Chilean Fruits Purged From O.C. Stores in Cyanide Scare

Supermarkets throughout Orange County virtually eliminated Chilean fruit from their aisles and bins Tuesday and gave refunds to customers who had bought the produce before the recall.

By midday, every major supermarket chain in Southern California, as well as two smaller independents, had recalled all of their Chilean produce in reaction to a federal warning that traces of cyanide had been found in a shipment of grapes grown in Chile.

The voluntary recalls primarily involved Chilean grapes, nectarines, plums and pears, but at some stores also included everything from seedless watermelon to elephant garlic and quince. The kinds of fruit pulled from the shelves varied from chain to chain, depending on where the stores had bought produce.

But every chain contacted--including Vons, Ralphs, Boys, Lucky, Alpha Beta and Albertson’s--agreed that the crisis is one in which they are taking no chances.

“It’s one thing to say something didn’t pass inspection, (but) the word cyanide strikes in the heart,” said Peter Sodini, president of the 51 Boys markets in Southern California.

Sodini said he understood that the tainted shipments in Philadelphia contained only very minute amounts of the poison. Even so, “in this environment, if you err, you err on the side of being cautious,” he said.

“We’re telling people, ‘Sure, bring it back,’ ” Jim Sinclair, manager of the Pacific Ranch Market in Laguna Niguel, said about purchased produce. “We don’t want to take a chance of anybody getting sick or losing a customer over that.”

The major chains would not guarantee that lost profits will not ultimately result in higher prices at checkout counters. “We don’t know at this point,” said Judy Decker, spokeswoman for the 351 Lucky stores. “A lot will depend on whether the (Food and Drug Administration) recommends that we destroy the fruit.”

Lucky--along with Alpha Beta, Ralphs, Vons and Albertson’s--had removed cases of Chilean fruit by Tuesday afternoon and were holding unopened cartons in refrigerated storage areas or at the docks.

Holding Pending More Data

“We’re just going to hold it until we receive further information from the FDA to release it or destroy it,” said Al Marasca, executive vice president of marketing for Ralphs’ 136 stores in Southern California.

Other chains--such as Boys Markets and Stater Bros.--had already sent out truckloads of Chilean produce, returning unopened cases of fruit to distribution centers or the original vendors. “We’re going to confront the supplier and suggest what he can do with it,” Boys’ Sodini said.

Representatives of both chains said opened cases, including produce already displayed in the stores for sale, were being destroyed.

Vons sought to reassure customers by announcing that the chain conducts its own random tests of produce, including items from Chile. The chain also subscribes to a state testing program, spokeswoman Vickie Sanders said.

“We’re more than reassured that the fruit is fine,” Sanders said. “Nothing to date has shown up.”

The amount of fruit dumped by the chains will depend on the origin of the produce. Of the seven major chains in Southern California, Albertson’s appeared to have the most to clear from its shelves. The Idaho-based chain removed grapes, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, seedless watermelon, cantaloupes, honeydew melons, raspberries, nectarines, quince, Granny Smith apples, cactus pears, pears and plums, said Chris Townsend, a spokeswoman.

Customers’ Mixed Reactions

While the chains were scurrying to remove cartons of Chilean produce, customers had mixed reactions to the recall.

“It’s kind of scary to hear about,” said Debbie Colquhoun, a shopper at the Vons store in El Toro. “You never know what you can eat anymore.”

Jo Hahn of Redondo Beach, who was shopping at the Laguna Hills Lucky store, said she bought grapes the other day, and “I don’t know where they came from. We already ate most of them, so I’m not really sure now. . . . We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Compounding the chains’ problems was a second, unrelated scare involving apples and apple products. Reports in recent weeks have led to concern about the health risks of daminozide, a chemical used to treat apples. The substance is often marketed under the trade name Alar.

Asked to Provide Assurances

Most of the major chains surveyed said they have asked vendors to provide assurances that apples had not been treated with the chemical. In fact, some chains--notably Lucky, Stater Bros., Ralphs, Albertson’s, Vons and Boys--said they have had policies demanding that assurance for up to 2 years.

Since September, Ralphs has bought apples only “from growers who would sign written affidavits that all the apples they were selling to us were not grown with Alar,” Marasca said.

An independent test company also randomly samples Ralphs’ apples for contaminants, which Ralphs has advertised widely, he said.

The result is that “our apple sales are very strong,” Marasca said.

But for Ralphs customers, apples are one thing and apple juice is quite another. The chain has seen some buyers shift from apple juice to cranberry juice, Marasca said.

Some shoppers, such as Fred Kashani of El Toro, are taking a better-safe-than-sorry approach: “I’m not going to buy apples because my daughter is 2 1/2 years old. We’re not going to buy until we hear more about it.”

Impact Remains to Be Seen

The impact of the Chilean produce recall and the apple scare on consumer pocketbooks remains to be seen. Chains, by and large, said losses incurred from disposing of Chilean fruit would not cause them to raise prices on other items.

“The amount of fruit (being returned) isn’t that significant,” Sodini said. “The loss of produce won’t involve a staggering number” of items.

But an assistant manager at another chain who asked not to be named disagreed. “I think it will affect the consumer,” she said.

Times staff writer Lucille Renwick contributed to this report.

PRODUCE RECALLS Albertson’s--seedless red grapes, peaches, blueberries, blackberries, seedless watermelon, cantaloupes, honeydew melons, raspberries, nectarines, quince, Granny Smith apples, cactus pears, pears, plums. Alpha Beta--seedless green grapes, red-flame grapes, black seedless grapes, peaches, nectarines, plums, pears. Christian Farmers Market--grapes, nectarines, plums. Boys Markets--nectarines, peaches, some yellow pears, seedless green grapes, red grapes, black grapes. Lucky Stores--red seedless grapes, green grapes, black grapes, peaches, nectarines, raspberries, blackberries, plums. Pacific Ranch Market--black, red and green seedless grapes; peaches; nectarines; plums; pears. Ralphs--red and green grapes, peaches, elephant garlic, nectarines, plums, raspberries. Stater Bros.--3 varieties of grapes, plums, peaches, nectarines. Vons--red, black and green seedless grapes, peaches, nectarines, plums, raspberries. Hughes Markets--red and green grapes, yellow peaches, red plums, nectarines, raspberries, pears.