Buurma Farms Inc. of Willard, OH, is recalling some of its plain parsley after testing showed possible contamination with Shiga-toxin producing E. coli.
The product being recalled is Buurma plain (flat-leaf) parsley with a harvest date of Aug. 30 from the company’s Gregory, MI, location.
“A random, routine regulatory sample collected on Sept. 7 at a customer’s distribution center by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development tested positive for non-O157 STEC (Shiga-toxin producing E. Coli) and reported Sept. 13,” according to the company’s recall notice posted by the Food and Drug Administration
The sample is currently being genome sequenced to determine if it is pathogenic. Buurma Farms Inc. is coordinating the investigation with regulatory officials in connection with the recall. No illnesses have been reported as of the posting of the recall notice.
The product being recalled was sold and shipped in 30 count cartons to retailers in Ohio and Michigan between Aug. 31 and Sept. 3. It was also sold in 60 count crates to wholesalers in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and South Carolina between Sept. 2 and 4.
Retailers and wholesalers can find the product code of the recalled parsley on the orange lot code sticker on each case and at the end of the GTIN number below the bar code on the PTI label. Only plain flat-leaf parsley with a lot code of “2A242A6” and a PTI lot code of “2B243A6” is included in this recall.
Retailers and wholesalers known to have received this product have already been contacted and asked to pull any potentially contaminated product from distribution.
Individual bunches of flat parsley sold to retailers for purchase by consumers would likely have a “BURMA FARMS Plain Parsley” twist-tie with a price look-up (PLU) number of 4901 and a UPC code of 33383 80125.
The PLU and UPC numbers are not unique to Buurma Farms and would be on all flat/plain parsley regardless of where it is from. So, consumers should be sure to look for the Buurma Farms logo.
The wholesale distribution channels involved in the recall do not have the twist-tie and instead have only a plain red rubber band on the bunch.
Production of the product involved has been suspended until FDA and other regulatory agencies have completed their investigation.
The product involved should already be out of distribution but if consumers have any product they question, do not consume it, but rather discard it. Retailers and consumers with questions may call the consumer hotline at 866-827-3362.
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