Pistachios Recalled For Fear Of Salmonella Poisoning
Shortly after a huge salmonella recall for peanuts, federal food officials are now encouraging consumers to stay away from food made with pistachios, which may be tainted with the same bacteria.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. recalled more than 2 million pounds of its roasted nuts dispatched around the U.S. since last fall.
"Our advice to consumers is that they avoid eating pistachio products, and that they hold onto those products," stated Dr. David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food safety to AP News. "The number of products that are going to be recalled over the coming days will grow, simply because these pistachio nuts have then been repackaged into consumer-level containers."
Two people reported to the FDA that they suffered from gastrointestinal illness that may have been connected to the nuts, but the link is not established, Acheson said. However, the California plant decided to ere on the side of caution and close down last week.
The recalled nuts are only a small portion of the 55 million pounds of pistachios that the company’s plant made in 2008 and an even less of the 278 million pounds processed in California, says the Fresno-based Administrative Committee for Pistachios.
California is the second-leading manufacturer of pistachios in the world.
Setton Pistachio is in a corporate branch of Commack, N.Y. Setton International Foods Inc. The company vends nuts, dried fruit, edible seeds, chocolate and yogurt-coated candies.
The FDA was notified about the issue Tuesday, when Kraft Foods Inc. alerted the agency that it had become aware of salmonella in roasted pistachios through scheduled product testing. Kraft and the Georgia Nut Co. retracted their Back to Nature Nantucket Blend trail mix the very next day.
The FDA got in touch with Setton Pistachio and California health officials abruptly after that, in what Acheson labels a "proactive move."
By Friday, grocery operative Kroger Co. pulled one of its lines of pistachios because of potential salmonella poisoning, noting the California plant was where the nuts were bagged.
Fabia D’Arienzo, a spokeswoman for Tulare County-based Setton Pistachio, stated that the company is only pulling back specific bulk roasted in-shell and roasted shelled pistachios that were mailed on or after September 1.
Since Setton Pistachio shipped such a large amount of nuts to 36 wholesalers across the U.S., it will take a long time to determine how stores might be affected, said Jeff Farrar, chief of the Food and Drug Branch of the California Department of Public Health.
"It will be safe to assume based on the volume that this will be an ingredient in a lot of different products, and that may possibly include things like ice cream and cake mixes," Farrar said. "The firm is already turning around trucks in transit to bring those back to the facility."
Salmonella, the most frequent reason of food-borne sickness, is a bacterium that can cause diarrhea, fever and stomach cramps. Many people pull through, but it can be life-threatening for children, elderly and those with diluted immune systems.
Roasting a nut is actually meant to kill the bacteria. However, contamination can happen if the roasting is carried out properly.
California public health authorities are taking hundreds of samples at Setton’s processing facility, but it is not yet known if salmonella was discovered, Farrar said.
—
On the Net: