Peanut butter brands recalled amid salmonella contamination
POSTED January 12, 2009 - 11:02 | POSTED BY Jyoti Pal
Last edited by Shikha Patial on January 12, 2009 - 12:36
Ohio, United States, January 12: Amid concerns of possible salmonella contamination, Ohio-based food distributor King Nut Companies has voluntarily issued a nationwide recall of its two popular peanut butter brands - King Nut and Parnell's Pride.
The two brands are suspected to be the cause of the national outbreak of salmonella typhimurium that has already sickened nearly 400 people in 42 states. California is the worst hit with 55 cases, followed by Ohio with 53. Minnesota reported 30 cases, U.S. Center for Disease and Control and Prevention confirms.
Primarily laboratory tests confirm the bacterial contamination in an open five-pound tub of King Nut peanut butter brand.
While the brands are not sold directly to consumers, instead, they are distributed in schools, hospitals, nursing homes and restaurants. The distributor has urged its consumers to immediately remove the two allegedly tainted brands from its groceries.
Commenting upon the issue, Martin Kanan, King Nut's chief executive marked, "because we don't manufacture peanut butter, we will do what we can to get this product out of distribution and will work with the manufacturer to inform others of this problem."
The distributor has already halted supplies of the two brands. "Lot codes beginning with 8 are barred and we have canceled orders with the manufacturer, Peanut Corporation of America", the distributor asserted.
Salmonella, a rod-shaped Gram-negative entero-bacterium, typically lives in the intestinal tract of animals and often contaminate food and water through fecal route. The bacterial infection is primarily responsible for typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever and other food-borne illnesses.
Bloody diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal paindefine
are the hallmark of the infection. While in most cases the infection settles in about four to seven days without any medical treatment. The infection turns serious and occasionally fatal for young children, weak or aged people, and those with weakened immune systems.
