It was a very difficult experience and certainly one that Larry Nienkerk of Splendid Products Inc. in Burlingame, CA, wouldn’t wish on his worst enemy.

Yet the recall of mangos in late August was also enlightening and added to the respect that he has for everyone involved in the process, including his many customers.

Unlike the reaction of some when faced with a potential recall, Mr. Nienkerk did not flinch when he first became aware that mangos from a packinghouse that he represents in northern Sinaloa in Mexico were suspected in a Salmonella illness outbreak, first in Canada and then in the United States.

“When the inquiries started coming in and there appeared to be a link, it really shook us up,” he admitted. “I’ve never been involved in a recall before. But our first concern — and the first concern you have to have in this kind of situation — was for public safety. That was our top priority.”

He said that shipments were immediately suspended and “we began calling our customers. Very quickly we initiated a voluntary recall.”

The problem was first reported in Canada on the morning of Friday, Aug. 24, when the Canadian Fruit Inspection Agency linked 22 illnesses in the country with the consumption of “Daniella” brand mangos.

The Canadian importer, Mex Y Can Trading Inc. in Mississauga, ON, which had bought the fruit from Splendid, immediately launched its voluntary recall of all mangos with lot numbers indicating production dates between July 12 and that date.

Within quick order, a Salmonella outbreak in California was also linked to mangos. In Canada about two dozen people fell ill from the pathogen while the total of illnesses in the United States topped 100 by the end of the month.

“Again, our top concern was for public safety but I was very impressed with every single one of our customers,” Mr. Nienkerk said. “The minute we called them they acted professionally and quickly to handle the situation. Virtually every single one of them had a crisis plan in place and a crisis team that immediately sprang into action.”

He said that the customers — mostly chainstores — pulled the product from the shelves immediately and were able to dispose of cartons in the warehouse in the proper fashion in very short order. They also alerted their consumers to minimize public contact with the fruit and to remove product that was already in the refrigerator at home.

Splendid notified the Mexican grower and independently tested all the product in its own warehouses and any lot waiting for shipment in Mexico. Although the third-party testing found no Salmonella contamination, Mr. Nienkerk is not shirking responsibility nor doubting the link found by the government officials in both Canada and the United States.

“I am no scientist so I don’t know exactly how they do it, but obviously they discovered the illnesses and found that the common thread was mangos,” he said. “We take full responsibility to get to the bottom of this problem and to inform our customers about the situation."

Again, he reiterated that the devastating part of the whole experience is realizing that your product might be responsible for endangering public safety.

Moving forward, Mr. Nienkerk said that because the contamination was found so close to the end of the Mexican season for that packingshed, he said Aug. 30 that he does not expect anymore “Daniella” brand mangos would be shipped to the United States this season.

“Right now we are in the middle of a whirlwind of activity and we are not thinking about that,” he said, “but I think the season is basically finished for that shed.”