More Trouble for Pistachios

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Remember Setton Pistachio? The Terra Bella Inc. company that, back in March, had a few little issues with salmonella contamination and had to recall a huge chunk of its products? Fortunately, the company “survived a food company’s worst nightmare,” and Chief Operating Officer Mia Cohen tells you how in an interview published yesterday on FoodProcessing.com.

Oops. Bad timing. The nightmare isn’t over yet. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the company Orca Distribution West Inc. had this really brilliant idea of taking the recalled nuts, repackaging them and selling them to hotels and restaurants.

The FDA is warning consumers to avoid pistachio brands California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards. The FDA is not issuing a recall, of course, because the FDA still doesn’t have that authority. (Which did not stop the FoodProcessing.com writer from emphasizing, over and over again, how great it was that Setton had done a “voluntary” recall when salmonella was found in its products. How noble.)

The Western Pistachio Association quickly responded to the latest news with a press release pointing out that a) this is just one rogue company and other pistachio products are perfectly fine, b) no illnesses were ever reported in connection to this recall in the first place, and c) the industry has been working harder than ever before to ensure that pistachios are “wholesome and delicious.”

Of course, based on what happened with swine flu and the peanut butter recall, I’d say the press release won’t help much. Facts play a very small role in things once consumer panic sets in.

Tags: FDA, Recall, Federal Government, Government, Katherine Glover

Katherine Glover is a Minneapolis-based print, radio and online journalist. She's written for Salon.com, Sierra Magazine and many others, and she does a weekly blog on immigration issues for MinnPost.

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FDA Issues Pistachio Warning

Food Product Design - 153 days 9 hours 1 minute ago

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat California Prime Produce and Orange County Orchards brands of pistachios repacked by Orca Distribution West, Inc., Anaheim, Calif., because they may be contaminated with Salmonella . The company received and repacked pistachios recalled by Setton...
US: FDA warns of pistachio recall in salmonella scare

Just Food - 237 days 9 hours 39 minutes ago

US safety officials are investigating salmonella contamination in pistachio products sold by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, the second-largest pistachio processor in the US
US: FDA finds salmonella in Setton Ca. plant

Just Food - 230 days 12 hours 55 minutes ago

US food safety officials have discovered salmonella at Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella's plant in California, which last week set off a nationwide recall of pistachios in the country
US: NY Setton expands pistachio recall

Just Food - 222 days 7 hours 15 minutes ago

Setton International Foods has again expanded its recall of pistachio products processed at its California affiliate Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella
Pistachios Recalled For Salmonella Risk

Food Product Design - 237 days 8 hours 59 minutes ago

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers to avoid eating pistachio products due to a risk of Salmonella contamination. 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 stopped...