Press Release

February 5, 2009

Four Corners Health Department

Contact:   Vicki Duey  362-2621

Craving for a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich?

“The latest peanut butter recall has posed lots of questions” says Lynda Zieg, Program Specialist of the Four Corners Health Department.  The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have confirmed that the sources of the outbreak of illnesses caused by Salmonella Typhimurium are peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at its Blakely, Georgia processing plant.

“Many products under a variety of brand names contain peanut butter or peanut paste and may have been recalled.” Zieg says. “They include cookies, crackers, cereal, candy and ice cream and pet foods.  To date, major national brands of jarred peanut butter found in grocery stores are not affected by the PCA recall.”

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12–72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and those with other health issues are more likely than others to develop severe illness. When severe infection occurs, Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.

FDA and CDC recommendations for consumers include:

• Do not eat products that have been recalled and throw them away in a manner that prevents others from eating them.

• To determine if pre-packaged peanut butter/peanut paste-containing products (such as cookies, crackers, cereal, candy and ice cream) are subject to recall, you are urged first to visit FDA’s website. http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm

• For information on products containing peanut butter from companies not reporting recalls, you may wish to go to the company’s website or call the toll-free number listed on most packaging.  
• If you cannot determine if your peanut butter, peanut butter/peanut paste-containing products or institutionally-served peanut butter contains PCA peanut butter/peanut paste, FDA recommends that they do not consume those products.
• Persons who think they may have become ill from eating peanut butter are should consult their health care providers. 
• For concerns with pets, please visit Questions and Answers Related to the Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak and Pets at this website:  http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium/salmonella_pets.html

The investigation continues.  In the meantime consult this website for the most recent news: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html

If you have any questions regarding the peanut butter recall, please call Four Corners Health Department at 402-362-2621 (toll free 1-877-337-3573) or go to www.fourcorners.ne.gov