Five deaths have been linked to an outbreak of Salmonella food poisoning linked to peanut butter, but the strain involved is not particularly virulent, US health officials said on Friday. Later, the company at the center of the case, Peanut Corporation of America, said it had been informed by the Food and Drug Administration that some samples of its products had tested positive for Salmonella.
The company expanded its recall and immediately ceased all production at the suspect facility. The recalled peanut butter was sold in bulk packaging in containers ranging in size from five to 1,700 pounds and the peanut paste was sold in sizes ranging from 35 pound containers to tanker containers. None of the peanut butter or peanut paste being recalled is sold through retail stores, PCA said.
The company has stressed that only institutional peanut butter was involved, not name-brand consumer products. Kellogg Co said late on Friday it was recalling certain products that "have the potential to be contaminated," including some Austin and Keebler branded peanut butter snacks and some Famous Amos and Keebler Soft Batch cookies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 453 infections had been reported in 43 states and said more cases could be expected. One case was reported in Canada. "Of these, 22 percent are hospitalised and five deaths have been reported that may be associated," the CDC's Dr Robert Tauxe said. He said this was an average rate for Salmonella.
Tauxe and other officials confirmed the outbreak could be linked to peanut butter and peanut paste from Peanut Corporation of America, which has voluntarily recalled peanut butter produced in its Blakely, Georgia, processing facility. On Friday night, PCA President Stewart Parnell said in a statement: "Today, the FDA informed PCA that new product samples in unopened containers tested positive for Salmonella."
As a result, PCA expanded its recall to cover all peanut butter made on or after August 8, 2008, and peanut paste produced on or after September 26, 2008, at the Blakely plant. "Peanut butter is used as an ingredient in many different foods, which makes this investigation complicated," Tauxe told reporters by telephone. "In fact this appears to be an ingredient-driven outbreak."
The CDC, state health officials and the FDA are asking patients if they can remember eating any particular foods. The officials said about two-thirds of patients remembered having eaten peanut butter, but noted that some foods contain peanut products that may not be obvious. "We urged companies to check (their records) ... and tell us if the peanuts came from PCA," the FDA's Stephen Sundlof said.
Tauxe said Salmonella Typhimurium is a common strain, accounting for about 20 percent of the 40,000 Salmonella cases reported in the United States every year. "Peanut butter is not a food that supports the growth of bacteria in general," Tauxe said. This is why it can be stored unrefrigerated. "Salmonella and other bacteria, if they are introduced into peanut butter ... they are not in any way destroyed," Tauxe said.
"They don't continue to grow in the peanut butter but they similarly are not killed in the peanut butter. So they sit there in a dormant state." An outbreak of salmonella was linked to Peter Pan brand peanut butter in 2007. ConAgra Foods Inc closed a Georgia plant after more than 300 people became ill. Salmonella can cause abdominal cramping, diarrhea and fever and it can kill the very young and very old.