SanFranGate State announces recall of potentially harmful alfalfa sprouts

Wednesday, April 18, 2001

©2001 Associated Press

URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/04/18/state0225EDT0333.DTL

(04-18) 02:25 EDT LOS ANGELES (AP) -- State officials announced Tuesday that Fuji Natural Foods is voluntarily recalling its alfalfa sprouts products because they may be contaminated with salmonella.

The California Department of Health Services said the Ontario-based manufacturer also is temporarily suspending production of alfalfa sprouts while its production and testing procedures are being reviewed.

There have been no illnesses linked to the current lots of alfalfa sprouts being recalled, but state officials are investigating an outbreak of salmonella that occurred in February that were linked with Fuji alfalfa sprouts products. There were 22 cases of salmonella reported in 12 counties, from San Diego to San Luis Obispo, and one case in Arizona, officials said.

The products recalled Tuesday were distributed to wholesalers, grocery stores, delis and restaurants in California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.

The products being recalled bear the ``Fuji Natural Foods'' logo and/or the company's brand names, which include: ``The Sprout Factory,'' ``Spicy Sprouts'' and ``Zesty Sprouts.''

The products range in size from 4-ounce plastic cups to 5-pound boxes.

Anyone who finds the sprouts in their homes should not eat them, discard them or return them from where they were bought for a refund.

Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems. Even healthy people infected with salmonella can experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Alfalfa sprouts have been implicated in other salmonella outbreaks, and the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning in 1997 advising people at high risk for food-borne disease to avoid them.

For more information on the recall, consumers may call Fuji Natural Foods at (909) 947-1008.

-- Anonymous, April 18, 2001