Linda Harris was on my doctoral qualifying exams committee when we were both at Guelph; she helped with the E. coli O157:H7 chapter in Mad Cows and Mother’s Milk 15 years ago; and then she did like all good Canadians and reinvented herself in the U.S. – specifically at the University of California at Davis where she was soon crowned Almond Queen for her work on Salmonella in nuts.

So Linda immediately came to mind when Woolworths Ltd in Australia today recalled Woolworths Almond Kernels nationally from Woolworths Supermarkets, Safeway, Food for Less and Flemings Supermarkets due to Salmonella contamination.

Unfortunately the announcements from Food Standards Australia New Zealand contain so little information it’s difficult to know if anyone is sick, what prompted the recall, and whether the same farmer supply almonds for other brands.