Iranian pistachios previously imported to Canada need to be held and tested for salmonella before being sold, federal officials say.
The measure comes as federal health officials conduct an ongoing outbreak investigation that includes 155 lab-confirmed salmonella infections that have been identified across the country, with the actual number likely higher, given not everyone sickened seeks medical attention to get tested.
Of the cases, 24 people were hospitalized, with no deaths. People became sick between early March and mid-November.
Federal authorities advised consumers on Tuesday “to consider alternatives to pistachios from Iran and products made with pistachios from Iran,” due to possible contamination with various types of salmonella.
“Many people who became sick reported eating pistachios, and products containing pistachios, such as Dubai-style chocolate and pastry products,” according to a notice from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) noted various brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, including Dubai pistachio and knafeh milk chocolate as well as nuts themselves, are under recall.
The investigation continues and more foods may be identified.
Why does salmonella persist in nuts?
Salmonella infection is a food-borne bacterial illness that may cause fever, headache, vomiting, nausea, cramps and diarrhea. It’s caused when fecal material from infected humans or animals gets into our mouths, such as by consuming contaminated food or drink.
Salmonella can be common in growing areas due to manure runoff from animal production and sewage spillage, microbiologists say.
“There are certain salmonella, such as the Havana serotype, that can persist in soil,” said Keith Warriner, a professor specializing in food safety at the University of Guelph.
Pistachios grow on trees and can be contaminated by birds, insects or fungi while growing, during harvest or processing.
Pistachios also have a long shelf life, so products purchased months ago may still be in your home or business, health officials advised individuals, as well as retailers, distributors and food service establishments such as grocery stores, pharmacies, bakeries and cafes across Canada.
Consumers should check CFIA’s recall listings to see if their product is affected and compare product details (brand, product name and size, UPC and codes) with recall notices, the food agency said.
“Do not consume, serve, use, sell or distribute recalled products or use them in cooking or baking — heat may not kill salmonella in pistachios,” PHAC advised. Instead, throw out or return recalled products to the place of purchase.
Salmonella survives very well in dry foods, food microbiologists say. Previous outbreaks have been traced to other nuts like almonds, as well as chocolate and flour.
Drying delays were associated with more pathogen growth in one U.S. study of pistachios.
What about chocolate?
Processing may not kill salmonella bacteria, food scientists say.
When contaminated nuts are incorporated into chocolate, the salmonella can survive the stomach acid and relatively low doses can cause illness, said Warriner.
What is the role of Iran in this outbreak?
The affected pistachios in this outbreak were imported from Iran and pistachios from countries other than Iran are not affected, according to the Government of Canada’s site.
Officials advise it’s safest to avoid the product if the country of origin can’t be confirmed, adding that not all pistachio-containing products have labels indicating where each ingredient comes from.
Recent pistachio recalls are impacting businesses in Ottawa. Pistachio Choco’s owner and chocolatier says he’s constantly dealing with concerned customers.
Since Sep. 27, Canada has temporarily banned the import of pistachios and pistachio-containing products from Iran as a precautionary measure to prevent the possibility of new contaminated products from entering the marketplace, in addition to testing, inspections, recall notices and verification by CFIA.
“In addition to these actions, the CFIA has now made it mandatory for all federally licensed importers and manufacturers that have Iranian pistachios that were imported prior to September 27, to hold and test them for Salmonella before they can be sold in Canada.”
The goal is to protect Canadians from illness and provide consumers with greater reassurance that what they are buying is safe, CFIA said.
Warriner said there was a similar response to romaine lettuce that was exported from California’s Salinas Valley in response to an outbreak of E. coli O157:H7.
“It is not an unexpected reaction from the CFIA to request testing,” Warriner said in an email. “However, by requesting testing it can be seen as a trade barrier. In the case of the romaine lettuce the testing requirement was said to put growers in the U.S. at a disadvantage so a compromise was made.”
Warriner pointed out that with pistachios, another risk is the nuts can be distributed by other countries such as Turkey. Given that the U.S. and Iran are the two major producers of pistachios, determining the origin “would be relatively easy.”
In his view, testing is more like looking for needles in haystacks and what is needed are decontamination methods.
