Peanut Products Recall
Peanut Product Recall
In a press release by the FDA, health officials are urging consumers to avoid products made with peanut butter. This following a recent deadly outbreak of Salmonella poisoning. “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.
Officials are focusing on products made with peanut paste and peanut butter produced by the Peanut Corporation of America’s Blakely, GA facility. This peanut product is not sold directly to consumers but distributed to institutions and food companies. This is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket.
The Blakely, GA facility is no longer operating, while investigators look into the matter, the press release states that “today’s announcement and voluntary recall affect all peanut butter produced on or after August 8, 2008 and peanut paste produced on or after September 26, 2008 at the Georgia facility. ”
The Kellogg Co., which listed Peanut Corp. as one of its suppliers, has voluntarily recalled 16 products. They include Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and some snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies. Health officials said consumers who have bought any of those products should throw them away.
Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho has reported one. Four of those five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died, although their exact causes of death have not been determined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the salmonella may have contributed.
The FDA provides an excellent FAQ page on this issue. If you have questions regarding Peanut Company of America, consumers can call for further instructions on what to do with the product or visit the company web site at www.peanutcorp.com.
Update: Sunday 2009-01-18
The company that sells Little Debbie snacks also announced a voluntary recall Sunday of peanut butter crackers due to the potential link to a deadly salmonella outbreak.
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