Peter Pan and Great Value Brands Peanut Butter Recalled Due to Salmonella Outbreak

Before you make your next peanut butter sandwich or spread peanut butter on your toast, be sure to check to see if the jar you have stored in your cupboard is affected by the latest ConAgra foods recall. Jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter are being recalled across the country due a salmonella outbreak. The affected jars have a product code beginning with the number "2111" on the lid.

If you find that you have purchased a jar of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter that is affected by this recall, you should throw the jar of peanut butter away. However, be sure to save the lid of the peanut butter jar in order to get a refund. For more information on the recall and the refund, call 1-866-344-6970.

Officials believe that this is the first salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter in US history. The outbreak, which began last summer, was recently traced back to peanut butter made at a single ConAgra plant in Sylvester, Georgia, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since August, nearly 300 cases of salmonella infection have been reported in 39 states throughout the US. Of the 300 reported cases, 20 percent of those affected required hospitalization. So far, no fatalities associated with the salmonella outbreak have been reported.

Scott Lawrence of KFDM.com reports that Dr. Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), stated that how salmonella got into peanut butter is still under investigation. About 85 percent of those infected with salmonella in this investigation have said that they ate peanut butter, according to the CDC. So far, most of the cases have been reported out of New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri.

Other states reporting cases are Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

ConAgra officials have stated that they have tested their peanut butter and their plant, and the results of those tests were negative. Scott Lawrence reports that according to a ConAgra official, they randomly tests 60 to 80 jars of peanut butter that come off the line each day for salmonella and other pathogens, and they've had no positive hits on that going back for years. However, the Sylvester, Georgia plant has been shut down pending further investigation.

Salmonella infection is known each year to sicken about 40,000 and kill about 600 people in the United States, according to the CDC. Symptoms of salmonella infection can include diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.

Sources:
Tampabays10.com. Peanut butter recall. http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=49286. Retrieved February 15, 2007.
Lawrence, Scott. KFDM.com. Peanut Butter Recall Affects Southeast Texas Stores. February 15, 2007. http://www.kfdm.com/onset?id=19027&template=article.html. Retrieved February 15, 2007.