Buurma Farms Inc. Recalls Plain (Flat) Parsley

MARIETTA, OH — Buurma Farms Inc. of Willard, OH, is voluntarily recalling 320 boxes of its Plain Parsley after testing showed possible contamination with Shiga-toxin producing E.coli.

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The product being recalled is Buurma Plain (flat-leaf) Parsley with a harvest date of August 30, 2021 from their Gregory, Michigan location. A random, routine regulatory sample collected on 9/7/21 at a customer’s distribution center by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) tested positive for non-O157 STEC (Shiga-toxin producing E. Coli) and was reported 9/13/21. The sample is currently being genome sequenced to determine if it is pathogenic but out of an abundance of caution the product is being recalled. Buurma Farms Inc. is coordinating closely with regulatory officials in connection with the recall. No illnesses have been reported to date.

Shiga-toxin-producing E. coli is an organism that can cause foodborne illness in a person who eats a food item contaminated with it. Symptoms of infection may include stomach cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting. The illness primarily impacts elderly individuals, children, and people with weakened immune systems. Most healthy adults and children rarely become seriously ill.
The product being recalled was harvested on August 30, 2021. It was sold and shipped in 30 count cartons to retailers in Ohio and Michigan between 8/31/21 and 9/3/21. It was also sold in 60 count crates to wholesalers in Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and South Carolina between 9/2/21 and 9/4/21. Retailers and wholesalers can find the product code on the orange lot code sticker on each case or at the end of the GTIN number below the bar code on the PTI label. Only plain flat-leaf parsley with a lot code of “2A242A6” and a PTI lot code of “2B243A6” is included in this recall. Retailers and wholesalers known to have received this product have already been contacted and asked to pull any potentially contaminated product from distribution.

Individual bunches of flat parsley sold to retailers for purchase by consumers would likely have a “BUURMA FARMS Plain Parsley” twist-tie with a price look-up (PLU) number of 4901 and a UPC code of 33383 80125. The PLU and UPC numbers are not unique to Buurma Farms and would be on all flat/plain parsley regardless of where it is from. The wholesale distribution channels involved in the recall do not have the twist-tie and instead have only a plain red rubber band on the bunch.
No other plain leaf parsley is included in this recall. Production of the product involved has been suspended until FDA and other regulatory agencies have completed their investigation. The product involved should already be out of distribution but if consumers have any product they question, do not consume it, but rather discard it. Retailers and consumers with questions may call the consumer hotline at 1-866-827-3362 which is available Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm EST. Media contact is Joel Buurma, Food Safety Director, Buurma Farms Inc. 419-935-6411, joel@buurmafarms.com.

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This news release was written by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Any opinions expressed are the author's own.

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