Peanut Butter Recall Expands

Sept. 26, 2012 -- The nationwide recall of peanut butter has vastly expanded to include dozens of peanut butter, tahini, and other nut butter products, many sold under popular brand names.

All of the products use nuts from Sunland Farms. The New Mexico nut company is the likely source of a salmonella outbreak that so far has sickened 30 people in 19 states.

Four people who ate the products have been hospitalized. There have been no reported deaths. Those sickened in the outbreak range in age from 1 to 77. Half the cases are in children 7 and younger; two-thirds of cases are under 10.

Reported case were in Arizona (1 case), California (2), Connecticut (3), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (3), Maryland (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (1), Missouri (1), Nevada (1), New Jersey (2), New York (1), North Carolina (1), Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island (1), Texas (4), Virginia (1), and Washington (2).

CDC, state, and local officials had been looking for the source of an outbreak of Salmonella Bredeney infections that began on June 11. The investigation suggests that people became ill after eating Trader Joe's Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter.

All 14 ill people interviewed so far report shopping at Trader Joe’s locations across the U.S. Twelve (86%) of these 14 people report eating Trader Joe’s Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter made with sea salt in the week before becoming ill.

The Trader Joe's product came from Sunland Farms, which supplied nut butters sold under many popular brand names such as Target's Archer Farms and Harry & David. All of these products are being recalled.

Some of the Sunland products being recalled were sold in 500-pound barrels, suggesting that the peanut butter has been used to make other kinds of products. Chattanooga Bakery, the maker of MoonPie and other snacks, and Sunridge Farms have recalled products made with nuts sold by Sunland.

Sunland Farms announced the recall of these products:

Updated to include the following products:

This recall applies to the above products with Best-If-Used-By Dates between May 1, 2013, and Sept. 24, 2013. (This is stamped on the side of the jar's label below the lid of the jar.)

Chattanooga Bakery Inc. has recalled its Peanut Butter Crunch products with "Best By" dates of 02/26/13, 03/25/13, and 04/29/13. None of the company's other products, including MoonPies, have been recalled.

Sunridge Farms also recalled:

• Sunridge Farms Energy Nuggets

• Sunridge Farms Peanut Butter Power Chews

• Sunridge Farms Treasure Trove Mix

Children under 5, older adults, and people with weak immune systems are particularly vulnerable to salmonella food poisoning.

Symptoms of salmonella for most people include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps about 12 to 72 hours after eating contaminated food. After four to seven days, most people recover without treatment.

Some people develop severe diarrhea and need hospital care. Rarely, salmonella bacteria escape the gut and enter the blood, where they spread to other parts of the body. Such infections can be fatal if not treated promptly with antibiotics.