More companies are pulling peanut butter products from their shelves as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers to eat peanut butter only from jars because of a nationwide salmonella outbreak. The FDA has issued a warning asking consumers to avoid products containing peanut butter and peanut butter paste including sauce, crackers, cookies, cookie dough and ice-cream. Our source for this blog is this news report in HealthDay.

So far, 470 people have been sickened by this outbreak in 43 states. Six deaths have been linked to this food-borne illness. California has the highest number of cases so far in the country. FDA officials say that the peanut butter in jars is the only kind that is safe to eat. Products and brands included in the salmonella recall include:

  1. Clif Bar & Co. (Luna brand bars made with peanut butter)

  2. ZonePerfect bars
  3. Private Selection Peanut Butter Passion Ice Cream
  4. Food Lion and Wal-Mart Bakery brands of peanut butter cookies, peanut butter no-bake cookies and peanut butter fudge no-bake cookies.
  5. Meijer Inc.’s crackers and two types of ice cream
  6. The South Bend Chocolate Co. is recalling assorted chocolates, valentine hearts, peanut butter fudge and peanut butter chocolate fudge.
  7. General Mills recalling Larabar Peanut Butter Cookie and JamFrakas Peanut Butter Blisscrisp snack bars
  8. Perry’s Ice Cream recalled products containing peanut butter sauce
  9. Kellogg’s peanut butter crackers

Kellogg also issued a major peanut butter recall last week for 16 of its products made with peanut butter including Keebler cheese and peanut butter sandwich crackers and Keebler and Famous Amos peanut butter cookies. U.S. health officials confirmed the presence of salmonella in a packet of Austin Quality Foods Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter.

FDA officials have traced the source of salmonella contamination to a manufacturing plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America, which makes peanut butter served in places such as nursing homes and cafeterias as well as peanut paste, which is a concentrated product used commonly as an ingredient in snacks such as cakes, cookies, candies, cereal and ice cream.

This recall comes two years after the major ConAgra Peter Pan peanut butter recall that was linked to at least 625 salmonella infection cases in 47 states. There is no question that this current contamination is going to sicken a lot more people given its sheer magnitude. As a consumer and as an attorney who fights for consumer rights, I’m interested in knowing whose negligence was responsible for this catastrophe. Salmonella infection has its worst effects on the elderly and young children. The tainted peanut butter was distributed to nursing homes and school cafeterias. It is possibly in snacks that are widely consumed in the nation’s preschools and daycare centers. The people who allowed this to happen must be held accountable for their actions. If you or a loved one has been affected by this salmonella outbreak, please call my office for more information.