Peanut Butter Salmonella Scare Spreads Nationwide

The federal agency has notified PCA that product samples originating from its Blakely, Georgia, processing plant have been tested and found positive for Salmonella Typhimurium by laboratories in the states of Minnesota and Connecticut.

Connecticut and Minnesota have reported to the FDA that samples of King Nut peanut butter they tested are a genetic match to the strain of Salmonella associated with a nationwide outbreak. King Nut is a distributor of products made by the Peanut Corporation of America.

PCA says the company "issued a voluntary recall for all peanut butter and peanut paste produced on or after July 1, 2008 in our Blakely, Georgia facility." But the company said in a statement today that it has "nothing in writing" from the FDA documenting its findings from its ongoing investigation and testing onsite at the Blakely facility.

"We trust that at some point they will share this with us and PCA will respond accordingly," the company said.

PCA manufactures peanut butter and peanut paste, a concentrated product consisting of ground, roasted peanuts, that are distributed to food manufacturers to be used as an ingredient in many commercially produced products including cakes, cookies, crackers, candies, cereal and ice cream.

In addition, PCA peanut butter is served in such settings as as long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, delis, cafeterias, and bakeries.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health Laboratory and the Georgia Department of Agriculture independently isolated Salmonella from unopened five pound containers of King Nut brand peanut butter.

Officials in Connecticut have identified the Salmonella found in their container as the outbreak strain. Further tests are taking place in Georgia to determine if the Salmonella in their container is also the outbreak strain.

Peanut butter (Photo credit unknown)

Manufacturers of products containing peanut butter continue to announce recalls.

Since the first recall of products containing peanut butter was issued on January 10 by the King Nut corporation, 27 companies have issued recall notices.

They include well known brands such as Kellogg's Austin, Keebler and Famous Amos branded peanut butter sandwich crackers and cookies. Blanton's Candies recalled their peanut butter sticks today, and on Saturday, Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products recalled Food Lion Bake Shop Peanut Butter Cookies nationwide.

Clif and Luna branded energy bars have been recalled, and Nature's Path recalled its Peanut Butter Optimum energy bars on Tuesday.

Dinners Ready Meridian has recalled their Asian Marinated Flank Steak, Indonesian Chicken and Chicken Satay prepared meals because of a possible health risk, and even dog biscuits made by PetSmart that contain peanut butter have been recalled.

Major national brands of jarred peanut butter sold in markets are not affected by the PCA recall as the company does not sell peanut butter directly to consumers.

The Food and Drug Administration and food manufacturers are working to identify products that may be affected, and to track the ingredient supply chain of those products to hasten their removal from the marketplace.

Because identification of products subject to recall is continuing, the FDA urges consumers to first visit the FDA website to determine if commercially-prepared or manufactured peanut butter and products containing peanut paste are subject to recall.

Efforts to specifically identify products subject to the PCA recall and to continuously update consumers are ongoing.

If consumers do not find the product of interest on FDA’s website they may wish to call the toll-free number listed on most food packaging or visit the company’s website.

If consumers cannot determine if their foods contain peanut butter, the FDA recommends that they do not eat those products.

The FDA advises, "Do not eat products that have been recalled and throw them away in a manner that prevents others from eating them."

People who think they may have become ill from eating peanut butter are advised to consult their health care providers.

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