Pam Pak Whole Fresh American Cucumbers recall: Potential Foodborne Illness - Salmonella

What the company announced

Nogales, AZ (Nov. 29, 2024) – Baloian Farms of Arizona Co., Inc. (Baloian) is recalling all sizes of whole fresh American cucumbers packaged in bulk cardboard containers labeled with the “Pamela” brand, a generic white box with a sticker that provides the implicated grower’s name, “Agrotato, S.A. de C.V.,” or a clear PamPak branded bag of 6 individual cucumbers with the UPC 8 2540107010 6 (photos below). The recalled cucumbers were sold between October 12, 2024, through November 26, 2024, and are being recalled because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella .

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. Symptoms of salmonellosis usually start 6 hours to 6 days after infection and last 4 to 7 days.

The whole fresh American cucumbers were sold by Baloian and other importers and shipped to customers located in the states of California, Arizona, Texas, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Colorado, Kansas, New York, Massachusetts, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, Alaska and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. The cucumbers would have reached consumers through foodservice and retail outlets that may be located in states other than those listed above.

Baloian initiated this recall after learning from SunFed Produce, LLC, that its supplier of American cucumbers, “Agrotato, S.A. de C.V.,” may be associated with reported salmonellosis illnesses between October 12 – and November 15, 2024. Discussions with the US Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) confirmed this. Baloian is also contacting its direct buyers to advise them of the recall and ask that they, in turn, notify their customers. No other products sold by or farms supplying to Baloian are implicated in this recall.

Consumers should take the following actions:

Check to see if you have recalled whole fresh American cucumbers (photo below)

Anyone with the recalled American cucumbers in their possession should not consume, serve, use, sell, or distribute them; we also encourage consumers to clean and sanitize surfaces that could have come into contact with the recalled product to reduce cross contamination.

Recalled products should be thrown out or destroyed so they may not be consumed or returned to the point of purchase.

Consumers unsure if they have purchased the recalled product are advised to contact their retailer or point of purchase vendor.

If you think you have consumed a recalled product and do not feel well, contact your healthcare provider.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled products may obtain additional information by contacting Baloian’s customer service desk 888-840-6642, M-F 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST.

“We at Baloian Farms are working in conjunction with our grower with the FDA to protect our customers and consumers. Food Safety has always been a top priority as we want to provide safe and nutritious food for our families and consumers.” said Luis Corella, President of Baloian Farms of Arizona Co., Inc. “We have been working diligently with the authorities and the implicated farm to determine the possible source.”

RETAIL DISTRIBUTION FOR “PAMELA” BRAND WHOLE FRESH AMERICAN CUCUMBERS

FDA has reason to believe that the following retail locations received the whole fresh American cucumbers that were included in the recall by Baloian Farms of Arizona Co., Inc. The cucumbers may have been sold in bulk containers in retail stores. This list may not include all retail establishments that have received the recalled product or may include retail establishments that did not actually receive the recalled product. Therefore, it is important that you use the product-specific identification information, in addition to this list of retail stores, when you check the cucumbers you have purchased to determine if they have been recalled.

Reproduced from the company announcement posted on fda.gov. Links and contact forms in the original are not repeated here; the official notice below has them.