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Seventh Salmonella Death Linked to Peanut Products
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Another person has died from salmonella poisoning believed to come from peanut paste
products, bringing the nationwide number to seven.
According to a reports in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, state health officials
say the death of an elderly Minnesota woman Jan. 23 was caused by the bacterium
Salmonella Typhimurium.
In all, there have been three deaths in Minnesota, two in Virginia and one each in
North Carolina and Idaho.
More than 200 peanut butter and peanut paste products from at least 38 companies have
been recalled so far in the ongoing salmonella outbreak, according to the latest count
Friday on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site.
The number of people sickened is now 491 the CDC said, with cases in 43 states and
Canadian province. And the scope of the problem is being rapidly revealed in such
continually climbing numbers.
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Peanut Corp of America, whose now-closed Georgia production plant was the source of
the salmonella, has issued a recall for at least 6,255 pounds of peanut butter and
peanut paste sold in bulk, according to a company news release.
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The company distributed potentially contaminated product to more than 70 firms, according
to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report Thursday.
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The product recalls translate so far into an estimated 31 million pounds of peanut butter
and peanut paste products, according to an Associated Press report Friday.
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The scramble for safety is set against this: Americans eat 700 million pounds of peanut
butter every year, according to the National Peanut Board.
While jars of peanut butter on store shelves appear to be safe, many other products made
with peanut butter or peanut paste have been recalled across the country.
That's because Peanut Corp. sells its peanut butter and peanut paste in bulk containers
"for use as an ingredient in hundreds of different products, such as cookies, crackers,
cereal, candy and ice cream," the FDA said.
The recalled products include the following:
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- Brownies
- Cakes
- Candy
- Cookies
- Crackers
- Fruit & Vegetable Products
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- Ice Cream
- Peanut Butter
- Peanut Butter Paste
- Pet Food
- Pre-Packaged Meals
- Snack Bars
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However, there is also a growing list of companies reporting that their products
containing peanut butter are safe. Girl Scouts USA, the Hershey Co. and Kraft Foods Inc.
are telling consumers their foods haven't been affected by the salmonella scare, the
New York Daily News reported Friday.
In addition, ConAgra, which was involved in a major Peter Pan brand salmonella recall
years ago, as well as J. M. Smucker, of Orville, Ohio, and Russell Stover Candies Inc.
reported their products were safe.
"We're getting lots of calls," said Michelle L. Tompkins,
spokeswoman for Girl Scouts USA. The two bakeries that produce 200 million boxes of
Girl Scout cookies each year don't use any PCA products, she told the newspaper.
The flood of recalls followed an FDA warning last weekend that consumers should avoid
peanut butter products containing peanut butter or peanut butter paste while the
salmonella outbreak probe continued.
Peanut Corp. issued a wider recall over the weekend for more products and lot numbers
relating to peanut butter and peanut paste products manufactured on or after July 1, 2008,
at its Blakely, Ga., plant.
"The products being recalled are sold by PCA in bulk containers ranging in size from five
to 1,700 pounds. The peanut paste is sold in sizes ranging from 35-pound containers to
product sold by the tanker container," an FDA statement said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said late Thursday that the
latest salmonella illness was recorded on Jan. 8 and that there are now 488 victims,
ranging in age from younger than 1 to 98.
The strain of salmonella involved with the outbreak has been identified as
Salmonella Typhimurium, the most common of the more than 2,500 types of salmonella
bacteria in the United States.
More Information About Recalls...
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Source(s):
* Jan. 24, 2009, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Investigation Update.
* Jan. 23, 2009, U.S. Food and Drug Administration update.
* Jan. 21, 2009, news conference, Stephen Sundlof, D.V.M., director, Center for Food
Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
* Jan. 20, 2009, news release, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
* Jan. 18, 2009, news release, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
* Jan. 19, 2009, news release, Clif Bar & Co.
* Jan. 19, 2009, news release, Abbott Nutrition.br />
* Jan. 18, 2009, news release, Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products.
* Jan. 17, 2009, news release, Perry's Ice Cream Co.
* Jan. 17, 2009, news release, Hy-Vee Bakery.
* Jan. 14, 2009, news release, Kellogg Co., Battle Creek, Mich.
* Jan 10, 2009, online statement, Peanut Corp. of America.
* Associated Press
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