Battle to Clear Shelves of Contaminated Peanut
Products Continues
FDA warns consumers of Westco Fruit and Nuts; company
not recalling products
March 25, 2009 – Clearing the grocery shelves of
contaminated peanuts and peanut-derived products is not over, yet. The
Food and Drug Administration on Monday warned consumers to avoid these
products sold by Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc. (Westco/Westcott) due to
possible Salmonella contamination. Westco had reportedly refused to
recall these products and the FDA has now “officially” asked for a
“voluntarily recall” of their products containing peanuts from Peanut
Corporation of American (PCA).
Peanuts in Westco/Westcott products may have been
come from PCA, which earlier recalled the peanuts because of concern
about Salmonella contamination.
Investigations by the FDA and the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention identified products from PCA's Blakely,
Ga., facility as a source of the current Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak
and led to PCA's recall of the peanuts.Between Nov. 19 and Dec. 30,
2008, Westco/Westcott received three shipments of Oil Roasted Salted
Redskin Jumbo Peanuts from PCA's Blakely, Ga., facility.
Westco/Westcott, based in Irvington, New Jersey,
sold these peanuts in various size/packaging configurations and also
used them as an ingredient in a variety of mixed nut products and trail
mix produced between Nov. 19, 2008, and mid-Feb. 2009.
ABC News spoke with Westco/Westcott owner, Jacob
Moradi, who claims his products are safe and that the FDA’s recommended
recall could run his company into the ground.
“They are asking me to commit suicide based on
presumption. They have shown no proof. We have begged them…. They have
no proof that anyone got sick from eating whole redskin peanuts roasted
in oil.”
Moradi continues to reject the FDA’s requests and
refuses to recall his products and to provide a client list to the FDA.
But, a federal official said Moradi “ran away and hid” when government
inspectors arrived at his plant, ABC News reported. “I was scared of
them,” Moradi told ABC News. (Click
here to the ABC report)
The FDA urges consumers to check whether they have
peanut-derived products made by or distributed by Westco/Westcott in
their homes.
For those consumers who do, they should dispose of
the peanuts in a safe manner by placing them in a plastic bag with
bleach, seal the bag properly and place in a trash bin; they should wash
their hands after handling. Salmonella is an organism, which can cause
serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or
elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
As of March 15, 2009, 691 persons infected with the
outbreak strain of Salmonella Typhimurium have been reported from 46
states, and infection may have contributed to nine deaths.
Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often
experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and
abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can
result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more
severe illnesses such as arterial infections, e.g., infected aneurysms,
endocarditis and arthritis.
Individuals who experience any of the symptoms
listed above after consuming Westco/Westcott peanut-derived products are
advised to contact their health care provider. They also can report
problems to the FDA district office
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html, to FDA's
Emergency Operations Center (301-443-1240), or to FDA's Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) Adverse Events Reporting System (CAERS)
at (301) 436-2405 or email at
CAERS@cfsan.fda.gov.
For more on the FDA's investigation into the
Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak and a complete list of all the products
being recalled, visit
http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html.
Jan.
15, 2009