Kellogg Recalls Peanut Butter Snacks as Salmonella Outbreak Spreads

As a mysterious outbreak of food-borne salmonella bacteria continues to unfold, now blamed for sickening 410 people in 43 states and linked as a contributing factor in as many as four deaths, Kellogg Co. announced it is voluntarily removing peanut butter snacks from store shelves.

The company said its own internal investigation has found no contamination and that no consumers have complained about the products being linked to the growing salmonella outbreak. Still, all shipments of a handful of Kellogg branded snack items are being put on hold and consumers are being cautioned not to eat the snacks as a precautionary measure.

The Kellogg-brand products involved in the voluntary recall are: Toasted Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Crackers, Cheese and Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and Peanut Butter-Chocolate Sandwich Crackers.

Also involved in the recall are Austin and Keebler branded peanut butter snacks, which are made and distributed by Kellogg.

The nation’s latest salmonella outbreak was first reported in September 2008 and was later traced to large, industrial-sized containers of peanut butter that were shipped to nursing homes, hospitals, and other institutions by Peanut Corporation of America. The group is one of several peanut paste suppliers that contribute ingredients to Kellogg snack products, officials said.

PCA voluntarily recalled peanut butter made at its processing facility in Blakely, Georgia, because officials suspected the food may be connected to the salmonella contamination. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and state health officials have been trying to trace the source of the outbreak.

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