Please Don't Pass the Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter, the ubiquitous American lunch box staple, is baffling the FDA and CDC with a dangerous foodborne illness: Salmonella.

Today the US Food and Drug Administration issued a statement advising against the consumption of products containing peanut butter. "Based on this information, and on the current state of the investigation, the FDA recommends that consumers avoid eating products that have been recalled and discard them. Because identification of products subject to recall is continuing, the FDA urges consumers to postpone eating peanut butter-containing products until further information becomes available about which products may be affected. Efforts to specifically identify those products are ongoing."

Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, said Stephen Sundlof, head of the Food and Drug Administration’s food safety center. "We urge consumers to postpone eating any products that may contain peanut butter until additional information becomes available," Sundlof told reporters via conference call. "As of now, there is no indication that the major national name-brand jars of peanut butter sold in retails stores are linked to the recall."

Illness linked to this outbreak of Salmonella have been reported in 43 states, and deaths in Minnesota, Virginia, Idaho and North Carolina are being investigated.

In a state press release issued yesterday, the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection declared their Department of Public Health Laboratory has confirmed the presence of Salmonella Type B in an unopened five-pound tub of King Nut Peanut Butter that had reached City Line distributors in West Haven, Connecticut. “This is the first unopened tub of King Nut peanut butter found in the country that is definitively identified as being tainted with salmonella,” said Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell, Jr.

The list of products that may be affected is still being determined and is incomplete at this time.
Companies that have issued voluntary recalls for products containing potentially contaminated peanut products include the Kellogg Company, Perry's and Wegman's, Hy-Vee, King Nut, and the Peanut Corporation of America--the peanut processing company and maker of peanut butter and peanut paste for bulk distribution to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies. To date, no mandatory recall has been issued by any company, or government agency. The FDA has compiled a list of products known to be implicated at this point in the investigation.

The Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, further advises consumers to do the following:

--Do not eat products that have been recalled and throw them away in a manner that prevents others from eating them.

--Postpone eating other peanut butter containing products (such as cookies, crackers, cereal, candy and ice cream) until information becomes available about whether that product may be affected.

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

Salmonella was first identified by Theobald Smith, research-assistant to Daniel E. Salmon (for whom the bacterium is named), while investigating the causes of hog cholera. Since then, over 2300 strains have been isolated. Salmonella has generally been associated with undercooked poultry and eggs. In the past five years, outbreaks of the food borne illness in the United States have been linked to tomatoes, basil, spinach, lettuce, alfalpha sprouts, cantaloupe, chocolate bars and cocoa, raw milk, soft cheeses, almonds, breakfast cereals, drinking water, and pet food.

According to the FDA website, eating food contaminated with Salmonella can result in abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and fever. Most people infected with Salmonella develop the symptoms 12 to 72 hours after infection. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In these patients, the Salmonella infection may spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics. Older adults, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to experience severe illness, and should be seen by a physician if they experience these symptoms.