UPDATE #2: An FDA spokeswoman verified the agency's in-progress investigation role, Food Safety News reported.
UPDATE: Pacific Coast Fruit, which brought attention to Sam's Club pulling Taylor Farms products in a post on its website, apologized for its "unfortunate misstatement regarding a clearly indicated alert being misread as a recall," the company said in a statement.
Dive Brief:
- Government and industry entities have been investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to Taylor Farms Organic Kale Medley Power Greens Mix purchased at various Sam’s Club locations in Minnesota, for illnesses that began in April, reports Food Safety News. Neither that investigation nor a recall were announced to the public.
- Another company, Pacific Coast Fruit Co. of Portland, OR, posted on its website that Minnesota-based Sam's Club retailers had recalled the Taylor Farms product for potential salmonella contamination in a notice dated May 6. The notice has since been removed.
- Taylor Farms has not posted a notification on its own website as of May 15. In a statement to Food Safety News on May 15, a company spokesperson confirmed the investigation but said a recall was not needed because "the product is no longer in the market place due to shelf-life limitations."
Dive Insight:
This investigation brings up debates over when manufacturers should announce contaminations to the public and when they should issue product recalls.
Public health advocates argue that the public has the right to know if a product is or could be contaminated, regardless of whether the product is still on store shelves. Besides a matter of food safety, this could also be construed as a transparency concern. And that's not just for Taylor Farms, but for any government entities involved in the investigation that chose not to come forward about it.
Announcements of contaminations after the fact could be costly to the manufacturer's reputation. Hesitation could cause even more damage in lost sales long-term.