The Food and Drug Administration is advising distributors, wholesalers and consumers that a recall of raw almonds due to reports of Salmonella Intrepidities that was announced by Paramount Farms, Lost Hills, CA, on 5/18/04 has expanded. Before eating any raw almonds having a "best before" date of 8/21/04 or later, consumers are advised to check with the store where they purchased the product to see if the almonds came from Paramount Farms.
FDA has learned that Paramount Farms distributed the recalled almonds in bulk or packaged nationwide to brokers, distributors and grocery store chains which in turn sold the almonds to consumers in a variety of package sizes with a variety brand names. The almonds were also distributed to Mexico, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, France, England and Italy.
Individuals who have purchased the recalled raw almonds should not consume them but instead return them to the place of purchase for a full refund.

The wild form of domesticated almond grows in the Mediterranean region in parts of the Levant. Almonds must first have been taken into cultivation in this region.

Before cultivation and domestication occurred, wild almonds were harvested as food and doubtless were processed by leaching or roasting to remove their toxicity.
Domesticated almonds appear in the Early Bronze Age of the Near East, or possibly a little earlier. A well-known archaeological example of almond is the fruits found in Tutankhamen’s tomb in Egypt probably imported from the Levant.

Global production of almonds is around 1.5 million tones, with a low of 1 million tones in 1995 and a peak of 1.85 million tones in 2002 according to Food and Agriculture Organization figures.

Major producers include Iran, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Syria, and Turkey. In Spain, numerous commercial cultivars of sweet almond are produced, most notably the Jordan almond and the Valencia almond.

In the United States, production is concentrated in California, with almonds being California's sixth leading agricultural product and its top agricultural export. California exported almonds valued at 1.08 billion dollars in 2003, about 70% of total California almond crop.