FDA confirms peanut butter the source of salmonella outbreak affecting over 300

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has confirmed that an outbreak of salmonella food poisoning was caused by contaminated peanut butter.

The brands of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter have affected 329 people, 51 of whom needed hospitalisation.

The FDA has warned consumers not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter bought since May of last year and to throw out any Great Value brand, sold by Wal-Mart, with the lot number 2111 on the lid.

The FDA says product testing by several states has now confirmed that Peter Pan peanut butter and certain Great Value brand peanut butter are the sources of the foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Tennessee that began in August 2006.

The FDA says the outbreak is continuing and potentially contaminated products include 3/4 ounce and 1.1 ounce single serving packs of Peter Pan brand peanut butter.

The products were manufactured in ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia plant and the FDA says retailers and institutions possessing the products described should not serve or sell them, and consumers should discard them.

ConAgra has apologized, recalled the products and closed its plant, and a team of microbiologists and experienced field investigators are working with the company to establish how Salmonella entered into the products.

The Peter Pan peanut butter was distributed nationwide and internationally while the Great Value brand peanut butter was apparently only distributed nationally through Wal-Mart.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) each year, about 40,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported in the United States and about 600 people die of it.

Eating even small amounts of contaminated peanut butter can cause the illness which sometimes takes several days for symptoms to develop.

Salmonellosis typically lasts from 4-7 days and most individuals recover without treatment.

The symptoms include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, however, in some people the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized.

The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

In people with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.