By Rady Ananda
Food Freedom

Over sixty different products of prepared pastries, quiches and pot pies containing ingredients from Rolf’s Patisserie, including gingerbread houses, and all sold by Whole Foods Market in 23 states, are being recalled for possible health risk, although no one has become ill.

The FDA recall notices advise that Rolf’s Patisserie products "have been connected to several outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) food poisoning," but "no illnesses have been reported from consumers."

Posted on Christmas Eve, the FDA emailed the following press releases today:

Whole Foods Market announces that it is recalling assembled Ginger Bread Houses sold in, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin that came from its supplier Rolf’s Patisserie of Lincolnwood, Illinois.

The recalled ginger bread houses may have been assembled, decorated and packaged in clear plastic wrap and sold with a Whole Foods Market scale label; some scale labels also may list “Rolf’s Patisserie” as part of the description.

Products produced by Rolf’s Patisserie have been connected to several outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) food poisoning. All products that were made after Nov. 1, 2010 were recalled. To date no illnesses have been reported from consumers eating ginger bread houses sold by Whole Foods Market.

The other announcement included the following products:

A food item contaminated with S. aureus, the bacterium responsible for producing toxins in foods, can cause nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps and diarrhea. The illness usually lasts for one to two days, although severe cases may last as long as three days. However, certain individuals, such as the elderly or very young, may require medical treatment for dehydration. Consumers should not eat the gingerbread houses and should dispose of them in a sealed container so that people and animals (including wild animals) cannot get access to and eat them.

Signage is now posted in Whole Foods Market stores to notify customers of this recall. In the Fort Lauderdale WFM, business was brisk on December 23rd, when the gingerbread houses were still being sold. Global Public Relations executive for WFM, Robin Rehfield, did not have specific information about the timing of receipt of the recall notice.

Rolf's Patisserie is located outside Chicago in Lincolnville, Illinois, and has been in business for 27 years.

Customers who have purchased any of the listed products from Whole Foods Market may return them to the store for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact Whole Foods Market at 512-542-0878 weekdays between 8:00am and 5:00pm central standard time.

Alternatively, you could eat what is likely safe food and let your immune system deal with any problems that may arise. Exposure to such germs often results in boosted protection against future exposure. This is especially true for infants and children, writes Lisa Zamovsky at WebMD.

"A mounting body of research suggests that exposing infants to germs may offer them greater protection from illnesses such as allergies and asthma later on in life."

Thom McDade, PhD, associate professor and director of the Laboratory for Human Biology Research at Northwestern University told her, "Just as a baby's brain needs stimulation, input, and interaction to develop normally, the young immune system is strengthened by exposure to everyday germs so that it can learn, adapt, and regulate itself."