Salmonella Typhimurium Outbreak

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week or so, I am sure you've heard about the great peanut butter recall of twenty and oh nine, right?

The culprit behind the recall is something called Salmonella Typhimurium, which is a strain of Salmonella enterica; a rod shaped, flagellated, Gram-negative bacterium, and a member of the genus Salmonella.

According to the latest update by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), they are "conducting a very active and dynamic investigation into the source of the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak. At this time, the FDA has traced a source of Salmonella Typhimurium contamination to a plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), which manufactures both peanut butter that is institutionally served in such settings as long-term care facilities and cafeterias, and peanut paste—a concentrated product consisting of ground, roasted peanuts—that is distributed to food manufacturers to be used as an ingredient in many commercially produced products including cakes, cookies, crackers, candies, cereal and ice cream."

Does this affect you?


Well, that depends. But, you should know that according to the FDA, "At this time, there is no indication that any national name brand jars of peanut butter sold in retail stores are linked to the PCA recall. As the investigation continues over the weekend, and into next week, the FDA will be able to update the advice based on new sampling and distribution information."

You may be wondering why Salmonella is bad. After all, not all bacteria is "bad" bacteria, right? According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service, "Salmonella infections can be life-threatening especially for infants and young children, pregnant women and their unborn babies, and older adults, who are at a higher risk for foodborne illness, as are people with weakened immune systems (such as those with HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, and transplant patients)."

Additionally, "while persons with diarrhea usually recover completely, it may be several months before their bowel habits are entirely normal. A small number of persons who are infected with Salmonella may develop pains in their joints, irritation of the eyes, and painful urination. This is called Reiter's syndrome. It can last for months or years and can lead to chronic arthritis that is difficult to treat."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is currently investigating this outbreak in coordination with the FDA. Their advice is as follows:

• Do not eat products that have been recalled and throw them away in a manner that prevents others from eating them.


• Postpone eating other peanut butter containing products (such as cookies, crackers, cereal, candy and ice cream) until information becomes available about whether that product may be affected.


• Persons who think they may have become ill from eating peanut butter are advised to consult their health care providers.

The bottom line is to be careful of what you buy and try to keep up to date with the latest information on this recall. Children who do not have a peanut allergy generally eat a good amount of peanut butter. Why? Well, it may protect against a high risk of cardiovascular disease due to high levels of monounsaturated fats and resveratrol; butter prepared with the skin of the peanuts has a greater level of resveratrol and other health-aiding agents. Peanut butter (and peanuts) provide protein, vitamins B3 and E, magnesium, folate, dietary fiber, arginine, and high levels of the antioxidant p-coumaric acid.

I know I give Willow peanut butter on a regular basis!!

More information:
Frequently-Asked Questions and Answers about the Recent Salmonella Outbreak
List of Company Recalls