Pacific International Marketing has recalled nearly 500 cases of fresh Italian parsley sold across eight states due to possible salmonella contamination, the company announced.
The Salinas, California-based company is recalling 474 cases of bulk Italian parsley shipped to wholesalers in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Ohio between September 22 and September 25.
The recall affects bunched parsley sold in 30-count and 60-count cases with twist ties (UPC 40695 80125) and 24-count bags (UPC 40695 80120). The products were intended for wholesale distribution and have a shelf life of 18 days from harvest, meaning they should have expired by October 10.
According to the company, a sample collected October 6 tested positive for salmonella. No illnesses have been reported.
“This product should no longer be available directly to the consumer, only if the product is frozen,” the company said in its announcement.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, particularly in young children, elderly people and those with weakened immune systems. Healthy people infected with the bacteria typically experience fever, diarrhea that may be bloody, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain within 12 to 72 hours of consumption. Symptoms usually last four to seven days.
In rare cases, salmonella can enter the bloodstream and cause more severe illnesses including infected aneurysms, endocarditis and arthritis.
Pacific International Marketing said it has notified businesses that purchased the recalled product directly and is working with the Food and Drug Administration on an investigation.
Consumers who have the recalled parsley should throw it away or return it to the store for a full refund.
The 474 cases of bulk Italian parsley representing wholesale quantities demonstrates the recall’s scale affecting restaurant suppliers, grocery distributors, and food service companies rather than direct consumer retail sales through supermarket produce sections.
The Salinas, California origin places the contaminated parsley in the state’s agricultural heartland known as “America’s Salad Bowl,” where intensive farming and irrigation practices sometimes introduce pathogens from contaminated water or soil into leafy vegetables.
The eight-state distribution including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, and Ohio suggests Pacific International Marketing operates nationwide wholesale network, with the geographical spread complicating contamination tracing and consumer notification efforts.
The September 22 through September 25 shipment window indicates a brief harvest period when contamination occurred, likely from a specific field or processing facility rather than systemic problems across the company’s entire operation.
The 30-count and 60-count bunched cases with twist ties and 24-count bagged products represent different packaging formats serving various wholesale customer needs, with restaurants preferring bunched parsley while institutional kitchens may choose pre-bagged options.
The UPC codes 40695 80125 and 40695 80120 enable precise product identification, allowing distributors and retailers to verify whether their inventory includes recalled items by checking case labels against the specific numbers.
The 18-day shelf life from harvest to expiration reflects fresh herb perishability, with the October 10 expiration date suggesting any recalled parsley remaining in circulation by late October would be visibly wilted and unlikely for consumption.
The October 6 positive salmonella test timing indicates the contamination discovery came after the product reached customers, with the company apparently conducting routine safety testing that detected the pathogen nearly two weeks after initial shipments.
The zero reported illnesses despite contamination suggests either limited product reach before the recall, consumers cooking the parsley which kills salmonella, or infected individuals not seeking medical care that would trigger outbreak reporting.
The “should no longer be available directly to the consumer, only if the product is frozen” statement addresses frozen food manufacturers who may have purchased and preserved the parsley, with freezing halting bacterial growth but not eliminating existing salmonella.
The young children, elderly, and immunocompromised vulnerability reflects salmonella’s disproportionate danger to populations with underdeveloped or weakened immune systems unable to fight gastrointestinal infections that healthy adults typically survive.
The 12 to 72-hour symptom onset window creates diagnostic challenges where patients may not connect illness to parsley consumed days earlier, complicating outbreak investigations that depend on accurate food history recall.
The bloody diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain symptom profile mimics numerous gastrointestinal illnesses, with many patients and doctors attributing symptoms to stomach flu rather than foodborne contamination warranting public health reporting.
The four to seven-day typical symptom duration means most infected individuals recover without treatment, though severe dehydration from diarrhea and vomiting can require hospitalization particularly for vulnerable populations.
The rare bloodstream invasion cases causing infected aneurysms, endocarditis, and arthritis represent salmonella’s most dangerous manifestations where bacteria spreads beyond the digestive tract, potentially causing permanent organ damage or death.
The FDA investigation partnership indicates federal oversight of the recall, with agency inspectors likely examining Pacific International Marketing’s facilities, reviewing production records, and testing environmental samples to identify contamination sources.
The direct purchaser notification demonstrates Pacific International Marketing’s responsibility contacting wholesale customers who bought recalled product, with those businesses then obligated to notify their own customers creating notification chain down to potential consumers.
The throw away or return for refund instruction provides consumers two options, with disposal eliminating any temptation to use potentially contaminated product while store returns enable verification that retailers properly removed inventory from sale.
Seattle-area connections to the recall include potential shipments to Washington distributors supplying restaurants and grocery stores throughout the Puget Sound region, though the state’s absence from the eight-state list suggests either no Washington shipments or the company grouping the state with West Coast distribution under California.
The recall timing during fall harvest season when produce contamination risks increase due to weather changes affecting agricultural water quality and wildlife intrusion into fields carrying pathogens that transfer to crops.
