Month: April 2024

Trader Joe’s has pulled Infinite Herbs-branded basil from its shelves in 29 states after a salmonella outbreak has left 12 people sickened. The grocery store announced the recall April 17 on its website, stating that Infinite Herbs organic basil may have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. On their website, Trader Joe’s advised customers who purchased Infinite Herbs organic basil during the Feb. 1–April 6 date range to discard the product or return it to any Trader Joe’s store for a full refund.  According to a food safety alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the ‘Infinite Herbs’ brand organic basil was sold in 2.5-ounce clamshell-style plastic containers in 29 states due to the risk of salmonella. The CDC reported that the outbreak had sickened at least 12 people in seven states, including one hospitalization, with zero deaths reported so far.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that the people who have fallen ill are spread across seven states: Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. The FDA shared on its website that “seven of eight cases with information available reported exposure to fresh organic basil purchased from Trader Joe’s before becoming ill,” adding that Trader Joe’s has already pulled all Infinite Herbs brand organic basil from their store shelves and the product should no longer be available for sale to customers in any stores.  The supplier of the basil is cooperating with the FDA investigation and has agreed to initiate a voluntary recall, the CDC stated.

In a statement posted to its website, Infinite Herbs CEO Grego Berliavsky said the company has voluntarily recalled some 2.5-ounce packages of fresh organic basil sold between February 1 through April 6 with UPC 8 18042 02147 7 because of the potential it could be contaminated with salmonella. Berliavsky wrote: “I am heartbroken at the thought that any item we sold may have caused illness or discomfort. We simply will not rest until we can once again be confident in the safety of this product .. Fresh basil naturally wilts and expires after five to seven days, so we are confident that the recalled basil is no longer available for sale. However, if you have food in your freezer that includes Infinite Herbs organic basil purchased between February 1 and April 6, do not consume it.”  In addition, Berliavsky said that the basil had been sourced from a single farm, which is no longer in production: “We are working with the farmer to conduct an internal investigation of the food safety practices. Through this investigation, our goal is to determine the cause of this recall and apply measures to prevent it from happening again.”

Trader Joe’s said that people who purchased the basil may return it to the store for a refund. Customers can also call Trader Joe’s at (626) 599-3817 or email customer service: here.

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Attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the suspect charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students in November 2022, said in a new court filing that Kohberger has an alibi that will exonerate him in the case.

Kohberger was indicted on charges of murder by a grand jury last May; according to the court filing (reviewed by CNN), Kohberger, 29, claims he was driving in Pullman, Wash., on the night of the murders; and that cellphone tower data will prove he was miles away when the four students were killed. All four victims — Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20 and Ethan Chapin, 20 — were stabbed to death in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022, at their off-campus residence in Moscow, Idaho.  Kohberger’s lawyers plan to use cellphone tower data analysis in an effort to prove he was not at the home where the murders happened on Nov. 13, 2022.

Lead defense attorney Anne Taylor said in the filing: “Mr. Kohberger was out driving in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars. He drove throughout the area south of Pullman, Wash., west of Moscow, Idaho,” adding that the alibi is supported by data from Kohberger’s phone, with numerous photos showing him late at night or in early morning hours out in the countryside. In addition, Kohberger’s defense will put a cell phone tower and radio frequency expert on the stand to support the alibi, with the spot where he allegedly was out driving the night of the murders being located about 10 miles from the murder scene.

Kohberger, who lived in the town of Pullman, Washington, 9½ miles away from Moscow, was arrested in Pennsylvania nearly seven weeks after the killings on Dec. 30 while in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains visiting family.  Investigators allege they tied Kohberger to the killings by using DNA evidence found on a knife sheath left at the scene in the bed where Mogen and Goncalves were found deceased.  Moscow police had been looking for a white Elantra as possible evidence, and Kohberger’s Hyundai Elantra was seized from his Pennsylvania home.

Prosecutors claim that Kohberger broke into an off-campus home in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, and stabbed the four students to death at a King Road residence in the small city of Moscow on the Washington-Idaho border. The victims likely were asleep when the brutal attacks began.

Kohberger, who was a doctoral student studying criminal justice and criminology at Washington State University, is charged with four counts of first-degree murder and one count of burglary. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

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