Thanks, Brent (@brentium), for the heads up about this!

A bunch of Union International food spices have been recalled. A lot of Asian restaurants use these spices. This has apparently been happening since mid-March but I haven’t even heard about it until today.

From SeriousEats.com:

The state health department has issued a consumer alert warning about spices used by Asian restaurants manufactured by a Bay Area plant that have been linked to a Salmonella outbreak in Central and Northern California. So far, 42 people in the nation have gotten sick, including 33 in California, according to the California Department of Public Health. Illnesses have occurred in 15 counties in Central and Northern California, the most recent being March 13.

“Consumers should avoid eating spices manufactured by Union International Food Company,” the agency’s director Dr. Mark Horton said on the department’s Web site.

According to the health department, health specialists have linked the Salmonella cases to the plant’s white and black pepper products used in Asian restaurants.

Here’s the rest of the SeriousEats.com article, and some other helpful links:

• http://www.seriouseats.com/talk/2009/03/bay-area-spice-plant-linked-to-salmonella-outbreak.html
• http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/news/Pages/PH09-022.aspx
• http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/news/Pages/PH09-021%20%20Union%20Int%20Spice%203.28.09.aspx
• http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/news/Pages/NR2009-23-WidenedRecallofSpices.aspx

Salmonella Restaurant Black List (PDF) — Here is a list of local Bay Area restaurants that receive shipments from Union International.

A lot of these are popular Asian restaurants that many of my peers go to. And… well… knowing the standards of some asian restaurants, they might ignore the illness warnings. Better not risk it, imo!

Spread the word!