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Peanut Butter Recalled Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination

21 lots of King Nut and Parnell's Pride branks recalled

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 14, 2009

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The company that makes the peanut butter linked to the illnesses of 400 people in 43 states — and possible deaths of three others — has recalled two brands of its products because of possible salmonella contamination.

Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) late Tuesday recalled 21 lots of its King Nut and Parnell's Pride brands of peanut butter manufactured at the company's Blakely, Georgia, plant on of after July 1, 2008.

Those brands of peanut butter are mainly used in schools, hospitals, long-term care facilities, and food service industries, according to the company. None of the peanut butter involved in this action was sold directly to consumers in retail stores.

Tuesday's recall comes one day after the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture and Health released lab results that confirmed a "genetic match" between the strains of salmonella bacteria found in a container of King Nut peanut butter--served in one of the state's long-term care facilities -- and the strains linked to the nationwide outbreak of salmonella.

Last week, Minnesota health officials discovered the salmonella bacteria in an open 5-pound container of King Nut creamy peanut butter used in a long-term care facility.

One of the facility's residents — and 29 other people in Minnesota — had fallen ill from that strain of salmonella, health officials said.

Lab tests over the weekend linked that strain of salmonella to the strains of Salmonella Typhimurium associated with the illnesses of hundreds of people nationwide. Minnesota and Virginia health officials also confirmed a link between the outbreak and three deaths that occurred in those states.

Health officials say those individuals had salmonella when they died, although it was not the conclusive cause of death in all three cases.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), however, says salmonella may have been a factor.

"We deeply regret that this has happened," Stewart Parnell, owner and president of Peanut Corporation of America, said in a statement issued by the company. "Out of an abundance of caution, we are voluntarily withdrawing this product and contacting our customers. We are taking these actions with the safety of our consumers as our first priority."

The peanut butter involved in this recall are:

Lot numbers: 8193, 8194, 8197, 8233, 8234, 8235, 8241, 8255, 8256, 8275, 8276, 8282, 8283, 8284, 8296, 8316, 8330, 8331, 8336, 8345, 8354.

PCA said customers who have any of these products should immediately take them out of distribution.

Customers with questions about the recall can contact PCA at 1-877-564-7080 or check the company Web site.

According to the CDC, this latest salmonella outbreak has sickened 410 persons in 43 states.

The CDC has identified peanut butter as the likely source of the outbreak. It has not, however, found any association with brands of peanut butter sold in grocery stores.

Clusters of infections in several states have been reported in schools and other institutions like long-term care facilities and hospitals, the CDC said. The CDC is working with state health officials and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate this outbreak.

CDC officials say eating food contaminated with salmonella can result in abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and fever. Many people infected with salmonella develop symptoms 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment.

Some people, however, may have severe diarrhea that results in hospitalized. In rare cases, the bacteria can get into the bloodstream and produce more severe illnesses. The CDC says anyone who becomes ill after eating peanut butter should contact their doctor.

To date, this salmonella outbreak has sickened people in the following states: Alabama (1), Arizona (8), Arkansas (3), California (55), Colorado (9), Connecticut (6), Georgia (5), Hawaii (1), Idaho (10), Illinois (5), Indiana (4), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Maine (4), Maryland (7), Massachusetts (40), Michigan (20), Minnesota (30), Missouri (8), Mississippi (1), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (10), New Jersey (13), New York (12), Nevada (6), North Carolina (1), North Dakota (10), Ohio (53), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (5), Pennsylvania (12), Rhode Island (4), South Dakota (2), Tennessee (9), Texas (5), Utah (3), Vermont (4), Virginia (17), Washington (11), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (3), and Wyoming (2).

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