Panorama Produce has voluntarily recalled 302 boxes of Martina-brand mangoes distributed to select Walmart stores in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania because of a potential Salmonella contamination concern. The company announced the recall Aug. 28 in coordination with the Food and Drug Administration; the FDA posted the announcement the following day.
The recall is narrow, applying to fruit distributed from Aug. 10 through Aug. 21 and bearing specific identifying information. Consumers who have mangoes matching those identifiers should throw them away or return them to the store, according to the FDA-posted Panorama Produce recall notice. No illnesses linked to the recalled product had been reported when the company issued its announcement.
How to identify the recalled mangoes
The recalled product consists of size 9 mangoes packed in Martina-branded cases. Individual mangoes carry a light-blue sticker marked “Agrofepac” and “Produce of Mexico.” The sticker lists PLU 4584 and UPC 07503061948050.
The identifiers are important because the available notice does not describe a recall of all Walmart mangoes, all Martina fruit or all mangoes imported from Mexico. It applies to mangoes with the listed sticker and codes that were sent to select Walmart stores in the four named states. The 302-box figure refers to boxes recalled, not a count of individual mangoes.
Panorama Produce said customers with matching fruit can discard it or return it to the place of purchase. People who think they became ill after eating the product should contact a health care provider. Independent coverage by USA Today and Fox Business also described the recall as limited to the four-state, select-store distribution described in the FDA notice.
What FDA sampling found — and what it did not establish
The basis for the recall is more specific than a finding that the recalled mangoes themselves tested positive. Panorama Produce said FDA sampling detected Salmonella in mangoes grown on the same farm as the recalled fruit. The sampled mangoes were not distributed in U.S. commerce, but the company said they shared the same source as the mangoes shipped to Walmart locations.
That means the action is a source-based preventive recall: the agency’s sampling raised a contamination concern about fruit from a common origin, rather than establishing that every recalled mango carried the bacteria. The notice does not provide the number of mangoes sampled, laboratory methods, the farm’s identity or further traceability information. It also does not report an epidemiologic investigation connecting the recalled fruit to illness.
The sequence of dates helps define the alert. Distribution began Aug. 10 and ended Aug. 21, according to the company announcement. Panorama Produce announced the voluntary recall on Aug. 28, and the FDA page publishing that announcement is dated Aug. 29. The dates describe the known distribution window, not necessarily the dates on which consumers purchased or ate the fruit.
For consumers, the practical implication is that a mango’s label is more useful than a general concern about where it was bought. Someone who purchased a mango at a Walmart outside the four listed states, or who has fruit without the recalled sticker and codes, is not included in the scope stated by the recall notice. The available information does not establish a risk for other mangoes.
Salmonella can cause serious illness in some people
Salmonella is a bacterial pathogen that can cause fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. The FDA says infections can be serious and, in rare circumstances, fatal, particularly for young children, older adults and people with weakened immune systems.
Because no illnesses were reported as of the announcement, the recall should not be interpreted as evidence of an outbreak or as proof that anyone was sickened by these mangoes. Food-safety recalls can be issued before illnesses emerge when sampling or traceability information identifies a plausible route of exposure. That precaution can reduce potential exposure, but it also leaves important questions unanswered while no case investigation has been reported.
Consumers who still have a mango matching the Martina, Agrofepac, PLU 4584 and UPC 07503061948050 identification details should not eat it. The FDA notice directs them to dispose of it or return it to the retailer, and to seek medical guidance if they believe they became ill after consuming the fruit.
