Almond recall grows; nut processor is sued The FDA say more outlets are likley affected by the Kern County product.
As Bee Staff Writer Mike Lee reported today, the FDA says more outlets are likely affected by the Kern County product. My firm filed suit Monday against Paramount Foods, whose raw almonds are the target of a greatly expanded product recall.
"More labels and more (brand) names will be coming out," said Jack Guzewich, director of emergency response in FDA's food-safety division. "It's not done yet."
The FDA has tentatively linked 18 cases of food poisoning to raw almonds from Paramount Farms of Lost Hills in Kern County, the state's largest almond grower. Potentially related illnesses still are being investigated.
Over the weekend, Paramount expanded its recall to 13 million pounds from 5 million pounds. It also said that it immediately would start pasteurizing all almonds before they are shipped.
"There have been prior incidences of salmonella-tainted almonds that have led to illnesses and recalls," said William Marler, attorney for the family, in a statement. "Paramount Farms should have known this and taken appropriate precautions to make sure it didn't happen again."
