Mar 31, 2009 10:59 pm US/Central
Chicago Stores React Quickly To Pistachio Recall
FDA: Don't Eat Pistachios
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
You might have to wait for a while to enjoy that baklava, or to crack open the shell of that salty, dry roasted pistachio.
The Food and Drug Administration warned on Monday that consumers should stop eating all foods containing pistachios, while they figure out the source of a possible salmonella contamination.
Click here for full product recall information on the FDA Web site.
Some Chicago stores are already taking action on the recall, and are dealing with recent nut shipments Tuesday morning.
CBS 2 checked three convenience stores and two major grocery chains in the downtown area. They declined to issue an official comment, but there were no pistachios found on their shelves.
CBS 2's Jim Williams visited Middle Eastern Bakery & Grocery in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood. The bakery's owner Hisham Khalifi had lots of nuts, including two types of pistachios.
Khalifi had pistachios from Turkey, which are thin and dark and California pistachios, which are bigger and lighter.
Khalifi took the ones from California off the shelf and put them in the back of the store.
"I'm concerned to just to move them away from the shelf, waiting for more information," said Khalifi.
CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports that Cunis Candies in South Holland has pulled its pistachio nut ice cream off the menu - for now.
"I'm thinking that my product is okay," said Kathy Biesiada of Cunis Candies. "However, I'm still not selling it."
Her local supplier says the pistachios she puts in the popular treat, and the ones she sells by the pound came from the same California company voluntarily recalling pistachios nationwide.
At the sweet shop, folks think an FDA warning against eating pistachios and pistachio products may be too much.
"I've eaten them, and I've been eating them for the last couple of weeks," Biesiada said. "And I have a very delicate stomach."
The man who makes the ice cream says he's been eating it, too.
"I was surprised. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the nuts," said Thomas Reed.
One shopper in Streeterville says pistachio cravings are eating away at her - halfway into her pregnancy.
"I really like the pistachio ice cream," said customer Susan Hinrichs.
She's a little nervous after the recent peanut scare.
"I looked on the websites to see what was safe and when it was safe," Hinrichs said.
Other shoppers say they're all about cracking down on the safety of the food they bring to the table.
But they say they're getting a little weary of what seems like one recall after another.
"It's a lot like other things. A lot of hype. And very few products that are really affected by it," a shopper said.
Cunis Candies says it gets its supply of pistachios raw, and then roasts them at about 350 degrees - which the store thinks should get rid of any problems.
The store's supplier has ordered its own independent tests of pistachios sold here in Chicagoland. But so far, no one eating foods from Cunis Candies has gotten sick.
Central California-based Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc., the nation's second-largest pistachio processor, was voluntarily recalling all of its 2008 crop -- more than 2 million pounds of nuts.
The recalled nuts were shipped on or after September 1. But because Setton ships to wholesalers across the country, and because the nuts are used in a variety of foods, it could take weeks to figure out what products are affected and where.
Two people called the FDA complaining of gastrointestinal illness that could be associated with the nuts, but the link hasn't been confirmed, said Dr. David Acheson, the FDA Associate Commissioner for Food Safety. Still, the plant decided to shut down late last week, officials said.
"We're advising consumers to avoid pistachios while we're working this out," said Acheson.
The recalled nuts represent a small fraction of the 60 million pounds of pistachios that the company's plant can process each year and an even smaller portion of the 278 million pounds produced in the state in the 2008 season, according to the Fresno-based Administrative Committee for Pistachios.
The FDA learned about the problem last Tuesday, when Kraft Foods Inc. notified the agency that it had detected salmonella in roasted pistachios through routine product testing. Kraft and the Georgia Nut Co. recalled their Back to Nature Nantucket Blend trail mix the next day.
Some other products that contain pistachios are the Planters Pecan Lovers Mix and Planters Trail Mix- Mixed Nuts And Raisins. All three products are from Northfield based Kraft.
The FDA contacted Setton Pistachio and California health officials shortly afterward.
Salmonella, the most common cause of food-borne illness, is a bacteria that causes diarrhea, fever and cramping. Most people recover, but the infection can be life-threatening for children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
For nuts, roasting is supposed to kill the bacteria. But problems can occur if the roasting is not done correctly or if roasted nuts are re-contaminated. That can happen if mice, rats or birds get into the facility.
The pistachio recall could expand as it is traced to products such as ice creams, cake mixes and trail mixes.
Last winter, a national salmonella outbreak was blamed on a Georgia company under federal investigation for flouting safety procedures and knowingly shipping contaminated peanuts. The pistachio recall is not related to the peanut incident, but it comes only weeks after a salmonella outbreak in peanuts made 700 people sick in 46 states.
The FDA says it is being aggressive in tracking down the source of the pistachio problem.
"We're trying to get out in front of the curve before there's an outbreak or before there's serious problems," said Acheson.
Khalifi says customers who bought California pistachios at his store are welcome to bring them back and get a refund.
Khalifi wonders what's next on the list of recalls. "When you think we've had this recall and a peanut recall a month or so ago. Maybe tomorrow, it's the cashews." He's just hoping that won't be the case.
CBS 2's Joanie Lum, Jim Williams, Pamela Jones and Roseanne Tellez and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Celebrity Watcher: Real Or Fake?
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
