Peanut Butter Recall
02-15-2007, 11:20 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 08-20-2006
Location: Hillsdale, Michigan
Posts: 21,640
Peanut Butter Recall
Hopefully no one here has ate any of this:
Salmonella Linked to Peanut Butter
By Associated Press
1 hour ago
ATLANTA - Consumers should throw away certain jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter after the spread was linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened almost 300 people around the country, ConAgra said.
Lids of jars produced by ConAgra Foods with a product code beginning "2111" can be returned to the company for a refund, the company said.
The salmonella outbreak, which federal health officials said Wednesday has sickened 288 people in 39 states since August, was linked to tainted peanut butter produced by ConAgra at a plant in Sylvester, Ga. How salmonella got into peanut butter is still under investigation, said Dr. Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ConAgra officials haven't said how much peanut butter is covered in the recall, which it called a precaution.
"We are working closely with the FDA to better understand its concerns, and we will take whatever additional measures are needed to ensure the safety, quality and wholesomeness of our products," spokesman Chris Kircher said.
CDC officials believe the salmonella outbreak to be the nation's first associated with peanut butter. The most cases were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri.
About 20 percent of all the ill were hospitalized, and there were no deaths, Lynch said. About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials said.
Salmonella infection is known each year to sicken about 40,000 people in the United States, according to the CDC. Salmonellosis, as the infection is known, kills about 600 people annually.
Symptoms can include diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
The latest outbreak began in August, with no more than two cases reported each day, CDC officials said. Only in the past few days did investigators hone in on peanut butter as a source, Lynch said.
The recall does not affect Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration said.
___
To get a refund, consumers should send lids and their names and addresses to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 57078, Irvine, CA 92619-7078. For more information, call 866-344-6970.
Salmonella Linked to Peanut Butter
By Associated Press
1 hour ago
ATLANTA - Consumers should throw away certain jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter after the spread was linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened almost 300 people around the country, ConAgra said.
Lids of jars produced by ConAgra Foods with a product code beginning "2111" can be returned to the company for a refund, the company said.
The salmonella outbreak, which federal health officials said Wednesday has sickened 288 people in 39 states since August, was linked to tainted peanut butter produced by ConAgra at a plant in Sylvester, Ga. How salmonella got into peanut butter is still under investigation, said Dr. Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ConAgra officials haven't said how much peanut butter is covered in the recall, which it called a precaution.
"We are working closely with the FDA to better understand its concerns, and we will take whatever additional measures are needed to ensure the safety, quality and wholesomeness of our products," spokesman Chris Kircher said.
CDC officials believe the salmonella outbreak to be the nation's first associated with peanut butter. The most cases were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri.
About 20 percent of all the ill were hospitalized, and there were no deaths, Lynch said. About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials said.
Salmonella infection is known each year to sicken about 40,000 people in the United States, according to the CDC. Salmonellosis, as the infection is known, kills about 600 people annually.
Symptoms can include diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
The latest outbreak began in August, with no more than two cases reported each day, CDC officials said. Only in the past few days did investigators hone in on peanut butter as a source, Lynch said.
The recall does not affect Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers, the Food and Drug Administration said.
___
To get a refund, consumers should send lids and their names and addresses to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 57078, Irvine, CA 92619-7078. For more information, call 866-344-6970.
. One jar is almost gone, the second one is half gone, and the third is unopened.
02-15-2007, 08:07 PM
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: 01-20-2006
Location: Centralia, Missouri
Posts: 1,707
We have a jar of the "bad" peter pan peanut butter. My 2 year old girl has ate some, but she is the only one. Funny thing is she had 4 days in a row where she was throwing up, and I mean a bunch. She went a few days and started throwing up again. I don't know if the peanut butter had anyting to do with it, but it makes you think. Most likely it was just a bug, at least that is what we are hoping. We thought about taking the jar somewhere to have it tested for salmonella, but weren't sure where to go. Pretty scary stuff when giving your kids peanut butter can possibly harm them.
02-16-2007, 05:51 PM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: 06-20-2006
Location: Old Saybrook, CT
Posts: 135
I got it bad.
I had 2 peanut butter sandwiches last monday for lunch. Tuesday afternoon i was so sick and disoriented i had to be taken to the hospital. Was released on Wednesday afternoon. I had to take the jar of peanut butter to the hospital. They wanted to do testing on it. Here it is Friday and my stomach is still not right. Some nasty stuff.
02-16-2007, 07:17 PM
#9
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 08-20-2006
Location: Hillsdale, Michigan
Posts: 21,640
update on the story:
Scientists Check Ga. Peanut Butter Plant
By ELLIOTT MINOR, Associated Press Writer
3 hours ago
SYLVESTER, Ga. - Government and company scientists went through one of the nation's largest peanut butter plants Friday, trying to figure out how salmonella got into batches of the spread.
Out of the scientists' way, about 40 workers did maintenance work at the ConAgra Foods plant, spokesman Chris Kircher said. But no jars of peanut butter rolled off the lines at the shuttered plant.
The plant has been shut down since Wednesday, when federal health officials linked its peanut butter _ Peter Pan brand and certain batches of Wal-Mart's Great Value house brand _ to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened almost 300 people nationwide since August. No deaths have been reported.
The plant employs about 100 people, and other than the local hospital, it is the largest employer in Sylvester, a town of about 5,900 people in south Georgia's peanut country.
All workers are getting paid during the shutdown, Kircher said.
"We're working alongside the FDA to investigate this matter and take whatever measures are necessary to get that plant up and running," Kircher said.
Lois Warren, a cashier at Ed's Truck Stop, a lunchtime gathering place for area farmers a few miles west of town, said there's been "some talk" about the salmonella outbreak, but that isn't stopping people from ordering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches off the menu.
"You can still get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but it isn't Peter Pan," Warren said.
It was unclear how the dangerous germ that commonly originates from the feces of birds and animals got into the peanut butter.
Government and industry officials said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. Peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter _ in Australia during the mid-1990s _ was blamed on unsanitary plant conditions.
ConAgra says none of its previous routine testing of plant equipment and peanut butter has tested positive for salmonella. The Food and Drug Administration last inspected the plant in February 2005 and found no problems, agency spokesman Michael Herndon said.
At least some the salmonella victims' peanut butter jars are being tested, but the results are not expected for days.
The Omaha, Neb.-based food giant said Friday it still had not determined yet how many jars are affected by the recall. The plant is the sole maker of the nationally distributed Peter Pan brand, and the recall covers all peanut butter produced by the plant since May 2006.
Shoppers are being asked to toss out jars having a product code on the lid beginning with "2111," which denotes the plant. ConAgra said they can return their lids or full jars of peanut butter to the store where they bought them for a refund.
Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the U.S. and kills about 600. It can cause diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
___
To get a refund, consumers should send lids with their names and addresses to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 3768, Omaha, NE 68103. For more information, call (866) 344-6970 or visit ConAgra's Web site at
Scientists Check Ga. Peanut Butter Plant
By ELLIOTT MINOR, Associated Press Writer
3 hours ago
SYLVESTER, Ga. - Government and company scientists went through one of the nation's largest peanut butter plants Friday, trying to figure out how salmonella got into batches of the spread.
Out of the scientists' way, about 40 workers did maintenance work at the ConAgra Foods plant, spokesman Chris Kircher said. But no jars of peanut butter rolled off the lines at the shuttered plant.
The plant has been shut down since Wednesday, when federal health officials linked its peanut butter _ Peter Pan brand and certain batches of Wal-Mart's Great Value house brand _ to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened almost 300 people nationwide since August. No deaths have been reported.
The plant employs about 100 people, and other than the local hospital, it is the largest employer in Sylvester, a town of about 5,900 people in south Georgia's peanut country.
All workers are getting paid during the shutdown, Kircher said.
"We're working alongside the FDA to investigate this matter and take whatever measures are necessary to get that plant up and running," Kircher said.
Lois Warren, a cashier at Ed's Truck Stop, a lunchtime gathering place for area farmers a few miles west of town, said there's been "some talk" about the salmonella outbreak, but that isn't stopping people from ordering peanut butter and jelly sandwiches off the menu.
"You can still get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but it isn't Peter Pan," Warren said.
It was unclear how the dangerous germ that commonly originates from the feces of birds and animals got into the peanut butter.
Government and industry officials said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. Peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter _ in Australia during the mid-1990s _ was blamed on unsanitary plant conditions.
ConAgra says none of its previous routine testing of plant equipment and peanut butter has tested positive for salmonella. The Food and Drug Administration last inspected the plant in February 2005 and found no problems, agency spokesman Michael Herndon said.
At least some the salmonella victims' peanut butter jars are being tested, but the results are not expected for days.
The Omaha, Neb.-based food giant said Friday it still had not determined yet how many jars are affected by the recall. The plant is the sole maker of the nationally distributed Peter Pan brand, and the recall covers all peanut butter produced by the plant since May 2006.
Shoppers are being asked to toss out jars having a product code on the lid beginning with "2111," which denotes the plant. ConAgra said they can return their lids or full jars of peanut butter to the store where they bought them for a refund.
Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the U.S. and kills about 600. It can cause diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.
___
To get a refund, consumers should send lids with their names and addresses to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 3768, Omaha, NE 68103. For more information, call (866) 344-6970 or visit ConAgra's Web site at
02-16-2007, 09:36 PM
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: 02-03-2006
Location: So Cal
Posts: 1,785