In an alarming development for Canadian consumers, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has significantly expanded its nationwide recall of pistachio products as a growing salmonella outbreak continues to claim new victims across the country. What began as a limited recall of specialty brands has now ballooned to include major retailers and dozens of products containing the contaminated nuts.
“We’re seeing an unusually persistent contamination pattern,” said Dr. Helena Moreau, CFIA’s chief food safety officer, during yesterday’s emergency briefing. “The scope of affected products continues to widen as our investigation deepens, suggesting a fundamental issue within the supply chain rather than isolated incidents.”
The expanded recall now encompasses over 40 brands of raw, roasted, salted, and flavored pistachios, as well as numerous prepared foods containing the nuts as ingredients. Major grocery chains including Loblaws, Metro, and Sobeys have pulled the affected products from their shelves nationwide, while Canada News reports that border inspections on imported nuts have been intensified.
Health Canada has confirmed 87 cases of salmonella poisoning directly linked to pistachio consumption since June, with 23 hospitalizations and cases reported in every province. Most concerning to authorities is the rising number of affected children and elderly individuals, who face greater risks from the infection.
“The contamination appears to have originated from a major California processing facility that supplies multiple Canadian importers,” explained Joanne Kim, senior epidemiologist at Public Health Agency of Canada. “The difficulty lies in tracing every product that may contain even small amounts of the affected pistachios, particularly in mixed nuts and prepared foods.”
Industry analysts from the CO24 Business desk note that this recall comes at a particularly challenging time, as global pistachio supplies were already constrained by climate-related harvest issues in Iran and Turkey, two major producers. Canadian importers now face both safety concerns and supply shortages simultaneously.
The CFIA is urging Canadians to check their pantries thoroughly, as pistachios can remain shelf-stable for months, meaning contaminated products purchased before the recall may still be in homes. Affected products can be identified through lot numbers and best-before dates available on the agency’s continuously updated recall database.
Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include fever, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting, typically appearing 12 to 72 hours after consumption. While most healthy adults recover without treatment within a week, children, elderly, and immunocompromised individuals may develop severe illness requiring hospitalization.
Retail associations are working with public health officials to improve notification systems, as CO24 News investigations revealed many consumers remained unaware of the initial recall notices despite their wide distribution.
As this situation continues to evolve, a critical question emerges: how can our food safety systems better detect and prevent contamination before products reach consumers’ homes, rather than reacting after illnesses are reported?
