Trader Joe's Pulls Raw Cashew Product Off Shelves Due to Salmonella Concerns

— -- Trader Joe's has voluntarily recalled bags of raw cashew pieces over concerns they could be contaminated with salmonella, the company announced.

"We have been alerted by our supplier of Trader Joe's Raw Cashew Pieces (barcode number 00505154) that there is a possibility that one specific lot with the following code may be contaminated with salmonella," the California-based company said on its website.

In its statement, released Friday, Trader Joe's said the code for the lot in question was: "Best Before 0.17.2016TF4"

The company said that "out of an abundance of caution," all bags labeled Trader Joe's Raw Cashew Pieces had been removed from shelves and sales had been suspended. It asked customers to either throw out the product or return it to stores for a refund.

According to the company, Trader Joe's Raw Cashew Pieces was sold in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin.

The company said no illnesses had been reported as of Friday.

The voluntary recall was initiated by Heritage International (USA) Inc., the parent company of Trader Joe's, "after routine testing by an FDA contract laboratory revealed the presence of Salmonella in one lot of Raw Cashew Pieces," the Food and Drug Administration said in a statement. "Other lots tested by the FDA contract laboratory and further testing of this lot by Trader Joe's resulted in no additional findings of contamination."

For more information on the recall, see the FDA website.