The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) was informed by a local distributor (On Tak Lung Trading Limited) that the company had imported pistachios from Setton Farms in California, USA since November last year.
The US authorities said Setton Farms recently conducted a voluntary recall of its pistachio products suspected of Salmonella contamination.
"According to information from the local distributor, about 6,700 boxes (25lb. each) of pistachios were imported from Setton Farms. About 6,300 boxes of them had been sold to seven retailers (see annexed table for details). The distributor has stopped selling the remaining stock. Follow-up and mark-and-seal action will be taken by CFS on the unsold stock," a CFS spokesman said today (April 4).
"We appeal to the trade to stop selling the pistachios that were purchased from the distributor or the retailers concerned."
"If consumers are in possession of any of the pistachios bought from these retailers, they should not consume them. They should dispose of them and thoroughly wash their hands afterwards. If people have doubts about the pistachios they have purchased, they should not consume them. They should ask the retailers or distributors concerned for the source of the products."
"The CFS has been in close contact with the US authorities in regard to the Salmonella contamination incident in the country, and is contacting the US authorities for updates. We will continue to follow up on the latest developments and have collected samples of pistachios and related products for tests."
Consumers and the trade can obtain the latest information of the recalled pistachio products from the US Food and Drug Administration website at http://www.fda.gov/pistachios.
Salmonella is a pathogen that may cause food poisoning. The symptoms include nausea, fever, abdominal pain, diarrhoea and vomiting. The symptoms are more severe in infants and the elderly.
Attachment:
Reprinted from HKSAR Government web page:
http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200904/04/P200904040202.htm