Jif peanut butter products recalled over possible salmonella
Salmonella infections were reported in 12 states, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, North Carolina, New York, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington, according to the FDA. Two of the 14 cases concerned hospitalization.
JM Smucker Co. said they are working with federal investigators to find the right next steps and will refund any customer who has purchased the recalled product.
“We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause,” the company said in an unsigned statement. “Please note that our first priority is to deliver safe quality products to our consumers. When there is a potential problem, we act quickly, as we have done in this case.”
A spokesman for Smucker added that the company believes it has defined the scope of the recall correctly and that the company’s other brands are not affected.
The FDA’s announcement states that the salmonella strain that appears in this outbreak corresponds to a sample the agency took at the JM Smucker factory in 2010. Press representatives from both JM Smucker and the FDA did not answer specific questions about the 2010 sample.
Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in children, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems.
Otherwise, healthy people who become infected typically experience symptoms such as fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare, more severe cases, the bacteria can enter the bloodstream and lead to an arterial infection, according to the FDA.
The agency said no one should eat, sell or serve Jif peanut butter with batch codes between 1274425 and 2140425. The company also said that any surfaces or utensils that may have touched the peanut butter should be cleaned.
You can find out if your peanut butter is covered by the recall by checking the product codes listed in the company announcement on fda.gov.
This is not the first time a major peanut butter brand has been linked to a multistate salmonella outbreak. In 2006 and 2007, more than 600 people were infected with a strain of salmonella such as the Centers for Disease Control linked to Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter, according to a June 2007 CDC advice.