FDA warns of salmonella in peanut butterCertain batches of Peter Pan, Great Value brand are being recalled by ConAgra Foods; jar has product code 2111 on lid.
February 15 2007: 8:24 AM EST
CHICAGO (Reuters) -- Certain batches of Peter Pan brand peanut butter may contain salmonella and are being recalled by maker ConAgra Foods Inc., the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said.
The FDA linked 288 cases of food poisoning in 39 states to Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter, both made at a single facility in Georgia by ConAgra (Charts).
Contaminated jars have the product code 2111 on the lid of Peter Pan, Great Value brands.
All have a product code on the lid of the jar that begins with the number 2111, the FDA said.
No deaths have been linked to the outbreak.
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"The outbreak appears to be ongoing and the first consumer may have become ill in August 2006," the FDA said in a statement
"Symptoms of food borne illness caused by salmonella include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps," the FDA added.
"In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections."
It advised people to throw away any peanut butter with the 2111 product code.
ConAgra does not yet know how many jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter have the product code 2111, said spokesman Chris Kircher.
ConAgra's own testing did not detect the presence of salmonella, either in the product or in the factory, Kircher said.
"ConAgra is recalling all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111 that already was distributed," the FDA said.
"The company will cease production until the exact cause of contamination can be identified and eliminated."
Dr. Timothy Jones, deputy state epidemiologist for the Tennessee Department of Health, said his state has had about 20 cases of salmonella that may be related to peanut butter.
Salmonella are a family of bacteria that can cause diarrhea, fever and stomach pain in people. The CDC reports 40,000 cases a year in the United States, and 600 deaths. "Salmonella infections usually resolve in 5 to 7 days and often do not require treatment unless the patient becomes severely dehydrated or the infection spreads from the intestines," the CDC says on its Web site, at
http://www.cdc.gov.
The salmonella being investigated is a strain known as Salmonella tennessee, Jones said.
The last major U.S. outbreak of salmonella was a slightly different strain that sickened 183 people in 22 states and Canada in November. It was linked to tomatoes.