People who write with exclamation marks or IN ALL CAPS are yelling. And trying to disguise their inability to write clear, compelling sentences.

So when Green Valley Food Corp. announced it was recalling 650 cases of “Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. containers and proclaimed, “Till this present day there has been no related illnesses CONFIRMED because of this recall” I wondered, why are they yelling, and what does CONFIRMED mean.

And who says, till this present day? In Texas?

The company also wrote the Let’s Grow Healthy Together! sprouts were recalled “because the results showed to be contaminated with Salmonella, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.”

The results weren’t contaminated; the sprouts were contaminated with salmonella.

A table of sprout-related outbreaks is available at http://bites.ksu.edu/sprouts-associated-outbreaks.

“Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. containers were distributed in Texas via truck deliveries to all customers in Texas. All customers were retail chains and food distribution centers. If you are a customer affected by this recall you will be receiving a letter asking for the quantities you were shipped and their whereabouts. Please, respond as soon as possible.

A letter? Who uses the post office in a recall situation involving fresh and perishable produce?

The product is in a plastic container that measures 4-inch by 4-inch container that has a lid. The containers UPC number is 714722228818. The label has blue lettering that states “Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. containers. The code date on the shipping box is an orange tag that will state the number,”3440210”. The “Let’s Grow Healthy Together!” Alfalfa Sprouts 5 oz. containers will have a white tag on the upper right hand side of the label with the date of 1/1/2012.