FDA, CDC: Don't Eat Peanut Butter Products

FDA, CDC: Don't Eat Peanut Butter Products
FDA and CDC Issue Precautionary Advice Pending Salmonella Outbreak Investigation
By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 17, 2009 -- The FDA and CDC are recommending that consumers not eat products containing peanut butter (such as cookies, crackers, cereal, candy, and ice cream) until information becomes available about whether those products are linked to an ongoing salmonella outbreak that may have contributed to six deaths.

At least 474 people in 43 states have been sickened by the outbreak strain of Salmonella typhimurium. Peanut butter has been associated with the outbreak. Peanut butter and peanut paste made by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at a facility in Blakely, Ga., have already been recalled in the wake of the outbreak.

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20090117/fda-cdc-dont-eat-peanut-butter-products

Update on FDA's Investigation

January 18, 2009: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting a very active and dynamic investigation into the source of the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. At this time, the FDA has traced a source of Salmonella Typhimurium contamination to a plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), which manufactures both peanut butter that is institutionally served in such settings as long-term care facilities and cafeterias, and peanut paste—a concentrated product consisting of ground, roasted peanuts—that is distributed to food manufacturers to be used as an ingredient in many commercially produced products including cakes, cookies, crackers, candies, cereal and ice cream.

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 and Georgia. The state of Minnesota has 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 that state and around the country. King Nut is a distributor of PCA product.

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html