TERRA BELLA, Calif. — The salmonella scare that prompted a blanket federal warning against eating pistachios may have erupted because contaminated raw nuts got mixed with roasted nuts during processing, the company at the center of the nationwide recall said Tuesday.
Lee Cohen, the production manager for Setton International Foods, said the company does not believe pistachios were contaminated by a human or animal source in its plant. He said the company suspects that roasted pistachios sold to Kraft Foods may have become mixed at Setton’s plant with raw nuts that could have contained traces of the bacteria.
The pistachios were processed at Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc.
Roasting is supposed to kill the bacteria in nuts. But problems can occur if the roasting is done incorrectly or if roasted nuts are recontaminated.
The Food and Drug Administration learned about the problem March 24, when Kraft Foods notified the agency that routine testing had detected salmonella in roasted pistachios. Federal officials warned people Monday not to eat any products with pistachios while they investigate.
Colorado.
