Lab tests trace salmonella to peanut butter
Story By: Associated Press
Source: MSNBC
Published Mon Jan 12, 2009, 02:54 PM MST
Updated Mon Jan 12, 2009, 02:54 PM MST
State officials in Minnesota say the salmonella bacteria that has sickened nearly 400 people in Minnesota and 41 other states has been genetically linked to peanut butter.
Officials said Monday that lab tests have confirmed a match between the salmonella outbreak and the bacteria found in the peanut butter.
Last week, state health and agriculture officials announced that salmonella bacteria had been found in a 5-pound package of King Nut peanut butter at a nursing facility in Minnesota.
On Sunday, King Nut Companies of Solon, Ohio, recalled two brands of peanut butter after the salmonella finding.
The Solon, Ohio-based King Nut supplies peanut butter to food service companies that distribute the products to institutions like hospitals, schools, restaurants and nursing homes. The brands are not sold directly to consumers.
King Nut said it asked customers to stop distributing all peanut butter with lot codes beginning with the number eight and has canceled orders with the manufacturer, Peanut Corporation of America.
Since September, the outbreak of salmonella food poisoning has sickened at least 399 people in 42 states and sent at least 70 people to the hospital, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration and state health officials have been trying to trace the source of the outbreak.
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 the very old.
Every year, approximately 40,000 people are reported ill with salmonella in the United States, the CDC says, but it said many more cases are never reported.
The Minnesota Department of Health planned a news conference Monday afternoon to release further details.
