Montana, Baraka Ground Black Pepper Recall: Urgent Health Warning

Baraka Ground Black Pepper Recalled For Salmonella Risk

Every time we go to grab something out of the pantry, it seems like we have to look it up and see if it will kill us.

Another pantry staple is being recalled. Baraka Ground Black Pepper.

UBC Food Distributors Is Recalling The Baraka Brand Of Ground Black Pepper

On June 3, 2024, FDA.gov announced the recall.  The recall effects Baraka brand pepper in the 7 ounce plastic container, labeled: UPC code 8 22514 26626 6 and expiration date of January 2026. If this is in your pantry, return it to the store you bought it from.

What Lead To Baraka Ground Black Pepper Being Recalled?

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development did a routine check of a sample collected by the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets, and they found that it tested positive for Salmonella.

The company that produces the pepper, UBC Fo9od Distributors and the FDA are investigating the contamination.  While the investigation is happening, production of the pepper has been stopped.

So far, no illness has been reported from the pepper.

What Is Salmonella?

From Dictionary.com:

any of several rod-shaped, facultatively anaerobic bacteria of the genus Salmonella, as S. typhosa, that may enter the digestive tract of humans and other mammals in contaminated food and cause abdominal pains and violent diarrhea.

Is Salmonella Deadly?

RTT News reports that Salmonella can cause serious and even fatal infections in the elderly, those with weakened immune systems and young children.  When a healthy person is infected with Salmonella, they can get a fever, diarrhea, nausea, stomach pain and vomiting.  It is said to even sometimes cause arthritis, endocarditis, and arterial infections. Scary.