Today the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) warned consumers not to eat fresh ginger imported from China after they found aldicarb sulfoxide in some batches of imported Chinese ginger.
Aldicarb sulfoxide is a pesticide that is not approved for use on ginger due to its toxicity to humans, including carcinogenicity, reproductive and developmental toxicity, neurotoxicity, and acute toxicity.
The product is known to have been distributed to Albertson’s stores and Save Mart stores in northern California by Christopher Ranch of Gilroy, California.
CDPH and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are tracing the imported ginger from the importer (Modern Trading Inc. in Alhambra, California) to determine the full distribution of the product and to identify other retail stores that may have received the product.
Consumers who may have purchased fresh ginger from Albertson’s stores and Save Mart stores in northern California should discard it immediately.
Symptoms of aldicarb poisoning in humans are likely to occur within the first hour following exposure. Ingestion of foods contaminated with aldicarb at low levels can cause flu-like symptoms (nausea, headache, blurred vision) which disappear quickly, usually within 5 or 6 hours. However, at higher levels, ingestion of aldicarb contaminated food can also cause dizziness, salivation, excessive sweating, vomiting, diarrhea, muscle stiffness and twitching, and difficulty in breathing.
Individuals who may have consumed this product and have any of the above symptoms should contact a medical professional immediately.
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