The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has concluded that an inaccuracy in laboratory testing led to the Oct. 18 2024 recall notice for Church Brothers Farms’ Green Onions. The items from Church Brothers did not contain Salmonella so the recall was cancelled.
On the 18th of October 2024 Church Brothers Farms voluntarily recalled 1271 instances of Green Onions due to the possibility that they could be infected by Salmonella. The recall was initiated in response to information by the CFIA that a single test had confirmed the presence of Salmonella. Although the distribution of this product was restricted to a few consumers at the retail or foodservice level within Canada as well as within the USA, Church Brothers acted swiftly and coordinated with the CFIA as well as the US FDA to ensure rapid acceptance of the recall.
In the wake of the positive Salmonella test result The CFIA conducted a complete genome sequencing (WGS) study of the Salmonella isolate. The outcomes of which showed that the specimen might have had cross-contamination with the positive strain of the lab.
In the course of an internal investigation after further review by the internal department, the CFIA confirmed that the cross-contamination was indeed present. The CFIA further verified that the cross-contamination was one-off and there were no other samples affected.
In light of this cross-contamination issue due to this cross-contamination, the CFIA has cancelled the recall on food products and also removed the announcement that was made on Canada’s Government’s Recalls and Safety Alerts website.
“The quality for our food products are Church Brothers’ highest priority and we are proud with our utmost honesty in regards to Food Safety Standards,” declared Megan Chadwick, Vice President of Food Safety, Quality & Regulatory Compliance at Church Brothers Farms. “While we were delighted to learn that our product didn’t include the Salmonella isolate, we’ll always exercise a lot of care regarding the well-being and health of our customers.”
This correction is to the press release that was issued on the 18th of October, 2024. It contained an article title “Church Brothers Farms Recalls the Green Onions Because of a possible health Risis.”
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Church Brothers Farm
Tel: +1 877 590 0428
Email: [email protected]
www.fda.gov