WASHINGTON — Perdue Foods LLC, a Monterey, Tenn. establishment, is recalling approximately 530 pounds of chicken products due to misbranding and undeclared allergens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) stated Jan. 23 in a media release.

The product contains eggs, a known allergen which is not declared on the product label.

The ready-to-cook chicken breast tenderloin fritters were inadvertently labeled with the Homestyle Chicken Tender Fritter label. The chicken breast tenderloin fritters contain egg whites and the Homestyle Chicken Tender Fritters do not.

The ready-to-cook chicken tenderloin fritter items were produced Dec. 6. The following products are subject to recall:

•10-pound boxes containing two 5-pound plastic bags with the box labeled "Chef Redi Homestyle Chicken Tender Fritter, Rtc – Large" with the case code of 7374.

The products subject to recall bear establishment number "P-11507" inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to food service locations in Florida, Maryland and Washington D.C.

The problem was discovered by the firm while performing routine label verification activities.

There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider. 

Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase.

Consumers may contact Perdue Consumer Relations, 1-877-727-3447, with questions about the recall.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: RECALLED: Undeclared allergens found in misbranded Perdue chicken products

CRESTVIEW — Select Starbucks are sponsoring blood drives to "perk up" the community’s blood supply. Donors can share their power to save lives by giving blood and enjoy a free $10 Starbucks gift card.

The drive at the local Starbucks is 2-6 p.m. Feb. 3 at 2520 Ferdon Blvd. S, Crestview.

Another is 1-6 p.m. Feb. 3 at 340 Mary Esther Blvd., Mary Esther.

Walk-ins are welcome. Donors may also visit oneblood.org/starbucks or call 1-888-936-6283 to make an appointment.

All donors receive a wellness checkup of blood pressure, pulse, temperature, iron count and a cholesterol screening.

Generally healthy people age 16 or older who weigh at least 110 pounds can donate blood. Photo ID is required.

Visit oneblood.org to learn more about the importance of blood donation and how donors can target the power of their blood type.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Starbucks blood drive scheduled

CRESTVIEW — In Florida and throughout the U.S., flu activity is on the rise. Okaloosa is currently seeing widespread flu activity.

"On Friday, Jan. 12, the [Centers] for Disease Control stated that flu has reached epidemic levels and the nation has experienced 20 pediatric deaths," Dr. Karen Chapman, Department of Health-Okaloosa director, said. "We have ordered additional flu vaccine for children for the Crestview and Fort Walton Beach clinics."

The health department urges getting the flu vaccine now if you have not already. If any local pediatricians have children 18 or under that need an influenza vaccine, they can also send them to DOH-Okaloosa. There are still weeks of flu activity to come. It is not too late to get your flu vaccine.

"The flu vaccine is safe, and recommended for everyone six months and older, including pregnant women," a health department media release states.

Flu vaccines can vary in effectiveness from season to season, but they continue to be the best way to prevent influenza infection and serious influenza complications.

People who become ill with flu-like symptoms should contact their health care provider as soon as possible so doctors can prescribe antiviral treatment if appropriate.

Treatment is most effective when started within 48 hours, so calling immediately after becoming ill is important, especially for those at higher risk for complications: that includes children younger than 5, adults over the age of 65, pregnant women, and those with underlying medical conditions.

People with the flu should stay home from work and keep children home from school or daycare when sick to help prevent spreading the flu to others. Practice good hygiene by properly and frequently washing hands; regularly clean and disinfect commonly used surfaces in the home, school or office; and cough or sneeze into your elbow and avoid touching for face.

Contact your health care provider or use the Florida Department of Health’s flu shot locator, www.flhealth.gov/findaflushot, for locations administering the vaccination.

Call 833-9246 to make an appointment at the Department of Health-Okaloosa.

Visit FluFreeFlorida.com and www.floridahealth.gov/floridaflu to learn more about influenza and influenza-like illness in Florida.

WANT THE SHOT?

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa Health Department: Get vaccinated now

Northwest Florida Walmart stores will host the first Walmart Wellness Day event of the year on Saturday, Jan. 20. 

This free health screening allows residents to learn their:

• Blood glucose
• Blood pressure
• Body mass index
• Low-cost immunizations
• And, in select locations, customers can take advantage of free vision screenings 

New this year, Walmart is introducing a virtual reality experience in select stores to assist with smoking cessation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 15.5 percent of adults in Florida regularly smoke cigarettes. This free resource is intended to be a step toward quitting tobacco.

Walmart Wellness Day comes on the heels of the company announcing that it will be the first national pharmacy chain to offer free opioid disposal at all pharmacy locations.

According to National Public Radio, Florida is among six states that declared opioid abuse a public health emergency in 2017.

"Reducing the availability of unwanted prescription opioids is an important component of stopping addiction before it begins, and I want to personally thank Walmart for this innovative approach to eliminating excess prescriptions — to reduce the supply of opioids and save lives," Attorney General Pam Bondi said.

"We need more corporate leaders to step up to help combat the national opioid crisis."

WHAT:  Free health screenings

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20

WHERE: Northwest Florida Walmart stores

WANT TO GO?

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Walmart stores set free health screenings

JACKSONVILLE — Southeastern Grocers has issued a voluntary recall due to possible prescense of listeria monocytogenes.

SEG, the parent company of BI-LO, Fresco y Más, Harveys and Winn-Dixie stores, is issuing a voluntary recall of multiple Winn-Dixie and Southern Home (SH) branded ice cream products.

All the recalled products below were 12-count packages.

Southern Home brands

The Southern Home branded products and corresponding UPC codes below are for all BI-LO and Harveys stores in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina:

•Southern Home Orange Cream Bar – 6078801142

•Southern Home Arctic Ice Cream Bar – 60788001147

Winn-Dixie brands

The Winn-Dixie branded products and corresponding UPC codes below are for all Winn-Dixie and Fresco y Más stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi:

•Winn-Dixie Ice Cream Bars – 2114021745

The products, regardless of the “best by” date, should be thrown away or returned to any BI-LO, Harveys, Fresco y Más or Winn-Dixie store for a full refund.

Customers may Contact SEG's Customer Call Center toll free at 866-946-6349 if they have questions. The center's hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Eastern time Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Eastern time.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: RECALLED: Listeria found in Winn-Dixie, Southern Home products

CRESTVIEW — Melbourne residents Shawn Sima and his daughter, Lexi, have worked successfully to get mandatory CPR training instituted for high school students in Brevard County, Florida, and hope to do the same statewide.

State Sen. Debbie Mayfield and State Rep. Thad Altman submitted Senate Bill 996 and Florida House Bill 795 to the Florida Legislature for 2018, and the Simas, former Crestview residents, are supporting their efforts. HB 795 advanced to education committees on Dec. 8, and both bills have several more steps before becoming laws.

Previous efforts to get the bills passed failed.

"It was called an unfunded mandate, meaning the state did not want to mandate this training without the funds," Shawn Sima said.

"Essentially the cost should not be an issue at all. Most of the CPR kits are donated. We could honestly set up a Go Fund Me and have the money. We are actually working with the American Heart Association to possibly set up an area for donation in the state of Florida," he said.

The bills call for school districts to make instructional programs by the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross part of their curriculum. Students would be required to learn to use cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, and an automated external defibrillator at least once before graduation.

The AED is a device that can check a person's heartbeat and shock the heart back into a normal rhythm when it stops functioning, according to the American Heart Association's website, www.heart.org. The device also provides guided instruction on its use.

The Simas became involved in the legislative side of things two years ago when Lexi, then 16, had cardiac arrest — meaning her heart malfunctioned and stopped beating —while running on a treadmill at a gym in Viera.

Because the people at the gym knew CPR and used an AED, they were able to resuscitate Lexi until paramedics arrived.

"As we stood over Lexi as she laid in the emergency room, we didn’t know if she would live or die. The helpless feeling you have as a parent is indescribable," Sima said.

"Lexi never had really any health problems. She had been an athlete since 4 years old. She started playing T-ball and soccer when we lived in Crestview. Sudden cardiac arrest struck our family out of nowhere," her father said. He and his wife, Stacey, also have a son, Carter.

She spent three weeks in the hospital. Doctors implanted a cardiac defibrillator in Lexi's chest that has to be checked by a cardiologist every three months, but they cleared her to return to school and all activities except contact sports. She finished her junior and senior years as a varsity cheerleader at Viera High School.

Along the way, she and her father requested that the Brevard County school board pass legislation for her fellow high school classmates to take CPR training, which they did Nov. 21.

"The fact that the school board did pass the initiative doesn’t even seem real. I made a promise to God that we would pay this forward if he gave her another chance and he did. The Lord has worked this out for our good and the good of others," Shawn Sima said.

The retired U.S. Air Force major is a physician’s assistant at the VA's Orthopedics department in Melbourne. He described the statistics on sudden death and cardiac arrest in the U.S. as staggering.

"Then you realize that now we can train people — our students especially — at the grass roots level, in a one-hour course to save lives.

"My hope is that everybody reading this will realize that at some point, somebody in your life — whether it be a family member, a friend or a complete stranger with the family who loves them — is going to need CPR. It’s almost a guarantee. 350,000 Americans die every year. 100,000 of them can be saved with fast action by bystanders.

"There was 12 minutes before the ambulance ever showed up for my daughter. If we would’ve waited for EMS, she would likely be dead. This is no fault of our emergency responders. They are busy. We all need to take this matter into our own hands."

He requested that everyone reach out to their school boards, legislators, and governor to demand training for young life savers.

"People in Northwest Florida are not trained at the high school level. Currently in Florida, only 11 counties have this policy. That means that 56 other counties in the state don’t get this lifesaving training, including all of Northwest Florida," Shawn Sima said.

"My hope is that everybody reading this will realize that at some point, somebody in your life — whether it be a family member, a friend or a complete stranger with the family who loves them — is going to need CPR. It’s almost a guarantee."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Paying it forward

CRESTVIEW — The American Cancer Society has an additional $1,042 to help cancer survivors and aid in the search for a cure.

Members of the Northwest Florida Wingman Motorcycle Club, along with Juke Joint Willie band members, presented Melanie Row and Valene Keesee, a volunteer, with the donation.

The Wingmen raised $542 from their annual Breast Cancer Poker Run. The AMVETS Post 35 of Crestview donated $100 and Juke Joint Willie donated $400 plus their playing time at the club's poker run after-party.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Motorcycle club, veterans and band members boost American Cancer Society

CRESTVIEW — A Crestview business recently hosted a fundraiser for the Fore Her organization, which helps local breast cancer patients in financial need.

The Margie's Sew Much Fun event raised over $543 and will help pay for at least three months of utilities for a recipient in need.

Fore Her founder Amy Walsh said the organization has helped patients pay for things insurance doesn't, like utilities, rent and mortgages, groceries, auto payments, tires, washers and dryers, funeral expenses and prescriptions.

"Margie was kind enough to reach out to me and arrange the fundraiser at her store," Walsh said.

"We are very thankful for the support of people like her and her customers."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Margie's Sew Much Fun helps breast cancer patients

CRESTVIEW — Prader-Willi Syndrome, a disease that occurs in roughly one in 15,000 live births across the world, is the focus of an upcoming fundraiser.

The One Small Step Walk for Prader-Willi Syndrome is 9-11 a.m. Nov. 4 at Twin Hills Park, 100 Hathaway St. S, Crestview. Registration is not required for the walk, which is by donation only.

All proceeds go to the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research, which works to improve PWS treatments, reduce the effects of the disease, and to find a cure. Several local businesses donated raffle items and Pounders Hawaiian Grill will donate 50 percent of its proceeds to the effort when purchasers mention the PWS fundraiser during a Nov. 4 lunch or dinner purchase.

Crestview residents Gracie and Kirk Simmons are among international teams accepting donations for the event. Their daughter, Angel, 4, has PWS. The disease's main characteristic is an insatiable appetite that can cause life-threatening childhood obesity if not controlled.

Go to www.fpwr.org for more information.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Local walk to raise research funds for Prader-Willi Syndrome

CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa Head Start and Early Head Start held a breast cancer awareness parade Friday in Crestview. Students from ages 1-5, some of their parents and staff members at the center on Edney Avenue West in Crestview gathered for the event.

It began with a brief speech from Head Start employee Toni Taylor. She reminded students that they learned about breast cancer survivors and other people who were ill from various types of cancer. She said some of them have family members and other people they know who have been or are sick from cancer, including herself and some of her colleagues. They also learned about how doctors work to find a cure for people that are sick.

See more videos from the parade

"We're still here. So we're still fighting for the cause. So what are we going to do? We're going to walk," she said.

With a chorus of yes ma'ams and agreements, the group began the walk chanting "Fight, fight, win, win" along the way. Participants wore a mixture of tie-dyed and decorated T-shirts with slogans such as "Fight cancer," "Sock It to Cancer" and "Be The Hope" on them. Some also had the words Love, Strength, Hope and Faith on them.

In class, they made ribbons, painted with the color pink, made rattles, and did other activities in recognition of breast cancer awareness.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa Head Start students raise breast cancer awareness