Congressman Dennis Cardoza
18th Congressional District of California

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has updated its advice to consumers on pistachios, stating that consumers should return to enjoying the nuts unless they are from Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. 

In March, the FDA issued a warning that consumers should avoid pistachios due to fears of Salmonella contamination. Following that announcement, Congressman Cardoza, Chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, conducted hearings about the FDA’s response to the warning and the subsequent recall of products. 

“The FDA has a responsibility to protect the health of our nation’s consumers. However, in their fervor to protect public health, they ruined the health of our hometown agricultural economy,” said Congressman Cardoza. 

No illnesses have been confirmed as a result of contaminated pistachios. Setton has stopped all distribution of processed pistachios and issued a voluntary recall.

“The FDA’s initial response appears to have been based more on panic than on science and appropriate data,” said Congressman Cardoza. “The bureaucratic wheels must move more efficiently within the departments tasked with monitoring our food. Although the FDA has taken a significant step to right this wrong, it has come much later than it should have.”

The FDA has provided a searchable database of affected products at http://www.fda.gov/pistachios/ and will continue to update the public.