At least 125 products containing peanut butter and peanut paste from a Georgia plant have now been recalled because of possible salmonella contamination, and more are expected, the Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday. They include foods found in practically everyone's pantry, from ice cream to energy bars, chicken satay to dog treats.
A salmonella outbreak tied to products made by the Peanut Corporation of America has sickened at least 486 people in 43 states. Six deaths may be associated with the outbreak.
The latest recalled type of food is peanut-flavor pet treats. Though dogs and cats can get salmonella from eating the treats, the biggest risk is to their owners, says Stephen Sundlof, head of the FDA's food safety program. People can pick up the bacteria on their hands and transfer it to their own food.
It is important, especially for children, to wash hands after feeding treats, Sundlof says.
In pets, as in people, salmonella can cause lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and bloody diarrhea. Pets also can be carries of the bacteria with no visible symptoms, he says.
PCA is a small, family-owned and operated business headquartered in Lynchburg, Va. It has fewer than 50 employees in the Blakely, Ga., plant that tested positive for salmonella.
The fact that more than 125 products have been recalled underscores how problems from a relatively small company can have huge ramifications.
The FDA has said PCA supplied peanut butter or peanut paste, which PCA later recalled, to 32 food manufacturing companies. The federal agency says it believes most of the products have been recalled.
The agency is updating its website, sometimes hourly, with new recalls.
The FDA suspects that the Blakely plant is the sole source of the contamination. In an inspection, it found salmonella in the plant but not the same exact genetic strain that's making people sick. The Connecticut Department of Health, however, did find an unopened tub of peanut butter from the plant infected with the outbreak strain.
Finding the genetic match in an unopened container of the product is generally considered the "gold standard" for outbreak investigations by epidemiologists.
Because peanut butter and paste have a long shelf life, it's possible the outbreak strain might have been in the plant at one point, living long enough to infect enough lots to account for the outbreak.
The discovery of any salmonella "indicates there are problems in the plant," Sundlof says. "Those salmonella are not supposed to be there."
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