April 2009

I talked with Garance Burke of AP last evening for her story, “Tests nipped risk of tainted pistachios in bud.” Garance wrote: “The contamination was only detected because of voluntary testing by a manufacturer for Kraft Foods Inc. almost two weeks ago. Private auditors hired by Kraft later found problems they think caused the contamination

According to the FDA Website, the FDA and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) are investigating Salmonella contamination in pistachio products sold by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc, Calif. The company has stopped all distribution of processed pistachios and will issue a voluntary recall involving approximately 1 million pounds of its products.

Public health officials today warned consumers not to eat ground white pepper processed, packaged or distributed by Union International Food Company in Union City, California until further notice. Ground white pepper products from the UIFC have been linked to a multi-state outbreak of salmonella, the health officials said. The discovery of salmonella in food samples