Peter Pan Peanut Butter is being pulled off the shelves all over Symptoms of salmonella include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. Salmonella can cause life-threatening infections in people in poor health or who have weakened immune systems. Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the
Any such illnesses should be reported to state or local health authorities, the FDA said.
This outbreak follows major food-borne illness scares in 2006 involving spinach, tomatoes and iceberg lettuce. One expert said he's not surprised that these outbreaks are continuing to plague
"This is not an unusual event. Salmonella is a very prevalent organism," said Dr. Philip Tierno, the director of clinical microbiology and immunology at
According to Tierno, these contamination problems arise because the FDA does not regulate the safety of produce -- and he doubts that the food industry can monitor itself. The government is moving toward making a change. Outside monitoring is the way to go.
Tierno said food poisoning strikes an estimated 80 million people in the
U.S. Government and company scientists went through one of the nation's largest peanut butter plants Friday, trying to figure out how salmonella got into batches of the spread.
Warning from FDA
FDA Warns of Salmonella-Contaminated Peanut Butter. Consumers should not eat certain jars of Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter because they may be contaminated with Salmonella Tennessee, a bacterium that causes food-borne illness, U.S. officials said.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning is based on data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the CDC, there have been 288 cases of food-borne illness in 39 states tied to eating Peter Pan peanut butter. Salmonella is carried by animals, but somehow was transferred during the manufacturing process to the peanuts.
People can identify the affected jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter by looking for a product code -- located on the lid -- that starts with the number 2111. Both brands are made in a single plant in
The FDA is recommending that all affected jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter purchased since May 2006 be discarded.
The outbreak appears to have started in August 2006. As a result of testing and recent case control studies, the CDC was finally able to identify Peter Pan peanut butter as the likely cause of illness.
From a lunchtime gathering place for area farmers a few miles west of town, there's been "some talk" about the salmonella outbreak. But that isn't stopping people from ordering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches off the menu.
It was unclear how the dangerous germ that commonly originates from the feces of birds and animals got into the peanut butter.
U.S. Government and industry officials said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. Peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter -- in
ConAgra says none of its previous routine testing of plant equipment and peanut butter has tested positive for salmonella. The Food and Drug Administration last inspected the plant in February 2005 and found no problems, agency spokesman Michael Herndon said.
At least some the salmonella victims' peanut butter jars are being tested, but the results are not expected for days.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based food giant said Friday that it still had not determined yet how many jars are affected by the recall. The plant is the sole maker of the nationally distributed Peter Pan brand, and the recall covers all peanut butter produced by the plant since May 2006.
ConAgra Action
ConAgra announced Thursday that it was recalling all varieties of Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Great Value Peanut Butter beginning with product code 2111. Shoppers are being asked to toss out jars having a product code on the lid beginning with that code, which denotes the plant. ConAgra said they can return their lids or full jars of peanut butter to the store where they bought them for a refund.
Although none of ConAgra’s extensive product tests have indicated the presence of salmonella, ConAgra are taking this precautionary measure because consumer health and safety is our top priority. They are working closely with the FDA to better understand its concerns, and they will take whatever additional measures are needed to ensure the safety, quality and wholesomeness of our products.
As part of its investigation, the FDA has sent investigators to ConAgra's processing plant in
Out of the scientists' way, about 40 workers did maintenance work at the ConAgra Foods plant, a ConAgra spokesman Chris Kircher said. But no jars of peanut butter rolled off the lines at the shuttered plant.
The plant has been shut down since Wednesday, when federal health officials linked its peanut butter -- Peter Pan brand and certain batches of Wal-Mart's Great Value house brand -- to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened almost 300 people nationwide since August. No deaths have been reported.
The plant employs about 100 people, and other than the local hospital, it is the largest employer in Sylvester, a town of about 5,900 people in south Georgia's peanut country. All workers are getting paid during the shutdown.
Tuesday, that ConAgra is also recalling more than 400,000 pounds of pasta and meatball meals that may have been underprocessed. The recall involves 36.6-ounce cartons of Banquet brand Homestyle Bakes Pasta & Meatballs in Marinara Sauce produced between
For more information on salmonella, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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