Willamette Shelling of Newberg, Ore., has recalled 114,350 pounds of shelled hazelnuts because they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

The North Coast Co-op sells these raw hazelnuts in the Bulk Departments of both the Arcata and Eureka stores. Co-op shoppers should return hazelnuts to Customer Service. The Co-op is committed to ensuring food safety for our customers. To achieve this, staff members use a Product Recall Protocol, which has clear instructions on what to do when we receive notification of a product recall from one of our vendors or the FDA. This protocol includes signage at the point of sale, the removal of product from our shelves, and alerting the media when health risks are a concern. In addition, the Co-op’s Merchandising and Member Linkages staff personally placed phone calls and sent letters to all Co-op Members who purchased the nuts using their member number.

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.