The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is taking further action to contain a salmonella outbreak linked to Iranian pistachios. <\/p>\n
The agency is ordering all federally licensed importers and manufacturers to hold and test any pistachios imported before Sept. 27 for salmonella before selling them in Canada. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis will help protect Canadians from illness and provide consumers with greater reassurance that what they are buying is safe,\u201d CFIA said in a statement. <\/a><\/p>\n The CFIA banned Iranian pistachio imports on Sept. 27, and is now conducting targeted testing on products already in Canada. <\/p>\n There are currently 155 confirmed salmonella cases in Canada, and 151 recall alerts<\/a>, according to the CFIA. <\/p>\n Due to pistachio\u2019s long shelf life, they may still be in Canadian homes, Health Canada, the CFIA and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) advised in a joint statement<\/a>. <\/p>\n They say heat may not kill salmonella in pistachios, and they should be thrown out or returned instead of being used in cooking or served.<\/p>\n Only Iranian pistachios are affected by the outbreak, however \u201cit\u2019s safest to avoid the product if the country of origin can\u2019t be confirmed,\u201d according to the three agencies. <\/p>\n They also warn that some pistachio products might not have labels indicating where each ingredient comes from, and that could mean they contain Iranian pistachios. <\/p>\n \u201cFood contaminated with Salmonella may look or smell normal but can still make you sick,\u201d according to the advisory. Children younger than five, pregnant people, adults older than 60, and people with weakened immune system face especially high risks from Salmonella, according to the three agencies. However, \u201cmost people who become ill from a\u202fSalmonella\u202finfection recover fully on their own,\u201d they say. <\/p>\n \u201cFood contaminated with Salmonella may look or smell normal but can still make you sick,\u201d according to the advisory. Children younger than five, pregnant people, adults older than 60, and people with weakened immune systems face especially high risks from salmonella, it adds. However, \u201cmost people who become ill from a Salmonella infection recover fully on their own,\u201d they say.<\/p>\n