Weslaco-based onion processing center clarifies recall notice

A Weslaco-based onion processing center said Thursday that it did not issue a recall of onions after a previous notice posted by a retailer said otherwise. 

According to a news release from the National Onion Association sent on behalf of Tex Mex Sales, a recall notice was previously published by a retailer regarding potential contamination of onions with Listeria monocytogenes. 

Tex Mex Sales clarified that it didn’t issue the recall, according to the release, leading to the retailer’s notice to be taken down. 

“Following sound scientific procedures and food safety best practices, the company had requested that customers temporarily hold product while additional information was gathered to confirm the absence of a pathogen following routine facility testing,” the release stated.

While the release doesn’t specify which retailer issued the alert, The Healthy at Reader’s Digest reported Tuesday that Kroger announced the recall on Monday. Between those two days, the recall had included sweet onions as well as jumbo yellow, white and red onions. 

Kroger doesn’t have any stores in the Rio Grande Valley; all of its eight Texas locations are located around the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

“We aim to be proactive and transparent with customers and always put food safety first,” Mike Davis of Tex Mex Sales said in the release. “We have an aggressive environmental testing program, which we will continue to improve to ensure our organization is constantly providing not only the best-tasting but the safest onions possible.”