The United States is one of more than 30 countries listed as having received Brazil nuts from Bolivia contaminated with Salmonella. The United Kingdom raised the Salmonella Anatum alert in mid-August, according to a notification on the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).
The first notice in the UK was Lidl GB recalling Deluxe Dark Chocolate Muesli Bar with Brazils and cranberries because they might contain Salmonella. The bars have best before dates through December 2020 and January, February, March and April 2021.
Next, Hand2Mouth Ltd. recalled various products with Brazil nuts due to potential Salmonella. This included some Eat Natural bars containing Brazil nuts, sultanas, peanuts and almonds and Hema Natural fruit and nut bars.
Possible illnesses
Eat Natural officials said they decided to withdraw and recall the product due to possible presence of Salmonella, originating from a third-party supplier of ingredients. Bars were distributed across the UK at outlets such as supermarket Tesco, high street stores including WHSmith and various wholesalers for the independent, cash and carry and vending sectors.
The recall comes after a “small number” of people became ill with salmonellosis, some of whom had eaten an Eat Natural bar containing Brazil nuts, as well as other foods.
Praveen Vijh, co-founder of Eat Natural, said: “Our bars are heat treated and this diminishes the likelihood of contamination, but we are taking this matter extremely seriously and taking all steps possible, even though at this stage the notification is very much a precautionary measure. This is an isolated incident related to some batches of Brazil nuts and does not affect any of our other bars or cereal products in any way.”
Then Paleo Foods Co. recalled certain best before dates of Cocoa and Hazelnut Grain-Free Granola containing Brazil nuts and Rude Health Food Ltd recalled The Ultimate Muesli containing Brazil nuts. The 500-gram packs have best before dates June 12 and 24, 2021, and July 20 and 21, 2021.
The Food Standards Agency told consumers who had bought any of the products not to eat them and return them to the place of purchase for a refund.
More than 30 affected nations
Bolivia is the largest producer of Brazil nuts, representing about 75 percent of world total production, followed by Peru and Brazil, according to the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council.
Retailers are requested to remove the implicated batches from sale and to display a point-of-sale recall notice in stores where they were sold, according to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.
Wholesalers and distributors should contact affected customers and recall these batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers while caterers should not use the implicated batches.
All countries concerned are Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Qatar, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the United States.
People with Salmonella typically develop symptoms 12 and 36 hours after infection, but this can range between six and 72 hours. The most common is diarrhea, which can sometimes be bloody. Other symptoms may include fever, headache and abdominal cramps. Illness usually lasts four to seven days. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.
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