Certain jars of Peter Pan peanut butter were pulled from store shelves after the popular brand was pinpointed as a possible source of infection in a nationwide outbreak of the food-borne illness salmonella. Nearly 300 people have been infected in 39 states, including 44 who were hospitalized. Great Value, another brand of peanut butter made in the same facility, has also been recalled.
Salmonella infections, which are caused by the salmonella bacteria carried by some animals, can bring on diarrhea, stomach cramps, and fever. The bacteria can be transmitted on kitchen surfaces and in water, soil, animal feces (poop), raw meats, and eggs. But not everyone who ingests salmonella bacteria gets sick. Kids, especially babies, are at highest risk — about one third of the approximately 50,000 cases of salmonella infection reported in the United States each year are in children 4 years old or younger.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had been trying to trace the cause of the gradual salmonella outbreak since August 2006. After interviewing those who'd been infected about what they'd eaten, the CDC was able to identify Peter Pan peanut butter as the likely culprit. And although no evidence of salmonella has been found in Great Value peanut butter, certain jars of that brand also have been recalled because they were made in the same Georgia facility as Peter Pan.
Although ConAgra Foods, the maker of Peter Pan, says it has found no evidence of salmonella in any of its "extensive product tests," the company voluntarily recalled the peanut butter as a precaution and is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to try to figure out how its peanut butter may have become infected.
The recall does not affect all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter products — only those jars with the product code 2111 on the lid of the jar. It's also important to note that no other brands of peanut butter appear to have been infected with salmonella and have not been recalled.
What This Means to You
If anyone in your family has gotten sick after eating either kind of peanut butter, call your doctor as well as your local health department, which may want to collect your peanut butter for further testing. Even if no one in your family is sick, the FDA recommends throwing away any jars with the 2111 product code to prevent anyone from becoming infected.
Symptoms of most salmonella infections typically go away without any medical treatment within a few days to a week. Symptoms usually start within 3 days of being infected and include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea (sometimes bloody), fever, and headache. Call your doctor for advice any time your child develops a fever, headache, and severe or bloody diarrhea.
Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD
Date reviewed: February 2007
