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Peanut Butter Recall Claims Still More Products

More than 20 companies added to list

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 2, 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 ...

More than 20 companies recalled cookies, candies, pet treats, and other products over the weekend because they contain peanut butter or paste made by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).

That company is linked to the nationwide salmonella outbreak, which has sickened more than 500 people in 43 states and may be related to the deaths of eight others.

PCA is also the focus of a federal investigation for allegedly shipping peanut products it knew had tested positive for salmonella.

In recent weeks, food makers across the country have recalled more than 400 types of products in what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calls the largest food-related recall in memory.

And the list keeps growing — fueled by PCA's recent decision to expand its recall to include all peanuts and peanut products made at its Georgia facility since 2007.

Here are some of the latest products companies have recalled in the wake of PCA's expanded recall of peanuts and peanut products:

• Walgreens chocolate candies. The company sold the candies in its stores from January 1, 2007 to Jan. 29, 2009. The recall covers: WALGREENS BRIDGE MIX 3.5 OZ, 4 OZ, 14 OZ and 15 OZ; WALGREENS CHOCOLATE COVERED PEANUTS 3.5 OZ, 4 OZ, 13.5 OZ and 15 OZ; WALGREENS CARAMEL NUT CLUSTERS 3.5 OZ, 4 OZ, 13.5 OZ and 15 OZ; and WALGREENS CHOCOLATE PEANUT CLUSTERS 3.5 OZ and 4 OZ. Customers can return the candies for a full refund. For more information, contact Walgreens at 847-315-2755.

• Kroger Peanut Butter Bakery Cookies and Select Cakes. The company sold the products in 31 states under the following names: Kroger, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, Fry's, King Soopers, Smith's, Dillons, QFC, City Market, Foods Co., Jay C, Scott's, Owen's, Baker's, Gerbes, Hilander and Pay Less. The recall specifically includes all packages of the following Kroger, Store-Brand, and Private Selection store-baked and store-packaged cookies: Peanut Butter Cookies – Regular, Jumbo, Decorated, Iced, Gourmet, Mini and Sandwich cookies; Assorted and Variety Bakery Cookies – Regular and Jumbo; Private Selection Peanut Chocolate Chunk Cookies; Private Selection Gourmet Variety Cookie Trays. Kroger is also recalling all sizes of the following Private Selection Cakes: Private Selection Chocolate Trio Single-Layer and Double-Layer Iced Cakes. Customers can return these products to the store for a full refund. For more information, contact Kroger's at (800) 632-6900 or check the company's Web site.

• Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Co. ® products with Honey Roasted Peanuts and Granulated Peanuts. The recall covers: Mountain Man Special Mixed Nuts (All Lots); Mountain Man Sweet Explosion (All Lots); Mountain Man Paddlewheel Mix (All Lots); Mountain Man Honey Roast Peanuts (All Lots); Mountain Man Special Mixed Nut Gift Pack (All 1 lb and 1.75 lb packs); Mountain Man Cherry Hill Supremes (Product purchased prior to August 14, 2008); RiverTrail Sweet & Spicy Mix (All Lots); and RiverTrail Honey Roast Mix (All Lots). The recall, however, does not include any Mountain Man products offered in partnership with Frontier Airlines. Consumers can return the products for a full refund. For more information, contact Mountain Man Nut & Fruit Co. at 1-800-225-0045.

• Six types of Publix Super Markets snacks. The products included in this action are Publix Boston Baked Beans, 10.7oz UPC: 41415-17686-7; Greenwise Organic Ambassador Mix, 6.9oz UPC: 41415-13586-4; Publix Sunburst Mix, 17.1oz UPC: 41415-07186-5; Publix Sweet N Nutty, 35.8oz UPC: 41415-16486-4; Publix Trail Mix with Goji Berries, 7.7oz UPC: 41415-06086-9l; and Publix Spicy Trail Mix, 23.2oz UPC: 41415-07786-7. Consumers can return the products for a full refund. For more information, contact Publix at 1-800-242- 1227 or check the company's Web site.

• Healthy Hide 6" Peanut Butter Filled Shank Bone. The products are made by Salix LLC, a manufacturer of rawhide dog chews, and sold to retailers nationwide. They come in a clear plastic bag with the name Healthy Hide on the front. The package is a 1-count 6" Peanut Butter Filled Shank Bone and has a Universal Product Code of 0-91093-33479-0. All packages are marked with one of the following lot codes: between CP 20081508 and CP 20012209. Consumers can return the products for a full refund.

The candies were distributed nationwide through retail stores and the company's mail order division and retail store. For more information about this action, or to obtain a refund, contact the Standard Candy Company at 1-800-226-4340.

The FDA has a complete list of all products recalled in the salmonella outbreak on its Web site. Consumers can check that Web site daily to see if their favorite products are included in any recalls.

Meanwhile, PCA has halted production at its Georgia plant and says it's working with the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their investigation of the salmonella outbreak.

PCA made that decision after the FDA released an inspection report that revealed such unsanitary conditions as roaches and mold at its Georgia plant, and confirmed the company shipped peanut products that had tested positive for salmonella 12 times since 2007.

That discovery exposed a dirty secret in the food manufacturing industry — companies are not required to disclose internal tests to the FDA or state officials.

According to the FDA's inspection's report, one of PCA's recent shipments — a batch of peanut paste made on September 25, 2008 — had tested positive for the strain of salmonella linked to the current outbreak: Salmonella Typhimurium.

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 include fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare cases, it can cause more severe illnesses, including arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis, and arthritis.

PCA's products are not sold directly to consumers. They are distributed to long-term care facilities, universities, food service industries, and private label food companies in the United States, Canada, Haiti, Korea, and Trinidad.

U.S. food makers, however, use the company's peanut butter and paste to make cookies, crackers, ice cream, energy bars, and other products.

Some pet food makers also use PCA products. That's why health officials have warned pet owners that salmonella can be transferred to humans who handle these products. Pet owners are advised to wash their hands after they come touch these pet treats.

Symptoms of salmonella infection in pets include lethargy, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets, however, may have a decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.

None of the major brands of peanut butter sold on grocery stores shelves are included in any of the current salmonella-peanut butter recalls. The makers of Jif, Skippy, and Peanut Pan peanut butters continue to remind consumers that their products are safe to eat.

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