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The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella linked to pistachio nuts produced by Wonderful Pistachios, located in Lost Hills, California. Distributed worldwide and seen locally, Wonderful Pistachios announced this week it is voluntarily recalling a limited number of flavors and sizes of in-shell and shelled pistachios due to a risk of Salmonella contamination.
In cooperation with the Wonderful Pistachios the FDA directed retailers to remove the specified pistachio products from shelves and advised consumers not to eat and to discard these products.
The pistachios, which were distributed through several retailers, food companies and manufacturers nationwide and in Canada, Mexico and Peru, can be identified by a 13-digit lot code number, which can be found on the lower back or bottom panel of the package. To see a list of the lot numbers, go to: http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm489959.htm
They are sold under the brand names of Wonderful, Paramount Farms and Trader Joe’s, according to the chart on the FDA website.
Health officials are currently investigating 11 cases in nine states that have been reported in connection with this matter. In a statement issued by Wonderful Pistachios, they say take food safety matters very seriously and are working closely with health officials to identify the source of the problem.
“In an effort to further enhance our food safety program and ensure the health and well being of our consumers, we have, effective immediately, proactively increased our sampling frequencies and lot size testing,” the company stated.
Consumers may return these products to Wonderful Pistachios for a refund by sending the back or bottom portion of the package that contains the lot code to Wonderful Pistachios. According to CDC reports 11 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Montevideo have been reported in nine states, and there have been no deaths. Reported illness onset dates range from December 12, 2015 to February 9, 2016.
Collaborative investigation efforts of the FDA, CDC, and the California Department of Public Health indicate that pistachio nuts produced by Wonderful Pistachios are the likely source of this outbreak. Of nine people interviewed, eight (89 percent) reported eating pistachios the week before illnesses started. Of these eight, five reported eating Wonderful brand pistachios.
The FDA collected product samples from a firm supplied by Wonderful Pistachios in January 2016. Whole Genome Sequencing confirmed the samples were highly related to cases of ill people.
BACKGROUND
According to FDA Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella can experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain.
In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e. infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.