More Trouble for Pistachios

(MoneyWatch)  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.

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