The Cumin Recall That's Coming For Spice Racks
If you're in spring cleaning mode it might be a good time to tackle your spice rack, because the FDA has just announced a recall for a certain brand of ground cumin. The spice is manufactured by Michigan-based Lipari Foods and could contain Salmonella.
The cumin was packaged as a bulk spice in a larger, 6-ounce plastic tub as opposed to small spice bottles, with a label that reads, "Distributed by Lipari Foods." They were sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. If you think you might have one of these packages, check for lot code 220914601 and a best buy date of 09/2024. The UPC on the packages is 094776212620.
It's important to note that this is a voluntary recall by Lipari Foods. At this point, the FDA has noted that there have not been any confirmed cases of consumers getting sick after using this particular brand of cumin. However, in the event of an infection, among the major symptoms to look out for are diarrhea, cramps, chills, and fever. Salmonella doesn't always announce itself immediately. It could take as many as 72 hours or as few as 12 for signs of infection to emerge, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. In some cases, Salmonella can lead to dehydration or infect the bloodstream.
Take the opportunity to clean your spice rack
If reading about this cumin recall has sent you to check your spice rack, you might want to also take something to wipe it down with. A USDA-commissioned study found that spice containers are crawling with contamination, per Rutgers University. This can happen as a result of handling raw meat and accidentally transferring bacteria to the containers. And it turns out that non-typhoidal Salmonella is one of the illnesses that could spread this way.
While you're at it, you might want to go ahead and check off this list of things in your kitchen you never clean, but probably should. Pay close attention to things you regularly touch like the refrigerator door handle, oven knobs, and your microwave keypad. There was a 2014 study that found kitchen handles, dials, and knobs had some of the highest concentrations of contaminants like listeria and E. coli.
So even if you don't have the particular brand of ground cumin that's being recalled in your spice rack, consider the FDA warning a reminder that even spices can pose health risks and that a clean kitchen is a healthy kitchen.