The manufacturer, ConAgra, located in Sylvester, GA, has fully cooperated with the FDA in their investigation and had already discontinued production of these products in addition to recalling the products that have already been sold.
The dangerous contamination affected all Peter Pan brand peanut butter products and the jars of Great Value brand peanut butter products with a product code beginning with the numbers 2111 located on the lid of the jars. All affected products should be discarded.
The contamination has now been extended to also affect other brands of food though the sale of bulk peanut butter that is used to make toppings and flavorings. The FDA is warning consumers to discard any of the following items in addition to the already recalled peanut butter products:
- Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter Topping (6 lb., 10.5 oz. cans) used to make the peanut butter regular and fudge shakes and the peanut butter regular and fudge sundaes. Sonic discontinued use of this topping on February 16 when the recall began.
- Carvel Peanut Butter Topping (6 lb., 10 oz. cans) used in the following various Carvel ice cream products: Chocolate Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter Treasure, Peanut Butter & Jelly, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae Dasher, and other customized products containing the peanut butter toppings and flavors for ice cream within the cakes used by Carvel. These toppings and flavorings or products were discontinued by Carvel on February 16 when the recall began.
- J. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping (6 lb., 10 oz. cans). Although this product is not available for direct public purchase, retailers and restaurants across the U.S. may have used this topping in or on their food products.
The FDA recommends that any individual who is not sure if the products they have possibly contain the peanut butter-tainted toppings should contact the store where they purchased the food.
The ongoing outbreak began in August 2006. To date there have been 329 cases of illness with 51 hospitalizations from consumption of the contaminated peanut butters products. There have been no reported deaths so far.
The recent warning from the FDA came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted a study that indicated a link between 288 cases of the food-borne illness and the peanut butter brands.
The CDC officials reported that 85 percent of the people who have been infected with the illness reported eating the peanut butter.
It should be noted that some Great Value brand peanut butter products that are made by other manufacturers are not believed to have been affected by this contamination.
For individuals who have a weakened immune system or poor health from other conditions, salmonella poisoning can cause life-threatening infection(s).
The CDC's data indicates that salmonella poisoning causes about 40,000 humans to get sick each year, with the infection causing approximately 600 deaths annually. The symptoms of salmonella poisoning include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.
The FDA is working closely with all entities to identify how the contamination occurred and to help prevent other similar food-borne outbreaks from happening again.
