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Fourth Peanut Butter Death Reported

Elderly Baltimore Woman Dies; Peter Pan Peanut Butter Found in Her Room

Feds Take No Note of Four Seniors' Deaths

By Joseph S. Enoch
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 13, 2007

Rosie Haskins, right, two weeks before her death (family photo)

One month ago, 81-year-old Rosie Haskins danced at her great granddaughter's birthday party. Family members and doctors were baffled when Haskins died less than two weeks after that party -- until they found the partially eaten jar of Peter Pan peanut butter in her bedroom.

"She was a very lively person," Haskins' great granddaughter, Kimberly Dorsey, told ConsumerAffairs.com. "We have a very large family and she was our glue."

But on February 20, Haskins began to suffer intense vomiting and diarrhea, her daughter, Wendy Trusty said.

Her family assumed it was the flu and treated her with medicine for the diarrhea.

When the symptoms only got worse, Haskins finally went to her doctor, Liaqat Ali, on February 22. He said it was just diarrhea but that she was dehydrated and that with plenty of fluids, it should pass soon, Trusty said.

But the pain continued. Her family is not sure if she continued to eat from the jar of Peter Pan in her room, but Trusty said she definitely was not eating anything else.

Two days later, an ambulance rushed Haskins to Maryland General Hospital after the stomach pains increased and she felt tightness in her chest.

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"They ran tests and found nothing," Trusty said.

On February 26 Haskins died. Doctors could not provide an explanation.

"Her doctor told us 'maybe her heart just failed,'" Trusty said.

Either way, the family found their explanation while mourning in Haskins's room later that day.

"We found the peanut butter sitting in her bedroom almost half eaten," Dorsey wrote.

The jar had "2111" written on the lid -- the same jar number ConAgra and the Food and Drug Administration warned last month may contain Salmonella.

"I wish we would've known about that peanut butter because she'd still be alive today," Trusty said while fighting the tears.

Haskins is the fourth death unofficially blamed on tainted ConAgra peanut butter. More than 162 consumers have complained they and, often, other members of their family became ill.

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control has reported 425 related infections but no deaths as of March 7. According to the press release from that day, "This is the last planned web update on this outbreak."

The CDC tracks illnesses when doctors or hospitals report a particular disease to state officials, who investigate it and then pass the information onto the CDC, Lola Russell, CDC spokeswoman said.

In the case of Haskins, her death was never reported because there was no autopsy or official declaration of death.

Ali told Trusty that an autopsy "would be cutting her needlessly," Trusty said.

Because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which protects medical records, Ali was unable to speak with ConsumerAffairs.com about the case.

"I empathize with the other families and want this company to feel pain behind the lives lost and the people affected by this issue," Dorsey wrote.

Other Deaths

Salmonella is known to hit seniors especially hard, so it's perhaps not surprising the three prior deaths blamed on ConAgra's tainted peanut butter were also senior citizens.

The other death reported to ConsumerAffairs.com was that of 85-year-old Mary Halstead of West Virginia. She died after her son made her a peanut butter sandwich -- her favorite food.

"Dumb old me, I made her a peanut butter sandwich at home and brought it to her at the hospital, because it was just about the only thing she wanted to eat," Larry Halstead, her son, said. "In no time, she got just 100 percent worse." Halstead said his mother then became semi-comatose and died.

Two other deaths have been unofficially attributed to the tainted peanut butter.

An elderly Chicago-area man, George Baldwin, was said to be in relatively good health just before his recent death from complications of food poisoning, shortly after he ate a peanut butter sandwich.

"He puts the peanut butter on toast, eats the toast, in six hours he develops fever, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting -- all of which are signs of salmonella poisoning," Baldwin family attorney Don McGarrah said.

A 76-year old Pennsylvania woman, Roberta Barkay of Philadelphia, died in January from complications of food poisoning, and family members contend she too ate peanut butter shortly before her death. The family has hired an attorney who has filed suit against the manufacturer, ConAgra.

Recall Extended

ConAgra is extending its recall of all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111, including peanut butter toppings, back to October 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

The extension was a result of the agency's "ongoing investigation" of a Salmonella outbreak that has been linked to the two brands of peanut butter, both produced at ConAgra's Georgia plant.

Consumers who have purchased any of the products since October 2004 should discard them, FDA said. The agency is advising consumers not to eat any Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter beginning with the 2111 product code.

Symptoms

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized.

The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

What To Do

Persons who think they may have become ill from eating peanut butter should consult a physician if they do not get better in a few days. If the illness affects small children, the elderly, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems, a doctor should be consulted promptly.

The FDA and other agencies have been advising consumers who have Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111 to discard the jar and keep the lid.

However, attorneys advise that, if consumers were seriously harmed by their illness, they should seal the jar in a plastic bag and store it out of the reach of children or others in the household, so that it is available as evidence.

Although a few lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed, one experienced consumer attorney who asked not to be identified expressed doubt such actions would be successful.

"The vast majority of suits will be individual actions. A class suit would be difficult to certify," he said.

ConAgra has publicly offered to repay the money consumers spent on the peanut butter and any attempt to recover medical costs and wages lost to illness would require the filing of an individual personal injury suit. Such suits are usually not economically feasible unless consumers have suffered serious injury or death.

Consumers could also file in Small Claims Court if they have well-documented expenses and a firm diagnosis. Consumers should note that they cannot claim punitive damages for pain and suffering in most small claims cases.

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