Salmonella Outbreak in Peanuts Still a Serious Threat, Officials Warn

Just because it has been bumped from the daily news headlines doesn’t mean the nation’s deadly outbreak of salmonella linked to contaminated peanut products has ended or is no longer a serious threat, U.S. health officials warned.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the outbreak, which began in late 2008 and has been linked to nine deaths and 677 illnesses in 45 states, continues to be a real danger to millions of American consumers. Salmonella is a common form of food poisoning in the United States.

Despite a declining number of new cases of salmonella poisoning linked to the outbreak since December 2008, contaminated food still poses a threat of severe injuries and even death. More injuries and deaths may occur if consumers fail to heed recall notices and resume eating food that may be contaminated with the bacteria, officials cautioned.

Massive Recall Remains in Effect

The CDC is urging consumers to check their cupboards and pantries for items recalled as a result of the salmonella contamination. Nearly 3,000 consumer products – everything from cookies, crackers and ice cream to nutritional bars and some brands of jarred peanut butter – have been recalled as a result of concerns about salmonella contamination. An up-to-date list of recalled items is available on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website, www.fda.gov.

The recall of food products containing peanuts associated with the salmonella outbreak is one of the largest in U.S. history and continues to grow by the day.

Virginia Company Blamed for Outbreak

Peanut Corporation of America, a Virginia firm which processed peanuts and made peanut butter, peanut paste, and other peanut products used in thousands of consumer products, has been blamed for causing the salmonella outbreak. The company operated facilities in Blakely, Georgia and Plainview, Texas where inspections turned up filthy conditions, sloppy record keeping, and other problems. The company has since gone out of business, filed for bankruptcy, and closed the two plants linked to the outbreak of tainted food.

The company’s owner and other officials may face criminal charges for knowingly shipping food contaminated with salmonella bacteria, which can cause fatal symptoms particularly in the elderly, young children, and the sick.

The first illnesses associated with the outbreak were reported in September 2008, with the most recent confirmed case coming on February 8, 2009, the CDC said. More than half of the illnesses are in children, and 21 percent are in those under age 5.

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