Pistachio recall takes lessons from peanuts

09-Apr-2009 - Last updated on 10-Apr-2009 at 11:15 GMT

The pistachio industry has learned lessons from the previous peanut-related salmonella recall – and so has the FDA, says the Western Pistachio Association.

The back-to-back recalls related to salmonella in peanuts and pistachios are very different, with no confirmed illnesses yet linked to pistachios, and no deaths, compared to at least 691 reported illnesses and nine deaths caused by salmonella in tainted peanut products.

But executive director of the Western Pistachio Association (WPA) Richard Matoian told FoodNavigator-USA.com that the pistachio industry has taken lessons from the peanut product recall, allowing it to deal better with the discovery of salmonella-tainted products at Setton Pistachio, and helping to protect industry and consumers.

Quick, clear communication

Representatives of the pistachio industry spoke with the FDA as quickly as possible about how best to proceed, and the FDA, which was already dealing with a massive salmonella recall, had the tools with which to respond.

As in the peanut recall, the FDA set up an interactive searchable list of products affected by the recall, but unlike in the peanut case, also posted a link to the industry’s site listing safe products.

Matoian said: “The thing that we saw with peanuts was that consumers were confused, which is why we came up with the website and we got the FDA to put a link up on their website.”

Industry also played a role in refining the FDA’s initial advice to consumers, from telling them to avoid eating pistachios (but not to throw them away), to advising them to check the two websites.

More than 290 pistachio products have been recalled so far.

It has also been easier for the pistachio industry, said Matoian.

“We have a few processors that all growers go through. We only have about two dozen of those, so it allows us to have a better dialogue,” he said. “The peanut industry had hundreds of processors so it’s much more difficult for them. We were able to get together very quickly with everyone and discuss what we are going to do.”

‘Not good enough’

Apart from getting the message across about which pistachio products are safe and which are potentially affected, that conversation has involved carefully scrutinizing manufacturing practices across the industry.

“We need to develop better testing methodologies to make sure consumers are safe,” Matoian said. “If we wait for the storm to pass over and do nothing we are not doing our job. We thought we were doing a good job, but obviously not good enough.”

He said that particular areas under the industry’s microscope include “segregation of raw and roasted, even dust control, clothing – anything and everything is being looked at.”

Although it may be too early to tell what effect the recall will have for pistachio growers and processors in the long run, it is clear that the industry website is a success, clocking up 13 thousand visitors on April 7, and six thousand on April 8, according to Matoian.

“In total the affected amount of pistachios is less than one percent of US production. I can try and minimize the amount to you but even if it’s less than one percent, consumers want to know about the product they have in their hands.”

The FDA’s recall list can be found at http://www.fda.gov/pistachio, and the list of safe products – a joint project from the Western Pistachio Association and the CAL-PURE co-op of Californian pistachio growers – is online at www.pistachiorecall.org.