Sulfite warnings - dried fruits, nuts and pickled mushrooms

[sunnyhouselife]

Sulfite-sensitive consumers nationwide have been warned by FDA not to eat certain foods, including dried fruits, nuts and pickled mushrooms, that may contain undeclared sulfites. Because these preservatives can cause allergic and sometimes life-threatening reactions, FDA requires all packaged foods that containsulfites to be so labeled.

The first of three recent warnings involved dried and mixed fruit in 10-ounce cellophane bags distributed by the Triangle Nut Co. in five states. The second involved Lehmann Farms and Aslesens brands of pickled mushrooms sold in six states, and the third pertained to "Mountain Man" dried fruit and snack mixes widely sold in stores and door-to-door in 16 states.

The Triangle Nut problem was discovered after FDA received a complaint from a Seattle consumer. A follow-up inspection of the firm's plant found bulk containers of dried fruits labeled as being treated with sulfites but no such labeling on retail packages of the same products. Analysis of sample products revealed sulfite present at 1,500 to 2,000 parts per million.

The firm asked consumers who have its products to return them to the place of purchase. The labels recalled were Triangle Nut brand: Dried Apples, Dried Peaches, Dried Pears, Dried Apricots, Dried Nectarines, Dried Calimyrna Figs, Tahitian Trailmix, Turkish Trailmix, Mixed Fruit, and Dried Fruit. The fruit had been distributed in Washington state, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota and Montana.

Triangle Nut also distributed 25-pound cases of the fruit to Safeway and Buttrey's supermarket chains for bulk sale from bins. The company told FDA the chains have been notified so they can label the bins regarding the fruits' sulfite content.