ATM International USA, Inc Recalled Beef Products Importer from Japan

ATM International USA, Inc., a Torrance, Calif. establishment, is recalling approximately 1,999 pounds of boneless beef products that were not presented at the U.S. point of entry for inspection, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. Without the benefit of full inspection, a possibility of adverse health consequences exists.

The boneless beef products were imported from Japan on various dates between Oct. 9, 2014 – Jan. 15, 2015, and labeled in Japanese only.

The following products are subject to recall: [Labels (PDF Only)]      

• Various weights and cuts of vacuum packed chilled boneless beef.

The vacuum packaging bears the Japanese translation for the following cuts:

• Tender loin
• Strip loin
• Ribeye
• Chuck Roll
• Top Sirloin Butt
• Chuck Ribs
• Bottom Round
• Top Round
• Clod
• Brisket
• Short Plate
• Short Rib
• Knuckle  

The above products would have been shipped either inside of a cardboard box with the Japanese establishment number “M2” and a box marking of “MZA-TN41”, “MZA-TN28” or “MZA-TN1” or inside of a Styrofoam box bearing the establishment number “EST. 27510” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These products were shipped to distributors and retail locations in Arizona, California, and Washington.                                 

The problem was discovered during routine review of product tracking records.

FSIS and the company have received no reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about a reaction should contact a healthcare provider.  

FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. When available, the retail distribution list(s) will be posted on the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls.

Consumers and media with questions about the recall can contact Yuya Hagiwara, COO, at (424) 246-2892.

Japan: 1000 School Children Infected With Norovirus

HAMAMATSU—Three female workers at Hamamatsu, bakery were identified as carriers of norovirus. The bakery is suspected to have been the cause of a mass food poisoning that affected many primary schools in the city, according to the Hamamatsu city government.

The city government announced Sunday that workers at Hofuku, a company that produced bread deemed to be the cause of the norovirus outbreak, were found to be infected with the virus.

According to the announcement, the three infected workers handled the bread when they inspected it on Jan. 13, the day the affected food was produced.

Yoshinao Terada, chief of the city government’s living and health section, said at a press conference, “It is highly likely that persons with the virus took part in the production process leading to contamination of the bread.”

The city government has been conducting analyses of the feces of 23 company employees who were involved in bread production on Jan. 13. The norovirus was not detected in samples from the 13 of the 16 workers for whom analytical findings have been reported.

The company explained that the three workers from whom the viruses were detected appeared to have no issues with their health or had shown any symptoms. The company ordered the three workers to stay home from work and specialists began sterilizing the plant.

The most common symptoms  of norovirus are diarrhea, throwing up, nausea,  and stomach pain.Other symptoms include fever, headache, body aches.

If you have norovirus illness, you can feel extremely ill and throw up or have diarrhea many times a day. This can lead to dehydration, especially in young children, older adults, and people with other illnesses. Most people with norovirus illness get better within 1 to 3 days.

Symptoms of dehydration are decrease in urination, dry mouth & throat and  feeling dizzy when standing up. Children who are dehydrated may cry with few or no tears and be unusually sleepy or fussy.

Robots Working in Fast Food

Fast food chains in Japan, China and Great Britain have begun piloting the use of robots to cook meals. And while robots have been emerging as a boon for completing menial tasks like dispensing medicines in hospitals, these fast food robots are capable of preparing full sushi rolls or noodle dishes for Asian food outlets. In many cases, customers complete their orders through a touchscreen, which then alerts the robot how to prepare the meal. No humans needed.

It stands to reason that American fast food companies will adopt the robots at some point. One new fast food robot is the noodle-slicing "Chef Cui" in China, which as the Associated Press reports, costs restaurateurs 30,000 Chinese Yuan to buy, or $2,000. Comparatively, a human noodle chef is paid about $4,700 a year in China,

For Liu Maohu, a noodle restaurant owner in Beijing, the choice of hiring a robot over a human is easy. "The robot chef can slice noodles better than human chefs," he told the AP. "And it is much cheaper than a real human chef."

Robots also are being used in the agricultural process. A group of dairy farmers in NY are using European-made robots and putting them to work milking herds. Robots are entering the fruit and vegetable field work. Previously, robots were not used for such work, because they weren't sensitive enough with the produce, which led to undesired bruising. The new robots, are now endowed with advanced sensors and high-precision GPS location technologies to ensure the food isn't damaged.

My question is can the robots wash their hands and what is going to happen to unskilled laborers?