The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) signaled laboratory error, cross-contamination with the positive control strain of a harmful bacteria, when it rescinded a recall of a food product feared to be tainted with Salmonella, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explained this week.
Following the positive Salmonella laboratory testing result, the CFIA completed a whole genome sequencing (WGS) analysis of the Salmonella isolate, the FDA said. The results of that testing indicated that the sample could have been cross-contaminated with the testing laboratory’s positive control strain, and the CFIA eventually determined conclusively that cross-contamination occurred.
Church Brothers Farms, the company implicated, could have been adversely affected by the error and subsequent voluntary recall. A notice was published on the Government of Canada’s Recalls and Safety Alerts website, the FDA noted. FDA notifications show that other companies have also been dealt blows over erroneous microbiology laboratory testing.
In one example last year, the CEO of an indoor farm in New Hampshire was relieved to see a lab mistake confirmed and that his company's product was never at risk. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) implicated his company as a result of erroneous results in a public health lab, and the state's Division of Public Health Services later apologized after an inspection revealed no issue.
In the New Hampshire case that occurred in May 2023, DHHS said the public health laboratory had not experienced a false-positive from routine testing that resulted in a voluntary recall in more than 20 years.
These aren't the first of such microbiology laboratory testing error-related recalls and corrections by a government agency, and Salmonella is but one of many bacteria that have led to problematic false-positives. The cases raise awareness of the damaging consequences of erroneous laboratory testing results.
