New York, April 1 - The U.S. recall of pistachio nuts due to potential salmonella contamination widened as more snack makers and retailers removed their nuts from store shelves as a precautionary measure.
PepsiCo Inc's North American snack division Frito-Lay recalled its unshelled pistachios in 1.75 ounce packages with sell-by dates between July 14, 2009 and Dec. 29, 2009. The company said it has received no reports of illness related to the product, but is issuing the recall as a precaution.
Frito-Lay is also recalling its bagged pistachios in Canada, where they are sold under the Munchies brand. The recalled Munchies nuts have sell-by dates between Aug. 4, 2009 and Dec. 15, 2009.
Frito-Lay and its Canadian unit said their pistachios were supplied by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc, the California grower and processor which issued a recall on Tuesday of selected lots of pistachios due to salmonella.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday that it was conducting genetic testing of samples to see if there were a link between pistachios and several illnesses reported by consumers.
The Western Pistachio Association said on Wednesday that its growers and processors are working to ensure the safety of their inventories and would keep testing shipments going forward.
Another snack maker, John B. Sanfilippo & Son Inc, recalled bulk packaged and small packages of roasted unshelled pistachios under its Fisher brand as a precaution. Ciao Bella Gelato said it recalled 3.5-ounce cups of its pistachio gelato since they contain diced pistachios supplied by Setton.
Meanwhile, grocery chain Kroger Co widened the recall of its Private Selection shelled pistachios on Tuesday, adding other "sell by" dates .
Separately, Kroger recalled 32-ounce jars of "Kroger Lite Mayo" sold in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio because they may be contaminated with salmonella.