Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Wash you hands after going to the...

"It is unclear how the peanut products were contaminated with salmonella, which is carried by animal feces. Foods can also become contaminated by infected food handlers who do not wash their hands with soap after using the bathroom.""Major-label peanut butter is not suspected to be contaminated with salmonella and is considered safe to eat, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Several major brands, including Peter Pan, Jif and Smuckers, are worried that panicky consumers will stop buying their products and have been taking pains to point out that their peanut butters are not part of the outbreak. Salmonella bacteria can cause an infection that often produces diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts four to seven days. While most people recover without treatment, infants, elderly people and those with compromised immune systems can develop severe illness that can result in death if not promptly treated with antibiotics." The Washington Post

Ummm..."not suspected" wow...it makes me feel so confident....bye bye peanut butter.

1 comment:

Michael McMullen said...

Well.

The Peanut...something...Association (PCA) is where the "suspected" contamination came from. While they do not source peanut butter to major labels (Jiff, Skippy, Adam's, etc.) they do source it to private label buyers. These usually use the peanut butter in items like cookies and peanut butter crackers.

Most stores have voluntarily stopped selling Little Debbie products, off brand peanut butter...stuff like that. Things like peanut butter cookies are still sold because the heat in the baking process would kill the bacteria.

Since there hasn't been an outbreak, nor any cases positively linked to Salmonella in peanut butter, this isn't a "recall" in the strictest sense. They have just chosen to not sell their products to supplier until they can figure out if there actually was any contamination.

Is there anything else I can assist you with? Thank you for calling corporate customer care, and have a nice day.