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FDA Says Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak Is "Ongoing"

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 26, 2007

• FDA Failed to Follow Up on 2004 Peanut Butter Contamination • Peter Pan Returning To Store Shelves • Consumers Still Getting Sick From Tainted Peanut Butter • Fourth Peanut Butter Death Reported • Peanut Butter Recall Extended to Products Made as Early as 2004 • Peanut Butter Scare Stirs Congress • Consumers Left Holding the Peanut Butter Jar • Earlier Peanut Butter Contamination Kept Quiet • Peanut Butter Developed as a Health Food • Third Death Blamed on Peanut Butter • Peanut Butter Recalls Spread to Ice Cream & Desserts • FDA Says Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak Is "Ongoing" • Salmonella Confirmed in Peanut Butter • Second Death Linked To Tainted Peanut Butter • Death Linked To Tainted Peanut Butter • ConAgra Recalls Tainted Peanut Butter as Complaints Mount • FDA Widens Peanut Butter Warning • Reports of Peanut Butter-Borne Illness Increase • FDA Warns of Salmonella in Peanut Butter --- • Consumer Complaints about Peanut Butter --- • Salmonella: What It Is • More about Food Safety ...

The Food and Drug Administration has reached the same conclusion as the Centers for Disease Control, asserting that certain lots of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter were the sources of the Salmonella food poisoning that has sickened consumers nationwide.

Product testing by several states has now confirmed that the two brands, made by food giant ConAgra, are the sources of the foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Tennessee that began in August 2006. To date the FDA confirms 329 individuals have become ill from consuming the contaminated peanut butter, and 51 of those persons were hospitalized. Actual numbers are most likely much higher.

ConsumerAffairs.com has received 166 reports as of Sunday, Feb. 25. Two deaths have been reported though not yet confirmed by the FDA.

Meanwhile, the FDA says the outbreak is "ongoing," meaning that the contaminated product is still in the marketplace and on consumers' shelves.

All products containing Peter Pan brand peanut butter and all jars of Great Value brand peanut butter bearing a product code that begins "2111" are potentially contaminated. Potentially contaminated products also include 3/4 ounce and 1.1 ounce single serving packs of Peter Pan brand peanut butter.

All of these products contain peanut butter that was manufactured in ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia plant.

Retailers and institutions possessing the products described should not serve or sell them. Any consumer possessing any of these products should discard them, the agency said.

ConAgra has recalled these products from stores and ceased production in their Sylvester plant until the exact cause of contamination can be identified and eliminated

"Although none of our extensive product tests have indicated the presence of salmonella, we are taking this precautionary measure because consumer health and safety is our top priority," said Chris Kircher, spokesperson for ConAgra Foods. "We are working closely with the FDA to better understand its concerns, and we will take whatever additional measures are needed to ensure the safety, quality and wholesomeness of our products."

Symptoms of foodborne illness caused by salmonella include fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.

Individuals who have recently eaten any products containing Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value brand peanut butter from a jar bearing a product code beginning 2111 and who have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately and report the illnesses to their state or local health authorities.

Similarly, institutional food establishments and other food service providers who have received reports of illness from consumers after they consumed one of these products are encouraged to share that information with their local health department.

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