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Food Alert! Peanut Butter Recall

(January 2009) - Millions of Americans - and not just those with peanut allergies - are being advised to steer clear of peanut butter products right now.

Federal officials have confirmed salmonella contamination at a Georgia facility that ships peanut products to 85 food companies.

The government advised consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods with peanut butter until health officials learn more about the contamination.

The outbreak has sickened hundreds of people in 43 states and killed at least six. The salmonella bacteria, which can cause diarrhea, cramping and fever, is the most common source of food poisoning in the United States.

Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe.

Instead, officials are focusing on peanut paste, as well as peanut butter, produced at a plant in Blakely, Ga., owned by the Peanut Corporation of America. Its peanut butter is distributed to institutions and food companies but not sold directly to consumers. The peanut paste is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products sold in supermarkets.

The Kellogg Company, which listed the Peanut Corporation as one of its suppliers, has recalled 16 products. They include the Austin and Keebler brands of peanut butter sandwich crackers and some snack-size packs of Famous Amos peanut butter cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle peanut butter cookies. Consumers should throw those products away.

The company that sells Little Debbie snacks announced a voluntary recall of peanut butter crackers because of a potential link to the dangerous salmonella outbreak. According to the announcement by McKee Foods Corp. of Collegedale, Tenn., about two kinds of Little Debbie products was the latest in a string of voluntary recalls following the most recent guidance by health officials.

McKee said it had not received any complaints about illnesses from people who ate any size peanut butter toasty sandwich crackers or peanut butter cheese sandwich crackers. The recall covers crackers produced on or after July 1.

For more information you can go to the Center for Disease Control site. http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/