Published: July 18, 2008 01:21 am         

Texas supplier recalling some peppers, avocados

HILDALGO, Texas (AP) — A produce supplier in the Rio Grande Valley is voluntarily recalling fresh jalapeno peppers, serrano peppers and avocados after tests found the presence of salmonella in some samples, Texas health officials said Thursday.

The Texas Department of State Health Services said in a statement that the salmonella strain found in serrano peppers and jalapeno peppers distributed by Hildalgo-based Grande Produce is not the strain responsible for the nationwide salmonella outbreak of the past couple of months.

The State Health Services said the voluntary recall came after laboratory tests done in Texas and North Carolina found salmonella. The Texas agency said it tested about 70 food products for salmonella. It said the only two found to be contaminated were the serranos and jalapenos from Grande.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services lab found salmonella in avocados and jalapenos, but tests to identify the salmonella group and the type are pending.

Texas officials said the company is contacting its clients to have them pull the products from their shelves. Some of the recalled produce was distributed in North Carolina.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said the HASS avocados being recalled were shipped from Texas in boxes labeled “Frutas Finas de Tancitaro HASS Avocados, Produce of Mexico,” 60 count with lot number HUE08160090889.

“The jalapenos were shipped in black plastic crates weighing about 15 pounds and containing no brand name or other label,” the department said.

The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Food and Drug Administration are working to determine where Grande’s avocados, serranos and jalapenos were shipped and how the produce was contaminated.

The agency said the recall is limited to only avocados, serranos and jalapenos from Grande Produce.