According to an AP release, California public health officials are warning consumers to avoid certain packages of Kowalke Organics packaged alfalfa sprouts, due to potential Salmonella contamination.
“Mike’s Produce Inc., which does business as Kowalke Family Sprouts of Culver City, has voluntarily recalled several raw alfalfa sprouts products, including packaged dinner salad and onion mix.
The Department of Public Health said the packages have sell-by dates from June 18 to June 30 and were mostly distributed at Gelson’s and Whole Foods grocery stores in Southern California.”
Only one package is known to have tested positive for Salmonella: a package purchased as part of state agents’ “secret shopping” investigation. Mike Matthews, Kowalke owner, claims that the company’s records indicate the recalled batch tested negative for Salmonella, and places the blame elsewhere, possibly cross-contamination in the store where the Salmonella-positive sprouts were purchased.
Regardless of the blame game, Salmonella poisoning or salmonellosis is not a sickness to be casually dismissed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) receive reports of approximately 40,000 cases of salmonellosis in the United States each year – and the CDC estimates that hundreds of thousands more cases go unreported. Salmonella poisoning produces symptoms that range from unpleasant discomfort to extremely dangerous health conditions. Eating contaminated food can cause abdominal cramping, diarrhea and fever – and while most people recover within a week, those with compromised heath can suffer more serious consequences. In particular, the elderly, young children, AIDS patients, and anyone else whose immune systems is underdeveloped or compromised may become extremely ill. If Salmonella gets into the bloodstream, it can be life-threatening.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2010
