According to the AP – One case of salmonella tied to tainted peanut butter made at a ConAgra Foods Inc., plant in Georgia has been identified in Louisiana, the Food and Drug Administration says.
The FDA has identified 425 cases of food poisoning from the peanut butter in 44 states.
On Feb. 14, ConAgra recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at its Sylvester, Ga., plant. Beyond the plant, a strain of salmonella has been isolated from open jars of the company’s peanut butter and some of the people who have fallen ill.
Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. Peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter – in Australia during the mid-1990s – was blamed on unsanitary plant conditions.
The FDA is advising consumers not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter and not to eat Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111. The Peter Pan product is made exclusively at the Sylvester plant, along with the Great Value product with the 2111 product code. Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers is not affected, the FDA said.