OK, so maybe you shrugged your shoulders at yesterday's news about the FDA's warning on Korean shellfish. Fair enough. Not exactly an everyday purchase around these parts. Bagged salad, on the other hand...

The FDA has announced that River Ranch Fresh Foods of Salinas, California, has expanded its voluntary recall of bagged salads that are potentially contaminated with listeria.

The initial recall applied only to bagged salads distributed in California and Colorado. The expanded recall is nationwide.

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The FDA has removed shellfish from Korea -- the official press release says Korea, not South Korea, in case you were wondering -- from its Interstate Certified Shellfish Shippers List (or the ICSSL, as all the cool kids call it).

Though noting that Korean molluscan shellfish "represents only a small fraction of the oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops sold in the United States," the FDA urges all retailers, distributors and other foodservice operators to remove Korean shellfish from the market.

(The FDA doesn't have the authority to order the shellfish removed.)

The reason for the FDA's action? Poop. More specifically: "inadequate sanitary controls to prevent the discharge of human fecal waste from fish farms and commercial fishing and aquaculture vessels operating in and adjacent to shellfish growing areas."

The FDA is also worried about pollution near the shellfish-growing areas. Finally, to complete the triple crown of concern, the FDA detected the presence of norovirus in some shellfish-growing area.

Read the complete FDA statement after the jump.

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Yellowfin tuna, pre-scrape

Since last month Gut Check has been following Moon Marine's voluntary recall of frozen Nakaochi Scrape, which is tuna backmeat that has been scraped from the bone. In the United States, consumers are most likely to encounter this product as the tuna inside spicy tuna rolls.

In response to last week's post about this recall expanding to include precut strips of tuna meat processed by the same company, a reader made a sensible point:

I fail to see why "tuna scrape" is any more terrible than the rest of the fish. It's all dead animal muscle.

The problem, it seems, isn't the scrape but who or what is doing the scraping.

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It's hard out there for a yellowfin tuna.

Gut Check told you last month about Moon Marine's voluntary recall of yellowfin tuna for possible salmonella contamination. Specifically, Moon recalled its "Nakaochi Scrape," which we learned (to our discomfort, if not outright horror) is tuna backmeat literally scraped off the bone and eventually ends up filling your spicy tuna rolls.

Now comes word from the FDA that Moon has expanded the recall to include its tuna strips.

Tuna strips?

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Gut Check is overdue for a look at recent FDA recalls. What have we missed over the past couple of weeks? Cacao nibs, lemon bars and -- yikes! -- a melting toothbrush.

- FunFresh Foods, Inc. on May 5 issued a voluntary recall of six-ounce packages of its FunFresh Foods World Berries Organic Cacao Nibs for possible E. coli contamination. The packages were distributed to multiple states, including Missouri and Illinois.

"Wait!" you cry. "What the hell is a cacao nib?"

Here's some FunFresh copy:

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Our friend here doesn't find either of today's stories very amusing.

The USDA today confirmed a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a.k.a. mad cow disease, in a dairy cow in central California. According to the USDA, the animal's meat was never intended for human consumption and, to anticipate your next question, mad cow disease isn't transmitted through milk.

In its announcement, the USDA notes that cases of mad cow disease worldwide have decline dramatically:

Evidence shows that our systems and safeguards to prevent BSE are working, as are similar actions taken by countries around the world. In 2011, there were only 29 worldwide cases of BSE, a dramatic decline and 99% reduction since the peak in 1992 of 37,311 cases. This is directly attributable to the impact and effectiveness of feed bans as a primary control measure for the disease.

The USDA also found that this particular cow had a "very rare" form of the disease that, unlike most cases of mad cow disease, wasn't transmitted through the animal's feed.

So don't panic.

For an infinitely more charming cow-related story, let's travel to Colorado.

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Listeria!

First, Gut Check apologizes for lodging a certain advertising earworm in your head.

(any any any)

Second, Gut Check passes along word from the FDA -- which is providing way too many news updates for us this week, frankly -- that M.E. Thompson Inc. has expanded a previously announced voluntarily recall of its "Anytime Deli Turkey & Ham Footlong" sandwich.

The recall now also includes the "Italian Footlong" and the "Classic Cuban" (footlong-status unknown) sandwiches. All three sandwiches pose a potential risk of listeria monocytogenes contamination.

The sandwiches were distributed nationwide to convenience and grocery stores under the brand names Sandwich Central and Dandee as well as Anytime Deli. The exact UPC codes and expiration dates of the recalled sandwiches are available after the jump.

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We told you earlier about the voluntary recall of frozen raw yellowfin tuna responsible for more than 100 cases of salmonella nationwide.

Now we have word from the FDA of another voluntary recall: Dole Fresh Vegetables has recalled 756 cases of its "Seven Lettuces" salad mix for possible salmonella contamination. The recalled packages have a sell-by date of April 12, 2012, the UPC code 71430 01057 and a product code of 0577N089112A or 0577N089112B.

The cases in question were not distributed in Missouri. However, they were distributed to Illinois. No illnesses have been reported.

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Yellowfin tuna, pre-scrape

A California company has voluntarily recalled 58,828 pounds of frozen raw yellowfin tuna associated with an outbreak of salmonella.

According to the FDA, as of Friday, April 13, this oubtreak has sickened more than 100 people across twenty states and Washington, D.C., including Illinois (ten cases) and Missouri (two cases).

The specific product that Moon Marine Corporation USA has recalled is Nakaochi Scrape AA or AAA. Moon Marine doesn't sell this tuna directly to consumers, but (via third parties) to restaurants and supermarkets, which then use it to make sushi and other dishes.

And what, exactly, is Nakaochi Scrape?

If you love spicy tuna rolls, you might not want to read any further.

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Et tu, Mr. Peanut?

How many times have we reached blindly into a can of Planters Cocktail Peanuts to sate our need for salt -- when it comes to snacking, we're basically the salt vampire from that episode of the original Star Trek -- believing your product to be sacrosanct?

Now comes word from the FDA that Kraft has voluntarily recalled certain 12-ounce canisters of Planters Cocktail Peanuts because "the product was exposed to water not intended for use in food during the production process."

That's a really boring reason for a recall.

At any rate, the recall pertains to only one date code of the product (09-Jan-14, UPC 2900007212). No illnesses have been reported.

Still, Mr. Peanut, maybe it's time you wiped that smug smile off your anthropomorphic face.