By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com
March 31, 2009
Pistachio lovers beware. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) are warning consumers not to eat pistachios because of possible salmonella contamination.
Officials say this latest food scare is linked to pistachio products sold nationwide by the California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc.
On Monday, that company recalled more than one-million pounds of its pistachios and halted production and distribution of all its products. The company is the second largest pistachio processor in the country.
Our advice to consumers is that they avoid eating pistachio products, and that they hold onto those products, Dr. David Acheson, the FDAs assistant commissioner for food safety, said. 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.
FDA officials said they learned just a few days ago, on March 24, that Kraft Foods Back to Nature Trail Mix had tested positive for salmonella.
Kraft identified the source of the contamination as pistachios from Setton and notified the FDA. Kraft and the Georgia Nut Co. also recalled the Back to Nature Nantucket Blend trail mix the following day.
Setton Pistachio is now recalling specific lots of its bulk roasted shelled and roasted inshell pistachios shipped on or after September 1, 2008 to distributors nationwide. The recall includes 2,000 lbs., 1,700 lbs., 1,800 lbs. and 1,000 lbs. tote bags of roasted inshell pistachios sold to wholesale customers.
The company has asked firms that received those pistachios — and further processed, repacked, or distributed them — to recall those products and contact the FDA.
The recall also includes Setton Farms brand roasted salted shelled pistachios in 9 oz. film bags, UPC Code: 034325020252 with a "Best Before" date between 01/06/10 and 01/19/10. The company distributed those pistachios in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky.
Consumers who purchased those pistachios should return them to the store for a full refund.
Company officials warn its pistachios are used in a variety of foods and that could trigger additional pistachio-related recalls. The company shipped bags of its nuts — some that weighed up to 2,000 pounds — to 36 wholesalers nationwide.
California health officials say it could take weeks to determine how many products are potentially affected by these tainted pistachios.
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, Jeff Farrar, chief of the Food and Drug Branch of the California Department of Public Health, told the Associated Press. The firm is already turning around trucks in transit to bring those back to the facility.
California health officials have taken hundreds of samples from Settons plant, according to the Associated Press. Lab tests, however, have not determined if salmonella was found at the facility.
The companys tests on the contaminated products isolated four types of salmonella, the Association Press reported.
Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and those with compromised immune systems. Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
In rare circumstances, the organism can get into the bloodstream and cause more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, endocarditis, and arthritis.
FDA officials said the contamination problems with these pistachios is not related to the recent salmonella outbreak linked to tainted peanuts and peanut products.
That outbreak is blamed for the illnesses of nearly 700 people in 46 states and may have contributed to the deaths of nine others, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Federal officials identified the source of that contamination as peanuts and peanut products from the Georgia-based Peanut Corporation of America.
The FDA now has a database consumers can search to see if any of their favorite brands of pistachios or other products are included in any recall actions.
