Several Jif peanut butter products recalled over potential salmonella

JM Smucker Company has recalled several Jif peanut butter products sold in the United States and Canada due to potential salmonella contamination that federal regulators said has been linked to 14 diseases.

In a statement posted Friday on the Federal Food and Drug Administration’s website, the company urged consumers who purchased the potentially contaminated products to dispose of them immediately.

The products listed include several types of creamy, crunchy, low-fat and natural peanut butter products in various sizes, as well as a 40-ounce jar of natural honey.

The Smucker Company said they were “coordinating a thorough investigation” with the FDA. The recalled goods were sold all over the country.

Salmonella is a bacterium that can grow in foods, and if ingested it can cause fever, diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps. In young children, the elderly or those with weakened immune systems, the infection can be more serious and potentially fatal.

The FDA said salmonella cases linked to peanut butter had been reported in a dozen states as of Sunday. Two people were hospitalized, it was said.

The agency said epidemiological evidence suggested that Jif-labeled peanut butter produced at the Smucker Company plant in Lexington, Ky., Was “the probable cause of the disease in this outbreak.”

The recall affects peanut butter products from the Jif brand with batch numbers 1274425 through 2140425, with the numbers ending in 425. The batch numbers are included along with the date best if used.

Every month, the FDA announces the recall of several products – some over cross-contamination with allergens, others because “foreign materials”, such as metal, have been found in food, and sometimes over bacterial contamination.

In October, hundreds of people across the United States became ill after a salmonella outbreak related to imported red, white and yellow onions. Last summer, 31 people became ill after eating hydroponic lettuce.