Firm Expands Recall of Tainted Almonds

A Lost Hills grower is voluntarily expanding its recall of almonds to 13 million pounds because of the possibility of salmonella poisoning.

Paramount Farms Inc., whose corporate offices are in Los Angeles, announced a recall of 8 million pounds of almonds Friday after 5 million pounds were recalled on Tuesday, said Chris Tuffli, a company spokesman.

The first recall was prompted when seven people fell ill with salmonella enteriditis in Alaska, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Utah. The second recall was ordered after Paramount learned a person in Michigan had become ill, Tuffli said.

“Paramount Farms distributed the recalled almonds in bulk or packaged nationwide to brokers, distributors and grocery store chains, which in turn sold the almonds to consumers in a variety of package sizes with a variety of brand names,” a U.S. Food and Drug Administration statement said.

The company is advising consumers not to eat raw, whole almonds and raw, “natural diced almonds” with a “best before” date of Aug. 21 or later. The products were sold under the Kirkland Signature, Trader Joe’s and Sunkist brands, according to a statement on the company’s website.

The FDA said the almonds were also distributed to Mexico, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, France, England and Italy.

Salmonella enteriditis can cause serious illness or kill children, the elderly and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy people infected by the organism may experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain, the FDA said.

Consumers who have questions about the recall can call Paramount Farms toll-free at (800) 496-5168.