Holiday greetings from a salmonella culture

A Texas distributor has expanded a recall already involving thousands of cases of produce over fears of salmonella cross-contamination in its processing facility…

The “precautionary, voluntary recall” pertains to cilantro and parsley packed between November 30 and December 6, the Edinburg, Texas-based company said in a statement. The produce…processed and branded as Little Bear between those dates can be taken to retailers for a full refund.

The company is also recalling 19 other types of produce that were run on the same packing lines, because the salmonella may have spread to those products as well.

“It’s imperative to protect public health, even if that means being overzealous in expanding the scope of the products we’re calling back,” said James Bassetti, president of J&D Produce. “We will work closely with regulators, health officials and our customers in bringing back the products.”

No one has reported getting sick from eating the vegetables, according to J&D Produce…

The company’s products are sold retail as well as to wholesalers, who may then distribute them to restaurants and other establishments, according to Sharon McNerney, a public relations consultant for the company…

In addition to cilantro and parsley, the Texas company gathers, packs and distributes a variety of fruits and vegetables such as carrots, limes, eggplants, peppers, greens, onions, melons, mangoes and asparagus, according to its website.

You can find a listing of the recalled produce over here at the company’s website.

Sensible folks work at getting people to eat more veggies. It’s painful to provide another excuse for those who would copout on decent nutrition.