Salmonella may have been present at a PepsiCo Quaker Oats facility in the US three years prior to its recall of granola products at the end of 2023, according to a warning letter from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Last December, the Lay’s crisps manufacturer paused output at the Illinois-based factory due to the potential risk of salmonella contamination.
The company then announced a recall of granola products, which included Quaker Big Chewy snack bars, Quaker Oatmeal Squares and granolas.
This recall was expanded in January to include Gamesa Marias cereal and Cap’n Crunch instant oatmeal, among other products.
In a letter sent to PepsiCo last month, the FDA revealed that the food manufacturer had confirmed that it “had identified historical isolates of salmonella cubana in [the] facility since at least 2020.”
PepsiCo was said to have “acknowledged” this consistent long-term detection following the FDA’s inspection of the site in December 2023 which found salmonella in a crack on the floor.
The FDA added: “These findings may indicate that the same strain of Salmonella Cubana has survived since 2020.”
Salmonella was also said to have been detected at the facility by the company in June 2022, September 2023 and October 2023.
PepsiCo told the FDA it responded to the issue by cleaning and sanitising the contaminated areas as well as carrying out additional swabbing. The food safety regulator however stressed that the repeated detection of salmonella at the site shows that its actions “were not sufficient to reduce the likelihood that environmental contamination would recur”.
The letter added that the plant’s “equipment and utensils used in manufacturing and processing were not designed and of such material and workmanship as to be adequately cleanable, or adequately maintained to protect against contamination”.
Following the initial recall in December, the following April the local government authority in the city of Danville, Illinois, announced PepsiCo’s plans to shut the plant permanently.
A statement shared on Facebook by the government officials said the factory had already ceased production, and that employees would continue to be paid until 8 June.
The site was to shut definitively on that date, according to the city’s major Ricky Williams Jr.
In a statement from PepsiCo published by local news organisation WCIA at the time, the Sabra houmous maker said it would need to shut the Illinois site “for enhancements and modernisation”, and move production “permanently” of the oats, cereals and snack bars to other sites.
The FDA noted in its letter that the company should consider whether similar changes are also needed at its other facilities to prevent a repeat contamination.
It said: “Furthermore, given the apparent ongoing contamination of salmonella cubana in the Danville facility, special care should be taken if you determine that any equipment or utensils from the Danville facility can be safely utilised at other food manufacturing facilities.”
If PepsiCo fails to address the FDA’s concerns, the authority said it could face “legal action including, without limitation, seizure, and injunction”.
