Posted on 02/14/2007 9:35:51 PM PST by Buddy B
FDA News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE P07-21 February 14, 2007
Media Inquiries: 301-827-6242
Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA
FDA Warns Consumers Not to Eat Certain Jars of Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Great Value Peanut Butter Product May be Contaminated With Salmonella
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers not to eat certain jars of Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter due to risk of contamination with Salmonella Tennessee (a bacterium that causes foodborne illness). The affected jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter have a product code located on the lid of the jar that begins with the number "2111." Both the Peter Pan and Great Value brands are manufactured in a single facility in Georgia by ConAgra. Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers is not affected.
If consumers have any of this Peter Pan or Great Value brand peanut butter in their home that has been purchased since May 2006, they should discard it.
Symptoms of foodborne illness caused by Salmonella include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections. Individuals who have recently eaten Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter beginning with product code 2111 and have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately. Any such illnesses should be reported to state or local health authorities.
FDA's warning is based on a just-completed epidemiological study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the states and local health agencies, which links 288 cases of foodborne illness in 39 states to consumption of varying types of Peter Pan peanut butter. This report was provided to FDA on February 13.
The outbreak appears to be ongoing and the first consumer may have become ill in August 2006. The cause of foodborne illnesses can be difficult to identify. As a result of extensive epidemiological testing and recent case control studies, CDC was recently able to identify Peter Pan peanut butter as the likely cause of illness. Great Value brand peanut butter beginning with product code 2111 is manufactured in the same plant as Peter Pan peanut butter and, thus, is believed to be at similar risk of contamination.
ConAgra is recalling all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111 that already was distributed. The company also is destroying all affected products in their possession. The company will cease production until the exact cause of contamination can be identified and eliminated. ConAgra will advise consumers to destroy any Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter beginning with product code 2111 in their possession. To assist in this endeavor, FDA has sent investigators to ConAgra's processing plant in Sylvester, Georgia where the products are made to review records, collect product samples and conduct tests for Salmonella Tennessee.
FDA will provide regular updates as more information becomes available.
Consumers who have questions should contact ConAgra at 866-344-6970.
Thanks for the ping. My at work jar of peanut butter was one of these.... only about 2 or 3 tablespoons left from a 28 oz jar. And the 56oz jar at home was this lot too. Dang it. It's a whole food group gone.... Walmart will exchange Jif or Skippy for it.
Walmart will exchange them.
Actually, one in the Buffalo area, just a few blocks from our house. Good value, and consistently in the top 5 of best businesses to work for...
Jif - tastes more like fresh peanuts.
At least it used to a couple decades ago. Now it's little better than generic peanut butter. Of course aging taste buds could be taking a toll too....
Thanks for the ping. We use Teddie's all natural - no sugar added.
ping
Thanks for the alert, I do not buy Peter Pan Peanut Butter, but My Mom and Dad do, and they had a jar of it with the suspect numbers on it.
I hear ya. I used to walk around with a spoonful of PB all the time. For the last 10 years or so, I've barely tasted it. Hubby loves it even more now. He doesn't smoke, I do, maybe that has something to do with it, I don't know.
They really are great stores. Yes, I've heard they're good to work for. I think they were number two this year and number one last year, according to the Syracuse paper. It's fun to go there but hard to walk around it's so big!
Yes, they're Great Value. I'll keep looking. Thanks.
If there is an upside to this, I have for the last ten years or so given up peanut butter for Lent. Won't be much of a sacrifice this year.
We ALWAYS buy Peter Pan peanut butter. I have never bought Jif in my life........until earlier this month, when I grabbed the Jif jar just because I wanted to. Makes me wonder....
Yow, I hope that didn't sour them to the holiday. I know, easy to joke now :) I had food poisoning once and it is decidedly not funny at the time.
We had two jars. One we just almost finished and one I was just about to open TODAY when I got an email warning from a lady on my homeschool e-loop. Both had 2111 on the top!
Thanks for the ping cgk
I've always been a Skippy PB (and Welch's Grape Jelly) fan.
Thanks for the ping - saw the story on TV this evening - we do have a jar of PPPB with the code 2111 on the lid - I had some in a sandwich at noon today in fact, but so far no bad results - tomorrow I'll put the rest out back for the squirrels - with luck it'll have some ill effects on them.......
Thanks for the lead. All the other ones I could find were in the hundreds.
Thanks for the ping!
I had one jar of Peter Pan. I always buy Jif, but tried the Peter Pan because it was on sale. It had the 2111.
why throw them out ? take them back for a refund
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