Food Poisoning Law Blog

According to the CDC, 42 states have reported 370 cases of Salmonella linked to recalled Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter with product codes beginning with 2111.   Every day, we are being contacted by numerous people who suspect that the recalled peanut butter made them sick.  Some people have not yet heard about the recall and are contacting us while they are ill. 

An epidemiologic study comparing foods that ill and well persons said they ate showed that consumption of Peter Pan peanut butter and Great Value peanut butter were both statistically associated with illness and therefore the likely source of the outbreak. Product testing on 9 jars of peanut butter has confirmed the presence of the outbreak strain of Salmonella Tennessee in opened jars of peanut butter obtained from ill persons.

PulseNet (the national subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance coordinated by CDC) detected a slowly rising increase in cases of Salmonella Tennessee this fall. OutbreakNet (the national network of public health officials coordinated by CDC that investigates enteric disease outbreaks) then worked for several weeks to identify this unusual food vehicle.

Public health officials from several states have isolated Salmonella from open jars of peanut butter of both Peter Pan and Great Value brand. For nine jars, the serotype has been confirmed as Tennessee and DNA fingerprinting has shown that the pattern is the outbreak strain.

FDA officials and the peanut butter manufacturer are working collaboratively to learn more about production of peanut butter to determine how it may have become contaminated.