Pistachio Recall Linked to Salmonella Risk
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers to avoid eating all pistachio and pistachio-containing products after a California-based processor issued a voluntary recall for its entire 2008 crop due to suspected Salmonella contamination. Meanwhile, the agency has praised Kraft Foods Inc. for demonstrating how the country should handle food safety issues. Kraft voluntarily notified FDA after one of its suppliers, Georgia Nut Co., discovered Salmonella on its pistachios during routine testing and traced the tainted products to Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc, the nation’s second-largest pistachio processor.
“You can call it a fluke, you can call it good luck, or you can call it good judgment on the part of Kraft,” David Acheson, FDA’s associate commissioner on food safety, was quoted as saying. “They’re not required to tell us. They did and we’re moving on it.” See Foodproductiondaily.com, March 31 and April 3, 2009; The Associated Press, April 2, 2009; and Perishablepundit.com, April 3, 2009.
In related news, U.S. farmers may reportedly cut peanut plantings by 27 percent this year after buyers slashed contracts following the recent peanut Salmonella scare. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), growers intend to plant 1.12 million acres this year, compared to 1.534 million in 2008. See Reuters.com, March 31, 2009.
