Salmonella Parsley Recall Affects 10 States
Ten states received bunched parsley that has been recalled by a California farm after sample tests found Salmonella contamination.
The Salmonella parsley recall covers 1005 cases of 60-count bunched parsley from Muranaka Farm Inc. of Moorpark, California. The company said it is working on the problem with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the press release said no illnesses have been associated with the potentially contaminated parsley.
The product, stamped with lot code 0023909, was shipped in brown wax cartons under the Muranka label to the following states: Arizona (30 cases), California (574 cases), Colorado (35 cases), Florida (60 cases), Iowa (3 cases), Illinois (1 case), Missouri (7 cases, Tennessee (5 cases), Texas (278 cases) and Wisconsin (12 cases). The cases were distributed within retail and foodservice outlets.
By the time the recall was announced Friday, two weeks had passed since it was shipped and the product was past its useful shelf life. But the company said its trace recall program was able to immediately identify which stores and foodservice accounts received the parlsey in question.
The company said it could pinpoint which field the parsley came from and what crew harvested it.
Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, the elderly and others who have weakened immune systems. One of the risks posed by Salmonella poisoning is arterial infection that can lead to endocarditis and Reiter’s Syndrome.
Fresh produce contaminated with Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7 and other pathogens is an old food safety problem that the government has been trying to address by setting anti-microbial standards to keep feces-contaminated water and manure out of fields. The standards also cover worker hygiene, sanitation in packing facilities, traceback controls and transportation guidance, but more work must be done in all these areas to elevate food safety to a higher plateau.
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