Trader Joe’s on Tuesday announced a recall of its raw walnut products, saying they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, even though the company said they have not yet received reports of illness connected to the nuts.
Trader Joe’s said the recall was instigated after testing by an outside company contracted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found the presence of salmonella in some packages of raw walnut products.
Salmonella is a type of bacterium most often linked with food poisoning, and it can cause sometimes fatal infections in young children or frail or elderly people or those with weakened immune systems.
Healthy people infected with salmonella generally experience such symptoms such as nausea, fever and vomiting.
Trader Joe’s urged customers who purchased any of the recalled products not to eat them.
The privately held company said raw walnut products should be disposed of or returned to a store for a full refund.