GOVERNMENT ISSUES WARNING ON ALL PRODUCTS CONTAINING PEANUT BUTTER

(01/17/2009)

The USFDA is urging consumers to postpone eating any products that may contain peanut butter until additional information becomes available. The USFDA said "As of now, there is no indication that the major national name-brand jars of peanut butter sold in retails stores are linked to the recall." One of the most recent tagged products was Little Debbie cakes using peanut paste. The warning is linked to peanut butter in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket. "This is an excellent illustration of an ingredient-driven outbreak," said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who oversees foodborne illness investigations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths are being blamed on the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria and the most common source of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever. Officials said new illnesses are still being reported in the outbreak investigation. The Kellogg Co., which listed Peanut Corp. as one of its suppliers, has recalled 16 products. They include Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and some snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies. Health officials said consumers who have bought any of those products should throw them away. Health officials are focusing on 30 companies out of a total of 85 that received peanut products from a Georgia plant.

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