Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Inc. is the latest company at the center of a salmonella recall.  The California-based firm is recallng 1 million pounds of the nuts, and federal regulators are warning consumers to avoid eating pistachios and products containing pistachios until further notice.

According to the Food & Drug Administration (FDA the Setton Pistachio recall involves certain bulk roasted in-shell and roasted shelled pistachios that were shipped on or after September 1. Because the pistachios were used as ingredients in a variety of foods, it is likely this recall will impact many products, the FDA said.  

According to a report on ABCNews.com, Setton Pistachio shipped tote bags of nuts weighing up to 2,000 pounds to 36 wholesalers across the country.  A representative from the California Health Department told ABCNews.com that it could take weeks to determine how many products might be impacted, and said the list is likely to include everything from cake mixes to ice creams.

The pistachio salmonella scare has already led Kroger stores to recall pistachios it sold in 31 states.  As we reported last week, both the Georgia Nut Company and the Kraft subsidiary, the  Back to Nature Foods Company,  had recalled some pistachio-containing products after lab tests confirmed the presence of salmonella in some pistachios.

In its health alert, the FDA said the pistachio contamination involves multiple strains of salmonella. Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.