by Playfuls Staff |
16th February 2007
There is reason to avoid peanut butter, at least certain jars of it, as the US is facing the first known outbreak of salmonella caused by the delicious product.
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New York stores proceeded to remove Peter Pan peanut butter from shelves as the CDC announced that the product could be responsible for almost 300 cases of salmonella contamination.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 288 persons, from 39 states, had become infected with salmonella since last August. New York had one of the greatest concentrations of people infected with the bacterium.
After investigations, Peter Pan peanut butter was identified as a very possible cause of the outbreak. About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials said. This led federal health investigators to say they strongly suspect Peter Pan peanut butter and certain batches of Wal-Mart's Great Value house brand, both manufactured by ConAgra Foods Inc.
ConAgra replied by assuring the government agency of its full cooperation. The company’s spokesman, Chris Kircher, said in a statement, “Although none of our extensive product tests have indicated the presence of salmonella, we are taking this precautionary measure because consumer health and safety is our top priority.”
Late Wednesday ConAgra announced the recall of Peter Pan peanut butter and certain jars of Great Value peanut butter. The FDA says any Peter Pan or Great Value jars purchased since May 2006 should be discarded. They have a product code on the lid starting with the numbers 2111.
In the production process, peanuts are usually heated to temperatures that are so high that they kill germs. Government and industry officials are therefore persuaded to believe that the contamination might have been caused by dirty jars or equipment.
“We think we have very strong evidence that this was the [manufacturer]. Now it goes to the next step of going to the place where the peanut butter was made and focusing in on the testing,” said Dr. Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The potentially dangerous product is made in only one peanut butter plant, in Sylvester, Ga. The plant has been closed and federal investigators visited it on Thursday in an attempt to identify the cause of contamination.
The FDA last inspected the plant in 2005. Testing was also being done on at least some of the salmonella victims' peanut butter jars, but investigators said some might have been discarded.
Approximately 40,000 persons in the USA become infected with salmonella each year; the infection is known as salmonellosis and can be fatal. Around 600 people die annually from it. Among the symptoms are diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
Of the 288 persons infected, about 20 per cent required hospitalization. There were no fatalities. The illness can be life-threatening to people in poor health or with weakened immune systems so it should be treated with utmost seriousness.
