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Peanut Butter Recall List Grows

Widespread salmonella contamination feared in products containing peanut butter

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

January 19, 2009

• Complete List of Recalled Products --- • Texas Fines Peanut Plant $14.6 Million For Violations • Lawmakers Chastise Food Executives Over Salmonella Outbreak • Source of Salmonella Contamination in Peanut Butter May Be Found • More Pet Foods Added to Salmonella Recall • Peanut Recall Expanded To "All Ingredients" • Peanut Corporation of America Files for Bankruptcy • PCA Shuts Second Peanut Plant In Salmonella Scare • Peanut Butter Recall Claims Still More Products • Ice Cream, Cookies, Donuts Join the Massive Peanut Butter Recall List • Peanut Recall Expands as Feds Release Findings • Congresswoman Demands Peanut Probe • Feds: Peanut Corporation Knew of Salmonella Problem • Dozens More Peanut Butter Products Recalled • NutriSystem Joins Peanut Butter Recall • Peanut Butter Dog Treats Recalled Due to Salmonella • Peanut Butter Health Bars Recalled • Peanut Butter Recall List Grows • Peanut Butter Recall Spreads To More Products • Kellogg Puts Peanut Butter Crackers "On Hold" Due to Salmonella Concerns • Peanut Butter Recalled Due to Possible Salmonella Contamination • King Nut Issues Peanut Butter Recall • Consumer Complaints about Peanut Butter --- Earlier stories • Judge Nixes Peanut Butter Class Action • 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 ...

Another company has recalled some of its products as the nationwide salmonella outbreak continues to grow. The Michigan-based Meijer company on Monday recalled two types of peanut butter crackers and two types of peanut butter ice cream sold in its stores and gas stations in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

The company took the action after the products' manufacturers said they could be contaminated with salmonella. Meijer recalled the following products:


• Meijer Cheese and Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, UPC #0-41250-56235
• Meijer Toasty Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, UPC #0-41250-56239
• Meijer Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream, UPC #00000007-19283-96635-3
• Meijer Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream, UPC #00000007-19283-96843-2

The company removed all these products from its stores and gas stations. Meijer said it has not received any reports of illnesses linked to these products.

Customers who purchased these recalled items can return them to any Meijer location for a full refund. For more information, Meijer customers can call the company at 800-543-3704.

Valentine candy

Other products on the recall list are various candies — including a Valentine Heart — made by the South Bend Chocolate Candy Company.

The company late Sunday recalled the products because they contain peanut butter from Peanut Corporation of America, which may be tainted with salmonella.

The candies included in this action are all sold under The South Bend Chocolate Company brand name and were produced on or after July 1, 2008.

The recalled candies are:

• Assorted chocolates in 5 ounce (Product 121), 8 ounce (Product 122), 12 ounce (Product 123) and 26 ounce (Product 124) boxes. (The sugar free assorted chocolates are not part of the recall);

• Hoosiers in 5 ounce (Product 010, UPC# 4482300011) and 3.5 ounce (Product o11, UPC# 4482300010);

• Valentine Heart, 14 ounces (Product 1020)

The company also recalled the following candies, which were sold to retail stores in bulk:

• 4.5lb Peanut Butter Fudge, Product 228;

• 4 lb. Hoosiers, Product 410;

• 5 lb. Peanut Butter Meltaway, Milk Chocolate, Product 204;

• 5 lb. Peanut Butter Meltaways-Dark Chocolate, Product 204D;

• 4.5lb Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge, Product 229

The Indiana-based chocolate company said it has not received any complaints of illnesses linked to these products. "We are taking these steps out of concern for our customers," said company President Mark Tarner.

Consumers who purchased these recalled candies should either return them to the store for a refund or destroy the products.

For more information about the recall, consumers can contact The South Bend Chocolate Company at 574-233-2577.

Recalls increasing

The South Bend recall is the latest in a growing series of food products that are being recalled or placed on hold due to possible Salmonella contamination in peanut butter.

Unlike the ConAgra recall of two years ago, King Nut peanu butter isn't sold directly to the public, so consumers don't have any sitting on their shelves. But on the other hand, it might be contained in some other products in their pantries, which could make it even more dangerous.

A week after King Nut began recalling its peanut butter, sold to manufacturers and institutions like schools and nursing homes, other food manufacturers that use peanut butter are following suit.

Little Debbie

McKee Foods Corporation today recalled two varieties of peanut butter sandwich crackers because of possible salmonella contamination. The recalled products are:

• Little Debbie Peanut Butter Toasty sandwich crackers — all sizes.
• Little Debbie Peanut Butter Cheese sandwich crackers — all sizes.

Both varieties of crackers were made on or after July, 1, 2008.

The Tennessee-based company said it took the action because Kellogg's make the sandwich crackers. McKee Foods said it has not received any reports of illnesses liked to these crackers. The company said it does not buy peanut paste or peanut butter from PCA, and no other Little Debbie® products containing peanut butter are involved in this action.

Hy-Vee

Hy-Vee Inc. is voluntarily recalling the following products made in its bakery departments because they contain peanut butter that has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella:

• Peanut Butter Cookies
• Monster Cookies
• Peanut Butter Reese's Pieces Cookies
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Lunchbox Reese's Pieces Cookies
• Lunchbox Peanut Butter Cookies
• People Chow Party Mix and
• Assorted Truffle Fudge.

The company says all sell-by dates are included in this recall. The products are sold in various packaging and quantities and have a Hy-Vee price label attached. All items should be destroyed or returned to Hy-Vee for a full refund.

Perry's

Meanwhile, Perry's Ice Cream has announced a voluntary recall of select ice cream products containing peanut butter because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. Peanut Corporation of America, maker of King Nut peanut butter, is one of Perry's suppliers.

Perry's is recalling ice cream products containing peanut butter sauce, which have been recalled by PCA. The company has not received any consumer illness complaints about these products. The products below have been distributed in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

Products affected by the recall are as follows:

• Perry's Premium Peanut Butter Cup Craze Ice Cream 1/2 Pint
• Perry's Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.5 QT, 1.75 QT AND 3 GL
• Perry's Peanut Butter Chip Frozen Yogurt 1.5 QT, 1.75 QT and 3 GL
• Perry's Peanut Butter Sundae Crunch Ice Cream Bar Bulk 24 pack
• Perry's Premium Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream 1.5 QT and 1.75 QT
• Perry's Perfectly Churned Light Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.5 QT and 1.75 QT
• Perry's Light Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.75 QT
• Shurfine Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.75 QT
• Wegmans Chocolate Nutty Cone Ice Cream 1.75 QT
• Wegmans Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 1.75 QT and Pint
• Wegmans Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream 1.75 QT
• Wegmans Peanut Butter Sundae Ice Cream 1.75 QT
• Wegmans Peanut Butter Pretzel Ice Cream 1.75 QT
• Wegmans Peanut Butter Crunch Ice Cream Bar 6 pack
• Wegmans Peanut Butter Candy Sundae Cup Ice Cream 4 pack
• Wegmans Peanut Butter Sundae Cup Ice Cream 4 pack

"Product quality and consumer safety have been our top priority for over 90 years and our decision today reflects that tradition," said Robert Denning, president and CEO, Perry's Ice Cream. "We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers."

Kellogg's

The peanut butter recall has also impacted food giant Kellogg's, which announced a voluntary recall of certain Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers and select snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies because the products have the potential to be contaminated.

On January 14, Kellogg announced a precautionary hold on the sandwich crackers while FDA and other authorities investigated PCA.

Last week, 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.

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 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.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In some cases, the organism can get into the bloodstream and cause more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

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