Salmonella Scare: California Almond Producer Recalls 158 Tons Shipped to Morocco and Other Countries

Blue Diamond Growers, a California-based agricultural cooperative, recalled more than 158 tons of "brown whole almonds" on August 5 due to their salmonella contamination. This recall follows the company’s sampling and analysis of an almond lot, the results of which confirmed the presence of salmonella.

On August 19, Blue Diamond Growers confirmed to Food Safety News the recall of potentially infected almonds from Morocco, Germany and Canada, as well as from three U.S. states, California, Colorado and Illinois.

American almonds dominate the Moroccan market. Their market share is estimated at 83% in 2021 due to the removal of import duties by Morocco in 2019. The tax exemption increased the share of American almonds in the Moroccan market by 21% in 2021, which was a blow to the less competitive local production estimated at 30,000 tons, a recent Rekolt study reveals.