Pistachios or peanuts, are you safe

Last week in the food recall world, we saw a few more peanut related recalls and then another salmonella issue from the Georgia Nut Company that sells bulk pistachios. In relation to this further down stream, the next set of recalls was issued by Back to Nature and the Kroger Company.
Does this sound interestingly like PCA or as Yogi Berra said “Déjà vu all over again”?

A firm in South Carolina firm used the USDA stamp without an inspector on the premises. A lesson learned the hard way.

A listeria recall in Asadero and Oaxaca cheeses was initiated.

And, two companies issued recalls because of mislabeling and allergens.


Kroger Recalls Shelled Pistachios Due to Possible Health Risk (March 27) (salmonella)
Arya Ice Cream Dist. Co., Inc. Recalls California Dream Nut Sundae Because of Possible Health Risk (March 25) (salmonella)
South Carolina Firm Recalls Frozen Meat and Poultry Products Due To Misbranding and Lack of USDA Inspection (operating without inspector on premises)
Torres Hillsdale Country Cheese LLC Expands the Recall of Asadero and Oaxaca Cheeses due to Possible Listeria Contamination (March 23) (listeria)
Missouri Firm Recalls Cheese Frank Products Due To Mislabeling and an Undeclared Allergen (milk and cheese)
The Georgia Nut Company Issues Voluntary Recall of Certain Snack Products Containing Shelled Pistachio Nuts Because of Possible Health Risk (March 25) (salmonella)
Back to Nature Foods Company Conducts Nationwide Recall of Nantucket Blend Trail Mix Containing Pistachio Nuts Because of Possible Health Risk (March 25) (salmonella)
California Firm Recalls Smoked Chicken Sausage Products Due to Mislabeling (wheat gluten)


What do all these have in common? Lack of effective internal control exists. All businesses have controls. These controls are only as good as they as they are effective.

Mislabeling could be production not using the correct packaging for the current product. It could be an ineffective or missing allergen cleaning step. It might be quality control or purchasing not monitoring packaging before purchasing or an ingredient change in the formula not listed on the label.

Bacterial contamination is a testing, monitoring and sanitation issue.

All of these issues could be controlled and/or eliminated with the right controls in place and the right people taking their food safety and quality control jobs seriously.

Review your controls, test your controls and expect perfection. Errors are not acceptable when dealing with the safety of our food.

Be safe, be ethical, protect your customers and yourself.

For more information contact me at rudy@powerinlearning.com