Do not eat these raw shelled walnuts

NEWS RELEASE

CANADIAN FOOD INSPECTION AGENCY

************************* Expanded health hazard alert

Raw shelled walnuts cold from certain retail stores in London, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta may contain E.coli O157:H7 bacteria - Related alerts: 2011-04-11 | 2011-04-08

OTTAWA (April 11, 2011) - The public warning issued on April 8, 2011, has been expanded to include additional retailers who repackaged and sold raw shelled walnuts and products containing walnuts distributed by Amira Enterprises Inc.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning the public not to consume raw shelled walnuts described below because these products may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

The affected raw shelled walnuts, product of USA, were sold from certain retail stores during the specified time period.

This is related to the recall of raw shelled walnuts imported and distributed in bulk by Amira Enterprises Inc., Montreal, Quebec.

[The following list identifies retiails, product size and date sold]

Asia Food Mart 1154 Hamilton Rd. London, ON Shelled Walnuts ½ lb plastic container & 3 lb plastic bag February 22 to April 11, 2011, inclusive

Asia Food Mart 1154 Hamilton Rd. London, ON Salad Booster containing walnuts ½ lb plastic container February 22 to April 11, 2011, inclusive

Jimmy’s A & A Mediterranean Deli 1401 20 Ave. N.W., Calgary, AB Raw Shelled Walnuts Halves & Pieces 500 g plastic container January 1 to April 5, 2011, inclusive

These products have been distributed in Ontario and Alberta.

This is an ongoing food safety investigation.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is investigating a multi-provincial outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 illnesses in collaboration with provincial health authorities as well as federal health partners including the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Health Canada.

Food contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 may not look or smell spoiled.

Consumption of food contaminated with these bacteria my cause serious and potentially life-threatening illnesses.

Symptoms include severe abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea.

Some people may have seizures or strokes and some may need blood transfusions and kidney dialysis.

Others may live with permanent kidney damage. In severe cases of illness, people may die.

The named retailers 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 the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on E. coli O157:H7, visit the Food Facts web page.

For information on all food recalls, visit the CFIA’s Food Recall Report.

To find out more about receiving recalls by e-mail, and other food safety facts, visit here.

Food and consumer product recalls are also available at this here.

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