Materia Medica Malaysiana

FDA issues alert on tainted raw almonds

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry will look into a report that California raw almonds contaminated with salmonella bacteria have been shipped to Malaysia among other countries.

The ministry's Food Quality Control Division director, Dr Abd Rahim Mohamad, said they were not aware of this and would investigate.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert on their website on Friday advising distributors, wholesalers and consumers that a recall of raw almonds from California's Paramount Farms due to reports of Salmonella Enteriditis had been extended. The almonds were shipped to Malaysia, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, France, Britain and Italy.

“Before eating any raw almonds having a “best before” date of August 21 or later, consumers are advised to check with the store where they purchased the product to see if the almonds came from Paramount Farms,” the FDA said.

“The FDA has learned that Paramount Farms distributed the recalled almonds in bulk or packaged nationwide to brokers, distributors and grocery store chains which in turn sold the almonds to consumers in a variety of package sizes under a variety of brand names,” it said.

Dr Abd Rahim said it was not common for nuts to be contaminated with salmonella.

“It's very seldom one finds salmonella in nuts as it's more common for nuts to be contaminated with afla toxin, a type of fungus which is very carcinogenic (cancerous). Salmonella is more common in meat and poultry products,” he said.

“We will look into this matter further,” he said, adding that they have a good food integration monitoring system with the Port Klang authorities to screen food at entry points.

The FDA said those infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhoea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

“In rare circumstances, infection with salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (infected aneurysms) and arthritis,” it said.

On Tuesday, Paramount Farms announced a limited recall of whole natural raw almonds sold under the Kirkland Signature, Trader Joe's and Sunkist brands, Reuters reported on Friday.

The company recalled five million pounds of raw almonds on Tuesday after FDA received seven reports of food poisoning, abc7.com reported.

The FDA said they have received 18 reports of people infected with Salmonella Enteriditis possibly linked to the consumption of the recalled raw almonds.