Taco seasoning salmonella recall
Thinking tacos for dinner? Taco seasoning by Williams Foods LLC, sold at Walmart and other stores across the United States, is recalling certain packets due to a potential salmonella contamination. The company has issued a voluntary recall and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has posted the notice on their website. The FDA makes a practice of publishing these alerts – whether it be a recall or safety alert, as a service to the public. No reports of illness have surfaced so far, this recall is a precautionary measure.
The two packages suspected to possibly be contaminated with salmonella are the Great Value Mild Taco Seasoning Mix in 1 oz. packages and HEB Taco Seasoning Mix Reduced Sodium in 1.25 oz. packages. These packages are marked with ‘best by’ dates of 7/08/21 and 7/09/21 for the Great Value brand and 7/10/21, 7/11/21 and 7/15/21 for the HEB product. No other ‘best by’ dates are part of this voluntary recall. UPC codes are 0 78742 24572 0 and 0 41220 79609 0, respectively. These packages are sold at grocery stores in nearly all 50 states.
These taco seasoning mixes share an ingredient that is the at the crux of the recall, cumin. The supplier of the cumin present in these mixes has issued a recall for a certain batch of their product. Mincing Spice Co. has supplied cumin to multiple companies, amongst which is Williams Foods LLC. The lot of cumin distributed has been tested and was found to possibly contain salmonella – a bacteria sickening an average of 1.2 million individuals in the United States annually, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
Salmonella, which can be present in a multitude of foods – from vegetables to meats to processed foods, is impossible to detect from just looking at or smelling foods. This makes prevention of infection more difficult. The best way to mitigate exposure to illness then is to practice safe food handling and hygiene. Hand washing, especially after coming in to contact with animals or waste and keeping surfaces disinfected can help. Salmonella causes a range of symptoms, and the severity also ranges depending on the sickened individual. The young and elderly are more susceptible to severe symptoms than healthy individuals with robust immune systems. Even for these persons, however, symptoms can include bloody diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and fever. Medical intervention is suggested when symptoms are prolonged or severe.
