FDA: Two Peanut Butter Brands Pose Salmonella Risk

WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration here is advising consumers not to eat Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter because they may be contaminated with Salmonella Tennessee, a bacterium that causes foodborne illness. The warning is based on a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which links 288 cases of foodborne illness in 39 states to consumption of varying types of Peter Pan peanut butter. The outbreak appears to be ongoing and the first consumer may have become ill in August 2006, according to the FDA. Jars of Great Value-brand peanut butter whose product code begins with the numbers 2111 are manufactured in the same ConAgra plant as Peter Pan peanut butter, the FDA said. Therefore they are believed to be at similar risk for contamination, the FDA said. According to an online survey conducted by the NPD Group‘s Food Safety Monitor service on Jan. 17-24, 78% of respondents are aware and concerned about salmonella‘s potential to contaminate the food they‘ll consume in the next month, 19% are aware and unconcerned, and 4% are not aware.