The Major 2004 Nut Recall That Sent Multiple Consumers To The Hospital

Nuts like almonds, being packed full of nutrients, are rightfully seen as sitting on the healthier end of the snack spectrum. Still, nut recalls happen every so often; ideally (but not always) before anyone gets hurt. Reasons behind nut and seed recalls that can affect millions include the usual problems like undisclosed allergens, but there have been an unfortunately high number of salmonella contaminations in the nut industry. One particular instance, way back in the early 2000s, is still considered to be a notably severe recall due to the size of the farm where it started. And it's thought that upwards of two dozen people were sickened by salmonella in the almonds before the recall went into effect.

The case involved almonds which were traced back to Paramount Farms in California. One of the world's biggest producers, Paramount supplied almonds to a number of brands including Trader Joe's, Sunkist, and Kirkland Signature at Costco. You can thus imagine the scope of the outbreak after salmonella was first detected: in May 2004, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) discovered five patients in Oregon who had become sick after buying Costco almonds, and it didn't take long to locate more. By the investigation's end, 29 people across the U.S. and Canada had fallen ill, leading Paramount Farms to recall 2.7 million packages from store shelves, amounting to 13 million pounds of raw almonds.

While Costco customers often return walnuts for smelling bad or tasting stale, salmonella is a much bigger deal. If a farm or factory isn't careful, one contaminated piece of food can quickly infect the rest of the batch. For most people, salmonella can lead to a few terrible days of high fever and various kinds of intestinal distress, but the CDC estimated that the Paramount Farms case hospitalized seven people due to severe salmonella poisoning.

Paramount Farms changed its name to Wonderful Pistachios & Almonds in 2015 (alongside a name change by its parent company, Roll Global, to become The Wonderful Company), and still appears to be one of the world's largest almond and pistachio growers. But this same farm saw another salmonella outbreak in 2016 after the name change. This time, the tainted nuts were pistachios, and the incident hospitalized at least two out of the 11 people affected. The outbreak was traced back to nuts sold under both Wonderful and Paramount Farms brands, as well as Trader Joe's store brand.

While your chances of buying contaminated nuts is likely low due to the rare presence of harmful bacteria in dry goods, it's a good reminder that it's common for different brands to source ingredients from the same farms or factories. When a Costco recall affects millions of people, sometimes the producer pulls its almonds from other stores' shelves, too.