Cantaloupe recall called precautionary by shipper
Cantaloupe recall called precautionary by shipper
Timco Worldwide Inc. issued a recall Nov. 14 for nine pallets of Mexican- grown cantaloupes because of the potential of Salmonella contamination, though the company said it was a precautionary move as no illnesses have been reported.
Andrea McNees, a spokesperson for Timco, told The Produce News Nov. 15 that the Woodland, CA-based company had successfully traced both the destination and origin of each of the 504 cartons of "Sundia" brand cantaloupes involved in the recall. She said that the cartons had been distributed in four states -- Florida, Colorado, Arizona and Texas -- to a handful of customers. Much of the product has already been sold and presumably consumed, but the retailers were asked to pull any of the affected lots from their shelves.
Ms. McNees said that the company has traced the product back to the grower in Mexico and had concluded additional third-party testing of the field involved, the irrigation water and potential points of contamination in the packingshed.
"All have come up negative," she said. "We are working closely with the [Food & Drug Administration] to identify the cause so that we can correct the problem if there is one."
She said that the potential Salmonella contamination was discovered because of routine border crossing tests taken Monday, Oct. 30. "The results of those tests were shared with us on Nov. 13. Within 24 hours, we were able to trace the source and identify and recall all of the product that was still out there," she said.
Ms. McNees said that this is the first product recall situation in which Timco has ever been involved, but it followed recall procedures that the firm has had in place for many years. She said that those procedures, as well as the company's advanced traceback coding system, allowed it to quickly identify both the source of the product and to where it specifically had been shipped.
"We are very proud of our food-safety procedures. We only source from growers [in Mexico] that have received FDA certification," she said. "The grower and farm in this case have been certified by the FDA."
The FDA said that no illnesses had been associated with this case. Healthy people infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
The 504 cartons were distributed in Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Dallas and Okeechobee, FL, between Oct. 30 and Nov. 6. The cantaloupe was distributed for sale in bulk in cardboard cartons numbering either nine or 15 cantaloupes to a carton, under the "Sundia" label. The cantaloupes are typical straw- colored on the exterior with orange flesh. The company announced the recall in a press release distributed Nov. 14.
Ms. McNees said that the company has been in business for more than 20 years without incident and that its customers were working with the company on this situation. She said that Timco had not received any media inquiries. "You are the first one," she said.
Andrea McNees, a spokesperson for Timco, told The Produce News Nov. 15 that the Woodland, CA-based company had successfully traced both the destination and origin of each of the 504 cartons of "Sundia" brand cantaloupes involved in the recall. She said that the cartons had been distributed in four states -- Florida, Colorado, Arizona and Texas -- to a handful of customers. Much of the product has already been sold and presumably consumed, but the retailers were asked to pull any of the affected lots from their shelves.
Ms. McNees said that the company has traced the product back to the grower in Mexico and had concluded additional third-party testing of the field involved, the irrigation water and potential points of contamination in the packingshed.
"All have come up negative," she said. "We are working closely with the [Food & Drug Administration] to identify the cause so that we can correct the problem if there is one."
She said that the potential Salmonella contamination was discovered because of routine border crossing tests taken Monday, Oct. 30. "The results of those tests were shared with us on Nov. 13. Within 24 hours, we were able to trace the source and identify and recall all of the product that was still out there," she said.
Ms. McNees said that this is the first product recall situation in which Timco has ever been involved, but it followed recall procedures that the firm has had in place for many years. She said that those procedures, as well as the company's advanced traceback coding system, allowed it to quickly identify both the source of the product and to where it specifically had been shipped.
"We are very proud of our food-safety procedures. We only source from growers [in Mexico] that have received FDA certification," she said. "The grower and farm in this case have been certified by the FDA."
The FDA said that no illnesses had been associated with this case. Healthy people infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
The 504 cartons were distributed in Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Dallas and Okeechobee, FL, between Oct. 30 and Nov. 6. The cantaloupe was distributed for sale in bulk in cardboard cartons numbering either nine or 15 cantaloupes to a carton, under the "Sundia" label. The cantaloupes are typical straw- colored on the exterior with orange flesh. The company announced the recall in a press release distributed Nov. 14.
Ms. McNees said that the company has been in business for more than 20 years without incident and that its customers were working with the company on this situation. She said that Timco had not received any media inquiries. "You are the first one," she said.
