Whenever we forget how interconnected the American food system is, a recall of a single basic ingredient happens to remind us. Today, the pathogen is Listeria, and the basic food item is sunflower seeds. They’re a tasty snack item by themselves, as well as a common ingredient in trail mixes and a crunchy salad topping. Seeds from a single supplier may be contaminated, and now everything from kale salads to trail mix flavored candy have been recalled.
Listeria is a potentially serious foodborne illness because of its ability to escape the digestive tract and hang out in the bloodstream. In healthy people, it might cause gastrointestinal distress, fever, severe headache, and stiff muscles. Possible complications include miscarriages or stillbirths in pregnant women, and meningitis for people who are very old, very young, or immunocompromised.
JUST SUNFLOWER KERNELS
Kroger Sunflower Kernels
Kroger Salad Toppers Sunflower Kernels
Market District bulk sunflower seeds: Carmel, IN; central Ohio; Pittsburgh; and Northeast Ohio
Dakota’s Best Biggy’s Roasted and Salted Kernels
Planters Sunflower Kernels
SALADS
Trader Joe’s Broccoli Slaw & Kale Salad With White Meat Chicken
TRAIL MIXES
Kroger Cranberry Delight Trail Mix
COOKIES AND CANDIES
Mountain Thins “Trail Mix” Flavor
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist