Pine Nuts Recall After Salmonella Hits 42 People Across 6 States

By Brendan Giusti , Christian Post Reporter

October 27, 2011|9:19 pm

An outbreak of salmonella stemming from tainted pine nuts is responsible for sickening 42 people in six states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The nuts were sold at Wegmans Food Markets in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland.

The grocery store chain issued a recall of about 5,000 pounds of the Turkish pine nuts sold in the bulk foods department from Jul. 1 through Oct. 18, according to store officials. Bottled pine nuts are not part of the recall.

The bulk of the infections were reported in New York, according to the CDC. But people in Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland and Arizona have also fallen ill.

The number of infected people could rise due to the amount of time it takes between a person becoming sick with Salmonella and when it is reported to public health officials, according to the CDC.

The 42 people reported to be sick as a result of the contaminated nuts all came between late August and late September.

No deaths were reported as a result of the outbreak.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, fever, vomiting and stomach cramps, according to the CDC. Symptoms usually appear within 12 to 72 hours after being infected and typically last four to seven days.

Salmonella usually does not require medical attention, but it can become serious and even fatal in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems, warns the CDC.

Salmonella is also causing a Georgia company to recall an egg product after routine tests detected trace amounts of the bacteria, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

American Egg Products issued a recall of its bulk frozen egg products, which were sold to distributors in Georgia and Florida.

No illnesses have been reported in connection with the product, the company said.

Both companies are working with the CDC, Food and Drug Administration, and public health officials, according to reports.

Earlier this year, more than 100 people in 34 states became ill from as a result of Salmonella found in ground turkey, according to the CDC. The bacteria was also found in Cantaloupe, which killed 28 people in nine states.