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Local Stores Pull Pistachios After FDA Warning

News Channel 8 photo by PETER MASA

Costco is continuing to sell pistachios because the company says its supply is not affected by the recall.

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By KATIE CORONADO

kcoronado@wfla.com

Published: March 30, 2009

Updated: 03/31/2009 05:06 pm

Food and Drug Administration officials are recommending that consumers avoid eating foods containing pistachios because the nuts could be contaminated with salmonella.

Today, California-based Setton Pistachio voluntarily recalled more than 2 million pounds of roasted nuts shipped since last fall.

Salmonella, the most common cause of food-borne illness, causes diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. People usually recover without any problem, said Todd Wills, an infectious disease expert at Tampa General Hospital, but he warned that in some cases it can become serious and cause organ damage.

In response to the recall, some Tampa Bay area supermarkets, including Sweetbay and Publix, have pulled pistachio products from their shelves.

"Because the safety of our shoppers is most important, as a precautionary measure, Sweetbay is responding to voluntary recalls from manufacturers to certain products with pistachio nuts from our shelves." Sweetbay spokeswoman Lynn Peterson said in a prepared statement. "We will continue to monitor this situation daily as information is released and remove additional products, as necessary."

You can still find pistachios on the shelves of Costco in Brandon, however.

"We had communication from Setton Farms, and we are not part of the recall," said store manager Hector Mencia. "Our pistachios are completely safe and there's no issue with them."

So far, two people have called the FDA complaining of gastrointestinal illness that could be associated with the nuts, but the link has not been confirmed. According to The Associated Press, the FDA learned about the pistachio problem last week, when Kraft Foods Inc. notified the agency that routine product testing had detected salmonella in roasted pistachios.

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