Class IIITerminated · reported 2015-12-23

Houston Culinary Center Penne Mozzarella Salad Kit

H E B recalled this product and the FDA reported the enforcement action on 23 December 2015 as Class III. The recall was initiated by the firm. Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.

The record

Every field below is published by the FDA in the openFDA food enforcement database. Check the FDA notice before acting on any recall: this page is a reading of the public record, not a substitute for it.

Product: Houston Culinary Center Penne Mozzarella Salad Kit
Reason for recall: Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.
Recalling firm: H E B
Firm location: San Antonio, Texas, United States
Classification: Class III
Status: Terminated
Recall number: F-0284-2016
Quantity: 259 units
Distribution: Texas
Initiated: 18 September 2015
Reported by FDA: 23 December 2015
Terminated: 2 August 2016
Firm notified by: E-Mail
Product codes: Sell By Dates: 9/21/15, 9/25/15, 9/26/15

Reading this record

Five things about this record are not in the record itself, and each one changes how it should be read.

Class III means the FDA judged that the product was unlikely to cause harm but violated FDA labelling or manufacturing regulation. The class is assigned by an agency health hazard evaluation under 21 CFR 7.41, not by the firm.
The firm started this recall itself. Most FDA food recalls are voluntary, and a recall is a food safety plan working rather than failing. The circumstances in which the agency asks for one instead are set out in 21 CFR 7.45.
This is one of 18 records covering the same recall event. The FDA opens one enforcement record per product code, so a recall of a product line appears here many times. Counting these records as 18 separate recalls, which almost every published figure does, overstates it by a factor of 18. Every product code in this event is listed together on the record that covers the whole recall, which is the page a search engine is pointed to for all 18 of them.
The recall ran for 10 months, from 18 September 2015 to termination on 2 August 2016. Termination means the agency judged that all reasonable effort had been made, under 21 CFR 7.55, and it says nothing about whether product remained in circulation.
The FDA published the enforcement report 3 months after the firm began the recall.
Recalls of cheese run a median of 7 months, so this one was longer than usual for its category. Cheese dominates Listeria recalls among dairy products because soft and semi-soft varieties hold enough moisture for the organism to grow at refrigeration temperature, and because most are eaten without any further cooking step.

What this recall was for

Chemical contamination

A chemical contamination recall covers a substance that is harmful in food and was never meant to be there: a heavy metal, a cleaning chemical, a pesticide residue, or a natural toxin such as aflatoxin or histamine.

A preventive controls plan covers chemical contamination under the clauses below. This is where the control belongs, not a finding against any firm named on this page: a recall record states a reason, and most of these recalls were initiated by the firm itself.

21 CFR 117.35(b): Substances used in cleaning and sanitizing: toxic materials stored, identified and used so they cannot contaminate food, food-contact surfaces or packaging.
21 CFR 117 subpart G: Supply-chain programme: the approval and verification a receiving facility runs on a supplier when the hazard is controlled before the ingredient arrives.
21 CFR 117.130(b)(1)(ii): Hazard analysis: identifying the known or reasonably foreseeable chemical hazards, including radiological hazards, pesticide and drug residues, natural toxins and food decomposition.

Filed under cheese and fresh produce. A product can sit in more than one.

Other cheese recalls for the same reason

These are the closest records in the corpus: the same kind of food, recalled for a hazard this record also names. Unlike the firm’s own records below, they come from different companies, which is what makes them a pattern rather than a history.

Reported	Product	Firm	Reason	Class
2025-01-08	Cascade Raw Cheddar GTIN #90854115003059 packed in an approximately 6 lb quarter wheels vacuum sealed. All quarter wheels are variable weight sold by the pound and each vacuum sealed package contains 1 quarter wheel.	Heber Valley Artisan Cheese, LLC.	The Cascade Raw Cheddar Cheese was recalled due to Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) and elevated generic E.coli in finished product testing results.	Class I
2024-08-07	Diamond Shruumz Infused Cones Strawberry Cheesecake UPC 810133320087	Prophet Premium Blends, LLC	Toxic levels of muscimol	Class I
2020-02-12	QUESOS LA RICURA brand Queso Cotija; Cotija Cheese; AGED OVER 60 DAYS; Ingredients: Raw Milk, Salt, Enzyme and Cultures; KEEP REFRIGERATED/MANTENER REFRIGERADO; NET WT/PESO NETO 12 OZ. (340g); Plant No/Numero de Planta 36-1256; PRODUCT OF NICARAGUA	Quesos La Ricura, Ltd.	Possible contamination with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC).	Class I
2018-08-08	Ruffles Cheddar and Sour Cream flavored potato chips 8.5 oz bag	Frito-Lay, Inc	Potential for cleaning solution to come into contact with the chips.	Class III
2016-10-05	Onion n Garlic 12 pound wheels, Six pound half wheels, and wedges of various sizes ranging from less than 12 pounds to 1/3 pound. Wheels and half wheels are sold packaged in cheese paper and wedges are sold packaged in clear plastic cryovac. Refrigerated, Organic raw milk cheese.	Grassfields Cheese, LLC	contamination with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), a bacteria that can cause serious illness in humans. E.coli infection symptoms vary by individual, but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting. If there is fever, it usually is not very high (less than 101¿F/less than 38.5¿C). Most people get better within 57 days. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life-threatening. Around 510% of those diagnosed with Shiga-toxin producing E.coli infections develop a potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Signs that a person is developing HUS include decreased frequency of urination, feeling very tired, and losing pink color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids. Persons with HUS should be hospitalized because their kidneys may stop working and they may develop other serious problems. Most persons with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent damage or die.	Class I
2016-10-05	Country Dill 12 pound wheels, Six pound half wheels, and wedges of various sizes ranging from less than 12 pounds to 1/3 pound. Wheels and half wheels are sold packaged in cheese paper and wedges are sold packaged in clear plastic cryovac. Refrigerated, Organic raw milk cheese.	Grassfields Cheese, LLC	contamination with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), a bacteria that can cause serious illness in humans. E.coli infection symptoms vary by individual, but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting. If there is fever, it usually is not very high (less than 101¿F/less than 38.5¿C). Most people get better within 57 days. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life-threatening. Around 510% of those diagnosed with Shiga-toxin producing E.coli infections develop a potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Signs that a person is developing HUS include decreased frequency of urination, feeling very tired, and losing pink color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids. Persons with HUS should be hospitalized because their kidneys may stop working and they may develop other serious problems. Most persons with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent damage or die.	Class I
2016-10-05	Crofters 12 pound wheels, Six pound half wheels, and wedges of various sizes ranging from less than 12 pounds to 1/3 pound. Wheels and half wheels are sold packaged in cheese paper and wedges are sold packaged in clear plastic cryovac. Refrigerated, Organic raw milk cheese.	Grassfields Cheese, LLC	contamination with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), a bacteria that can cause serious illness in humans. E.coli infection symptoms vary by individual, but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting. If there is fever, it usually is not very high (less than 101¿F/less than 38.5¿C). Most people get better within 57 days. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life-threatening. Around 510% of those diagnosed with Shiga-toxin producing E.coli infections develop a potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Signs that a person is developing HUS include decreased frequency of urination, feeling very tired, and losing pink color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids. Persons with HUS should be hospitalized because their kidneys may stop working and they may develop other serious problems. Most persons with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent damage or die.	Class I
2016-10-05	Leyden 12 pound wheels, Six pound half wheels, and wedges of various sizes ranging from less than 12 pounds to 1/3 pound. Wheels and half wheels are sold packaged in cheese paper and wedges are sold packaged in clear plastic cryovac. Refrigerated, Organic raw milk cheese.	Grassfields Cheese, LLC	contamination with Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), a bacteria that can cause serious illness in humans. E.coli infection symptoms vary by individual, but often include severe stomach cramps, diarrhea (often bloody), and vomiting. If there is fever, it usually is not very high (less than 101¿F/less than 38.5¿C). Most people get better within 57 days. Some infections are very mild, but others are severe or even life-threatening. Around 510% of those diagnosed with Shiga-toxin producing E.coli infections develop a potentially life-threatening complication known as hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). Signs that a person is developing HUS include decreased frequency of urination, feeling very tired, and losing pink color in cheeks and inside the lower eyelids. Persons with HUS should be hospitalized because their kidneys may stop working and they may develop other serious problems. Most persons with HUS recover within a few weeks, but some suffer permanent damage or die.	Class I

Other records from H E B

The FDA opens one enforcement record per product code, so several of these are frequently one recall event. 17 other records name this firm.

Reported	Product	Firm	Reason	Class
2015-12-23	HEB Herb Seared Salmon, Broccoli, Rice SS	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	HEB Herb Seared Salmon Herb SS and FS; Houston Culinary Center Herb Seared Salmon	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	Combo Meal Tuna Salad SS	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	HEB Sis Greek Pasta Cuc Feta Kal	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	Pizza artichoke chicken 12 in Hot and Cold	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	Houston Culinary Center Shrimp Salad Kit	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	Houston Culinary Center Cranberry Turkey Salad Base	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	HCC Salad Tuna Classic Yellowfin SS	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	HCC Greek Pasta Salad Small SS and FS	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III
2015-12-23	HEB Shrimp Salad SS and FS By Lb; HEB Shrimp Salad 8 oz	H E B	Use of ingredient with violative pesticide residue.	Class III

All 18 records for H E B

All 2015 recalls · All FDA food recall data

21 CFR 117.35(b) is the clause behind this recall, and it is one somebody has to produce evidence for at their next audit. Krolda maps supplier documents to the clause they satisfy in FSSC 22000, IFS Food and 21 CFR 117, and routes the corrective action when the evidence is missing.

Early access

Recall records come from the openFDA food enforcement API, published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the public domain. Krolda adds the hazard classification and the clause mapping; neither is an FDA determination. Always check the FDA notice before acting on a recall.