Pistachio Recall 2016: Full List Of Products Affected, How To Get A Refund

A grocery store chain based in San Antonio, Texas, has issued a recall for its packaged, raw-shelled pistachio nuts, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Wednesday.

Some of H-E-B stores’ packaged pistachios might contain the salmonella bacteria. Following a routine sampling by the FDA, the bacteria was found in select pre-packaged plastic containers with raw pistachios, according to a press release from the FDA. The products in question have since been recalled and removed from stores.

The FDA reported that no instances of illness linked to the tainted products had been reported. Salmonella, while not always fatal, can cause serious illness, especially in children and in the elderly. It can cause nausea, fever, diarrhea and vomiting. Symptoms can persist anywhere from four to seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). An estimated 1.2 million cases of the illness are reported every year, and roughly 450 fatalities occur (due to the non-typhoidal salmonella), according to the CDC.

The potentially hazardous pistachios were discovered in the containers with labels that either read “Central Market Shelled Pistachios” or “Shelled Pistachios,” both marked with the "best by date" of Jan. 1, 2017.

Other products affected include the SunRidge Farms Women’s Vitality Mix, Pistachio Meats Raw Shelled, Dark Chocolate Pistachios and the PPK SRF Women's Vitality Mix, each bought on or after May 15.

Shoppers who purchased the pistachio products were urged to return the items to the store for a full refund.

The pistachio products in question were found in the H-E-B and Central Market Texas stores, respectively. All of the products have since been removed from the stores’ shelves.

Instances of salmonella discovered in pistachios have occurred before, notably, last March when brand Wonderful Pistachios voluntarily issued a recall on a number of its in-shell pistachio products. At the time, the potentially tainted products were distributed nationwide and in Peru, Mexico and Canada.