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Salmonella Spurs Peanut Butter Recall
Jan. 12, 2009 -- King Nut peanut butter and Parnell's Pride peanut butter are being recalled because of a salmonella risk.
King Nut Companies, a peanut butter distributor based in Solon, Ohio, issued the recall after Minnesota health officials found salmonella in an open 5-pound tub of King Nut creamy peanut butter.
Minnesota health officials tested the tub of peanut butter after their investigation flagged it as "a likely source" of the salmonella infection that has stricken at least 30 Minnesotans.
Those Minnesotans have Salmonella typhimurium; they're among at least 410 people in 43 states who have recently come down with that strain of salmonella.
The CDC's preliminary investigation of the outbreak flagged peanut butter as "a likely source" of the Salmonella typhimurium, but common brands sold in stores don't seem to be the source. The CDC notes that King Nut peanut butter has been used in some of the schools and hospitals in several states where the outbreak has occurred. But the CDC and FDA are still investigating the outbreak's source.
King Nut's peanut butters aren't sold in stores. They're used in institutions such as hospitals, schools, restaurants, and nursing homes.
Salmonella bacteria can cause diarrhea (which may be bloody), fever, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Most cases aren't severe, but serious and potentially fatal cases are more likely in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weak immune systems. Anyone with symptoms of salmonella infection should see a doctor.
King Nut Companies is asking its clients to immediately stop distributing all King Nut and Parnell's Pride peanut butter with lot codes beginning with "8." King Nut stresses that it doesn't make peanut butter but buys it from the Peanut Corporation of America.
(For more on salmonella, see WebMD's Salmonella Pictures Slideshow.)
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