Smucker Recalling Peanut Butter Over Possible Salmonella

Food manufacturer JM Smucker has announced a recall of 16-ounce jars of Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter Chunky because the product may be tained with salmonella. Only 3,000 of the nearly 20,000 jars have been distributed, the company said.

The recalled jars were distributed in Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, DC and Wisconsin.

The jars have not been on the shelf very long. Smucker says they were distributed only in the last two weeks. They are marked with "Best if used by" dates of August 3, 2012 and August 4, 2012. The production codes are 1307004 and 1208004.

It was not disclosed why the company thinks the products may be contaminated. Smucker says it has not received any reports of illnesses.

Salmonella-tainted peanut butter is not something to be taken likely. In February 2007 ConAgra recalled Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter because of salmonella contamination.

Hundreds were sickened by the tainted product over a seven week period. Though the Centers for Disease Control never confirmed a death from the product, a number of consumers reported their loved ones died after getting peanut butter-related salmonella.