Whole Foods Faces Recalls Over Salmonella, Listeria Concerns

Whole Foods Market is being hit with two voluntary recalls in the name of food safety. Marin Foods Specialties, Inc. just recalled packaged raw macadamia nuts sold at the upscale grocery chain due to possible salmonella contamination. Meanwhile, Green Cuisine has issued a recall for its pesto pasta salad with arugula because of listeria concerns.

The macadamia nut recall covers products sold at Whole Foods stores in California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. The nuts were determined to be contaminated with salmonella after a round of routine testing at a laboratory contracted by the Food and Drug Administration, though no illnesses have been reported. The recalled products — labeled as "Whole Foods Market Raw Macadamia Nuts" — have best-by dates of August 21, 2016, through November 6, 2016.

As for the pasta salad, it appears to be linked to the massive frozen vegetable recall that was recently issued. Green Cuisine says it has been notified by National Frozen Foods that the frozen green peas used in the salad are part of the recall because they have the potential to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes. As with the potentially tainted macadamia nuts, no illnesses have been connected to the pasta salad. It's labeled as "Whole Foods Pesto Pasta Salad w/Arugula," and the recall covers products sold in Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona between June 15, 2016, and June 16, 2016.

The recall announcements come shortly after the FDA sent a scathing letter to Whole Foods, criticizing "serious violations" regarding regulations for "manufacturing, packing, or holding human food" at the company's manufacturing facility in Everett, Mass. It isn't clear if the aforementioned macadamia nuts or pasta salad have any connection to the facility.