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List of Recalled Pistachio Products Grows as Salmonella Probe Continues

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reminding consumers that the recalled pistachio product list continues to expand as an agency investigatation seeks to pinpoint the source of salmonella contamination in pistachios.

In late March, the FDA, supplier Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc., and retailer Kroger Foods announced two separate and large-scale recalls involving pistachio nuts and products containing pistachios, because of possible salmonella contamination. Since then, the list of pistachio product recalls has been growing steadily, with 250 products now on the FDA's Updated Pistachios and Pistachio Products Recall List. In addition to raw and roasted pistachio nuts (in-shell and shelled), affected products include candy, ice cream, and snack food products.

The FDA offers the following advice to consumers: "Consumers should not eat pistachios or food products containing them (such as pistachio bakery goods and pistachio ice cream) until they can determine that the products do not contain pistachios recalled by Setton."

The New York Times reports that earlier this week, Setton (the second-largest pistachio processor in the U.S.) agreed to expand tenfold an earlier recall so that it includes the coompany's entire 2008 crop of pistachios, likely meaning that "hundreds of pistachio-containing food products, like trail mix and nutty chocolate bars, will be recalled in the coming weeks."

• FDA Pistachio Product Recall Spotlight Page (FDA.gov)
• Updated Pistachios and Pistachio Products Recall List (FDA.gov)
• FDA Answers Consumer Questions About Pistachio Products (FDA.gov)
• Washington Post: As Food Recalls Continue to Sprout, What Can a Consumer Do?
• N.Y. Times: Pistachio Recall Signals Tough Stance on Safety 
• What is Salmonella? (FindLaw)
• Food Poisoning: Health and Legal Information (FindLaw)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on April 08, 2009 (boomark / email).