Nut Recall Sparks Warning of Potentially Fatal Infection

A nut supplier faced a recall this week amid concerns over the potential for consumers to contract a fatal infection.

On Sunday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that Wenders LLC of Dublin, California was issuing a voluntary recall for "specific production lots of Trader Joes Nuts – 50% Less Sodium Roasted & Salted Whole Cashews."

The recall was issued because the specific product has "the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems," the FDA said.

The recall announcement on Sunday comes as the FDA has issued several similar warnings over the past few months. The FDA has issued recall announcement for a wide variety of reasons in recent months, with some over concerns for salmonella, possible contamination of listeria and due to undeclared ingredients that could pose an allergy risk.

"Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain," the FDA said. "In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis."

According to the FDA, the recalled nuts were sold in a number of states including Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington, at Trader Joe's locations.

"No illnesses have been reported to date," the FDA said.

The recall announcement said that the issue involving possible salmonella contamination was discovered through routine testing by the FDA. During the testing, at least one of the recalled lots tested positive for salmonella contamination, the FDA said.

"Consumers should not eat any products covered by this recall. Consumers who have purchased a recalled product are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund," the FDA said.

Newsweek reached out to Wenders LLC via email for further comment.

Last week, the FDA issued a similar recall announcement for lots of honey-roasted cashews sold in Walmart locations in 30 U.S. states. The recall was prompted over concerns that the nuts may contain undeclared coconut and milk.

"People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to coconut or milk run the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reactions if they consume this product from the impacted best if used by date," the FDA said. "The recall was initiated after a consumer report of finding coconut cashews within a container labeled as honey roasted cashews. An investigation identified that a limited number of incorrect honey roasted cashew labels were applied to the plastic cans of coconut cashews during the manufacturing process."