Shipper Association of Central California, said that the Metz Fresh situation "shows that the system works."
"Everybody is very proud of Metz Fresh and how they handled this," Mr. Bogart said.
