Salmonella Outbreak in Peanut Butter

When we were discussing dangerous food, one student in class mentioned something about the recalling of Peter Pan peanut butter. The reason for this was due to risk of contamination with Salmonella Tennessee (a bacterium that causes food borne illness). If consumers purchased this brand after May 2006 the jars could have been contaminated and should have been thrown away. The outbreak affected 290 people across the nation. The peanut butter as a source for salmonella is not common and the reason it took health officials so long to track it down. In addition to Peter Pan peanut butter, Wal-Mart’s brand Great Value (made by the same company) was also recalled due to the risk. All the contaminated jars were identified beginning with the code “2111” on the lid of the jar. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In people with weakened immune systems and very young children, salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections. Companies have started to randomly test jars on peanut butter in the production line to test for salmonella.