HEALTH HAZARD ALERT

CERTAIN PODS OF GREEN CARDAMOM MAY CONTAIN SALMONELLA BACTERIA

Related alerts: 2010-06-29 | 2010-06-25

Product photos

OTTAWA, June 25, 2010 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume the pods of Green Cardamom described below because these products may be contaminated with Salmonella.

The following Green Cardamom products, sold at the Ontario and Nova Scotia store locations listed below, are affected by this alert. The Green Cardamom, still in the pods, was sold in various size packages or from bulk bins. Green Cardamom is a product of Guatemala.

Size	Sold at	Affected Period
Sold from bulk bin	Bestway Food Centre 2626 Islington Ave. Toronto, ON	May 6 to June 2, 2010
100 g & 200 g	Bhatia International Grocers 9917 Tecumseh Rd. E Windsor, ON	April 26 to May 26, 2010
100 g & 1 lb (454 g)*	Fanor Mini Mart 2985 Oxford St. Halifax, NS	April 29 to June 25, 2010
100 g	Fine India Grocers 3040 Don Mills Rd. Toronto, ON	June 8 to 25, 2010
200 g & 400 g	Kohinoor Foods 1438 Gerrard St. E Toronto, ON	January 28 to February 28, 2010
Sold from bulk bin	India Bazaar Inc. 2645 Islington Ave. Toronto, ON	April 19 to June 25, 2010
100 g	Mann Enterprises & Variety Store 2400 Finch Ave W #2A Toronto, ON	April 14 to June 24, 2010
100 g & 200 g	NMK Foods Inc. 735 Renforth Dr #9 Toronto, ON	May 11 to June 25, 2010
50 g & 100 g	Rexdale Grocers 34A Rexdale Blvd. Toronto, ON	March 22 to June 25, 2010
50 g	Somali Halaal Food Market 2371 Weston Rd. Toronto, ON	March 17 to April 17, 2010

* Additional size

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of these products.

Food contaminated with Salmonella may not look or smell spoiled. Consumption of food contaminated with these bacteria may cause salmonellosis, a food borne illness. In young children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems, salmonellosis may cause serious and sometimes deadly infections. In otherwise healthy people, salmonellosis may cause short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. Long-term complications may include severe arthritis.

The distributors are voluntarily recalling the affected products from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information, consumers and industry can call CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on Salmonella, visit the Food Facts web page at:: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/concen/cause/salmonellae.shtml

For information on all food recalls, visit the CFIA’s Food Recall Report at: http://active.inspection.gc.ca/eng/corp/recarapp_dbe.asp.

To find out more about receiving recalls by e-mail, and other food safety facts, visit our web site at: www.inspection.gc.ca.

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Media enquiries:

CFIA Media Relations
613-773-6600

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