Anyone out there like pistachios? Can't say that I do, what with turning my fingers green and all that, I'll settle for a nice, meaty cashew any day. Ah, but I digress. If you are a pistachio lover, and a Kroger (NYSE: KR) shopper, you may want to pay special attention.

On Friday, KR recalled a line of its pistachios because of a potential salmonella contamination. KR announced a recall of the "Private Selection" shelled pistachios sold in 10-ounce containers with a December 13, 2009 sell-by date, UPC number 1111073615.

The company stated that no illnesses have been reported in connection with the product, and it would give no idea of how the pistachios were exposed to salmonella. The nuts were sold at 17 of KR's chains in 31 states, including Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Fry's, King Soopers, Smith's, Dillons QFC, City Market, Foods Co., Jay C., Scott's, Owen's, Baker's, Gerbes, Hilander, and Pay Less.

The timing of this announcement could be bad for KR, as its shares have started to perk up of late. The grocer was trading near the $27 region when the year started, but has fallen as low as the $19 region in the first three months of 2009. That said, the stock has rallied a bit and is trading in the lower $22 region.

Hopefully this recall won't affect the stock's price, but don't count out a bit of a drop thanks to the news. As to how far the stock could fall, that is anybody's guess. This follows closely on the heels of the big peanut salmonella case earlier this year.

A nationwide recall of hot-dog chili sauces due to possible botulism bacteria contamination began last Thursday and became larger this past weekend. "Great Value" private-label cans of chili sauce from retailer Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) have been recently also added to the recall list. Other brands on the list include Castleberry's and Austex Hot Dog Chili Sauce.

Here is where things get a little dicey, and probably will continue to do so in the future. If you remember, peanut butter from ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) was recalled last fall, leaving the Peter Pan brand absent from many grocers' shelves. Now, the chili sauce recall hit the market and it seems that Wal-Mart's private labels aren't immune this time either.

This is not surprising since probably all of Wal-Mart's private-label grocery items are made by the bigger manufacturers. In some cases, the ingredient mix and breakdown is slightly different from the brand names so they don't look and taste exactly like the private-label brands such as Sam's Choice and Great Value.

The question is then, why is it that I rarely see the private-label brands referenced right at the start with the name brands when food recalls happen? Just like with the Peter Pan peanut butter recall months ago, this chili sauce recall did not include Wal-Mart's private-label brands until after the recall was firmly and publicly established. Seeing as Wal-Mart is the nation's largest food retailer, one would think getting recall notices out covering its private-label brands would be first order.