Tag Archives: Peanut

Is Salmonella-laced peanut stuff making dogs barf?

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When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned on Saturday that Americans should "postpone" eating cookies, crackers, candy and ice cream that contain peanut butter or peanut paste, they didn’t mention anything about America’s pets.

They should have.

Yesterday, PetSmart Inc, the largest U.S. pet-products and services retailer, recalled seven of its Grreat Choice Dog Biscuit products as a precaution against possible salmonella contamination because the peanut paste was produced by the Peanut Corp of America (PCA).

I told Georgia’s Gainesville Times this morning that the latest outbreak shows that food companies need to look closer at the operations of their suppliers.

"It’s where you get your food from. Whether you get it from around the corner or around the globe, you’ve got to know your suppliers. And it seems they supplied to a lot."

As of Jan. 20, 2009, 485 people were sick with Salmonella Typhimurium in 43 states.
 

It’s cold in North Carolina; and there is more Salmonella here

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It’s been cold here in North Carolina lately.  The past few mornings it has been clear and sunny, but with temperatures in the mid-teens.  Perfect weather for hockey.

 On Thursday night Dani, Jack and I went to the Leafs/Hurricanes game. We took advantage of the cheap tickets ($25 each, and Jack gets in free until he’s two). My beloved Leafs took a 4-0 lead before almost totally collapsing and pulled out a 6-4 win.  Both teams looked like they might have had some foodborne illness, and left the remnants on the ice. It was a really sloppy game. Maybe they had been eating peanut butter.  

Public health officials announced yesterday that an additional three North Carolinians  have been added to the national Salmonella Typhimurium. It was reported that one of the new cases was a resident who died in November due to a blood infection caused by Salmonella.

Today, the FDA updated it’s information related to the outbreak. The FDA website says:

The FDA has notified PCA that product samples originating from its Blakely, Ga., processing plant have been tested and found positive for Salmonella by laboratories in the states of Minnesota, Georgia and Connecticut.  The state of Minnesota reported to FDA that its samples of King Nut peanut butter are a genetic match to the strain of Salmonella that has caused illnesses in the state and around the country.  King Nut is a distributor of PCA product.

Because identification of products subject to recall is continuing, the FDA urges consumers to postpone eating peanut butter-containing products until further information becomes available about which products may be affected. Efforts to specifically identify those products are ongoing.

At this time, there is no indication that any national name brand jars of peanut butter sold in retail stores are linked to the PCA recall.  As the investigation continues over the weekend, and into next week, the FDA will be able to update the advice based on new sampling and distribution information.

Kellogg connection to Salmonella outbreak?

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Kellogg has asked stores to halt the sales of some of their peanut butter snacks as it was announced that one of their suppliers is Peanut Corp. of America. 

The items include toasted peanut butter sandwich crackers, peanut butter and jelly sandwich crackers, cheese and peanut butter sandwich crackers, and peanut butter-chocolate sandwich crackers.

This connection might be what was missing for many of the outbreak victims who have not been associated with eating peanut butter.  Maybe they had some peanut butter snacks? I’m sure the state and federal epidemiologists will be/have been looking at this link.

From the press release:

"PCA is one of several peanut paste suppliers that the company uses in its Austin® and Keebler® branded peanut butter sandwich crackers.

Kellogg Company’s investigation has not indicated any concerns, nor has the Company received any consumer illness complaints about these products. Nonetheless, Kellogg Company is taking precautionary measures including putting a hold on any inventory in its control, removing product from retail store shelves, and encouraging customers and consumers to hold and not eat these products until regulatory officials complete their investigation of PCA and Kellogg provides further information as to the resolution of this issue.

With 2007 sales of nearly $12 billion, Kellogg Company is the world’s leading producer of cereal and a leading producer of convenience foods, including cookies, crackers, toaster pastries, cereal bars, frozen waffles, and meat alternatives."

Good move by Kellogg for sure. If one of your suppliers is suspect, or has been linked to illnesses, take a look at where that product might have been used and figure out whether the risk has made it to your customers.

In a local connection for me, it was reported by ABC 11 here in Raleigh that the sandwich crackers on hold are solely produced at a plant in Cary, North Carolina. The FDA isn’t saying whether they are inspecting the Cary plant.

Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

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As Doug posted earlier, it looks as though peanut butter has been implicated in the current 400+ person outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium.  Earlier tonight AP cited CDC sources as saying that the Salmonella also may have contributed to three deaths. AP reports that it looks like Minnesota Dept of Health has yet again cracked the case and recovered the outbreak strain from an opened jar of King Nut brand peanut butter, and has epidemiolgy to back it up:

"The commonality among all of our patients was that they ate peanut butter," said Doug Schultz, a spokesman with the Minnesota Department of Health. While the brand of peanut butter couldn’t be confirmed in every case, the majority of patients consumed the same brand, he said Monday.

Here’s a food safety infosheet that focuses on the outbreak. You can download it here.

A tale of two tastes

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I don’t even like peanut butter. But Elizabeth Lee of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution managed to find two fans, with decidedly different perceptions of risk after the Peter Pan salmonella outbreak.

Linda Moore, 59, who works nights as a licensed practical nurse, was quoted as saying,

"It’s a comfort food. You don’t think about something being wrong with peanut butter. I would never have thought it. Never."

Moore, who bought the brand for many years, but now can’t stand to think about eating any peanut butter, stated,

"When I’m in the grocery store, I just look and keep moving. I can’t do it. I don’t know if I’ll ever eat it again. It scared the daylights out of me."

Pat Allen, 67, of Fayetteville, was quoted as saying,

"I don’t know anyone that was involved with that, anyone that got sick. … Once you’re hooked on it, you can’t have anything else. I just like my Peter Pan and I want it back."