Yourlawyer.com (Peanut Butter Salmonella News)

Inspector Didn't Report Texas Salmonella Plant for Lacking License

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Not only did a Texas agriculture inspector fail to note that Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) was not operating with a state license to process organic products, the inspector indicated the unlicensed plant was licensed, the Associated Press (AP) is reporting. PCA is at the heart of the massive salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds and is linked to at least nine deaths nationwide.

It seems the inspector visited the Texas plant on no less than three occasions, said the AP and that had the inspector truthfully indicated the plant failed to obtain necessary licensing, the state health department would have been alerted; with no record of the plant, inspectors were not sent.

PCA plant inspections unearthed revolting conditions, including dead rodents, rodent excrement, and bird feathers in a crawl space above a production area in the Texas plant. Another inspection of its Georgia plant — which wascited for mold, roaches, and a leaking roof—revealed that PCA shipped salmonella-tainted peanuts at least a dozen times in 2007 and 2008; some products were shipped before a second round of testing was conducted.

A third facility was found to have flaking paint and evidence of rodents in 2007 and 2008. PCA promised to fix the problems, reported the AP in an earlier article; however, when inspectors returned in 2008 to ensure this was done, they found two dead mice in traps in a warehouse, as well as an open door, and a 32-inch-wide gap in strip curtains “completely exposed to the entrance of pests,” said the AP. Mold was also found on the outside of 43 totes of blanched peanuts.

Now, hundreds of companies are facing financial and legal problems. These include Kellogg, which is named in at least six lawsuits; Forward Foods, which filed for bankruptcy after being forced to recall 75 percent of its products; and Scotts, which is suing its supplier over claims it lied about peanut meal used in wild bird seed, which originated at PCA. Scotts said the deception caused it "substantial damages" and "significant" injury to its brand.

Meanwhile, Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) spokesman Bryan Black said that had the lack of license at the Texas plant been properly reported, the department would have denied PCA organic certification and notified the Department of State Health Services, said the AP. Gaylon Amonett, the inspector involved, was fired the day after state health officials ordered the recall.

Amonett worked for the TDA for 22 years and admitted to checking “yes” on 2005, 2006, and 2008 work sheets for the question asking if PCA was in possession of records indicating compliance with health codes, said the AP. Amonett claims he checked “yes” because the plant manager advised him that such paperwork was completed and in the possession of PCA officials, reported the AP. Amonett continued in this fashion because he simply believed the license had been granted. Amonett received a merit raise on January 1, just six weeks before his termination, the AP said.

"We trust our inspectors to do their jobs," Black told the AP "Any time they do not follow the protocol, it is inexcusable."

The AP also reported that Jack McCasland, environmental inspector for the Plainview-Hale County Health Department, said PCA officials led him to believe the licensing process was under way when he visited PCA’s facility prior to its opening, saying, “To be honest, I never really thought to follow up on it. It just never occurred to me that they wouldn't be (licensed)."

To receive organic certification, processors must meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards and undergo monitoring by a USDA-accredited agency, said the AP; the TDA has been such an agency since 2002. Had the Plainview plant not needed such certification, the TDA would not have been required to inspect it, added the AP.

Salmonella May be in FEMA Food Kits

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Those emergency food packages that were distributed in response to the recent Kentucky and Arkansas winter storm disasters are likely to contain salmonella-contaminated peanut butter, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). CNN is reporting that the contaminated peanut butter included in the food kits distributed by FEMA are probably linked to the ongoing, nationwide salmonella outbreak.

"Commercial meals kits manufactured by Red Cloud Food Services Inc., under the Standing Rock label, have been provided to disaster survivors in impacted communities, and these kits may contain peanut butter which is part of the precautionary national recall underway in accordance with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration," FEMA said in a written statement, reported CNN. FEMA added that the food kits contain different main courses, but all contain peanut butter packets, adding that, "People who have received commercial meal kits are asked to inspect the kits in their possession and immediately dispose of any peanut butter packets." UPI reported that the peanut butter was supplied in clear, one-ounce packets, according to FEMA.

The food kits were sent following President Barack Obama’s declaring Kentucky and Arkansas federal disaster areas after a severe winter storm decimated parts of the states with rain, ice, and snow and which has left thousands of people homeless and in shelters, said CNN. AHN Media reported that the Kentucky ice storm was handled, in part, by the largest National Guard response in Kentucky’s history.

The prepared foods manufacturer posted the recall on January 19; however it remains unknown why FEMA distributed meals containing peanut butter not only two weeks after the meals’ recall, but in the midst of a huge salmonella outbreak that involves one of the products supplied in the meals, said UPI.

The salmonella outbreak has sickened over 550 people, is believed to be responsible for eight deaths, and has involved over 1,000 separate food product recalls, the UPI reported. Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) is the manufacturer solely responsible for the tainted peanut, peanut paste, and peanut butter products. CNN also reported that a criminal investigation has been implemented by federal officials into PCA.

It appears as if filthy conditions at the PCA plant may have contributed to the salmonella contamination, which is sweeping the nation, and has affected 43 states and Canada. Recent reports have also been released that confirm that PCA had a leaky roof, roaches, and mold at the manufacturing plant linked to the outbreak. Also, media outlets have also quoted a PCA employee who claims to have once found a rat in the factory' peanut roaster. Most recently, investigations also revealed that PCA ran a plant that did not have a license to operate and which had never been inspected in the years since its opening.

PCA has recalled peanut butter, peanut paste, and other ingredients made at the plant responsible for the contamination, which has since been shut down. Also, scores of other firms that were supplied by PCA have recalled hundreds of foods made with PCA products. The recalls continue on a daily basis, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has created an online, searchable database in response to the food borne contamination catastrophe.

PCA, Peter Pan Salmonella Outbreaks Have Much in Common

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The salmonella outbreak linked to peanut products made by Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) and the Peter Pan salmonella outbreak that occurred just a couple of years ago apparently have more in common than just peanut butter. According to an article in Newsday, the strain of salmonella that caused the 2006-2007 Peter Pan outbreak was among five different strains recently linked to PCA.

That strain, Salmonella Tennessee, sickened over 700 people just two years ago. In February 2007, that outbreak prompted a recall of ConAgra’s Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butters. ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the salmonella contamination. The plant in Sylvester, Georgia was closed due to the recall, but reopened later that summer.

The Salmonella Tennessee found this year turned up in Minnesota in an unopened can of King Nut Peanut Butter made by PCA. Four other salmonella strains, including the Salmonella Typhimurium type causing this year's outbreak, were found at PCA's Blakely, Georgia facility.

According to Newsday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has not received reports of anyone becoming ill because of Salmonella Tennessee from a PCA product. Unfortunately, the vast majority of salmonella cases never get reported, so there is no way of knowing for sure if Salmonella Tennessee from PCA has been making people sick.

According to Newsday, the PCA plant involved in this year's outbreak is only 70 miles from the ConAgra facility that made tainted Peter Pan. There is some speculation that the peanuts supplied to ConAgra prior to that outbreak could have come from the same farmer who supplied PCA during the current contamination. The CDC is working now to find any links between the PCA Salmonella Tennessee and that involved in the Peter Pan outbreak.

As was the case with the Peter Pan outbreak, it is looking like plant conditions may have contributed to salmonella contamination at PCA. Like the ConAgra plant, the PCA plant had a leaky roof. But inspectors have also found roaches and mold. Media outlets have also quoted a PCA employee who claims to have once found a rat in the factory' peanut roaster.

That facility has since been closed, and PCA has recalled peanut butter, peanut paste and other ingredients made there. Scores of other firms that were supplied by PCA have also recalled hundreds of foods made with PCA products. The recalls are occurring on a daily basis, and the Food & Drug Administration has had to set up an online, searchable database to help consumers track the recalls.

Despite the intriguing similarities between the PCA and Peter Pan salmonella outbreaks, it is important to note that ConAgra is not implicated in the current crop of illnesses. The company is not among those that have issued recalls, and it recently published a statement affirming that neither ConAgra Foods nor any of its suppliers purchase any ingredients from PCA.

According to the CDC, 550 people in 43 states have become sick from salmonella linked to PCA products. The outbreak may have contributed to 8 deaths.

PCA Salmonella Outbreak Now Subject of Criminal Probe

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The peanut processing plant linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak is now the subject of a criminal probe. The investigation by the U.S. Justice Department of Peanut Corp. of America's (PCA) Blakely, Georgia plant was initiated after Food & Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors found that the facility sold peanut products to food makers after they had tested positive for salmonella.

The salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, peanut paste and other peanut ingredients has so far sickened 529 people in 43 states, and may have contributed to the deaths of eight people. According to the Centers for Disease Control, illnesses were first reported in September 2008.

PCA, which provides ingredients to 85 other food firms, has recalled everything made at the Blakely plant since January 2007. Hundreds of products made by other firms, including the Kellogg Company and General mills, have also been recalled. The FDA has even set up a new online database to help consumers track the recalls. The agency said it expects the recalls to continue, and has cautioned consumers to avoid foods made with peanut butter or paste unless they are sure the ingredients did not come from PCA.

Over the weekend, the FDA warned consumers to avoid "boutique" brands of peanut butter, amid concerns that smaller companies may have been supplied by PCA. However, the agency insists that national brands of peanut butter are safe.

As we reported earlier, FDA inspections of the Georgia plant that were prompted by the outbreak found that PCA shipped products that tested positive for salmonella contamination at least a dozen times in 2007 and 2008. The inspection also turned up mold, roaches and a leaking roof. The company also didn’t clean its equipment there after finding contamination, and didn’t properly separate raw and finished products, the FDA said.

Last week, the Associated Press published details about an FDA report dated September 15 regarding a seized shipment of PCA peanuts. The peanut shipment was confiscated in April after it was rejected by Canadian officials. The FDA informed PCA of the problem, but instead of having the tainted and peanuts - which were described as containing a “filthy, putrid or decomposed substance, or is otherwise unfit for food” - destroyed, the company attempted to rehabilitate the product for sale. The shipment was finally destroyed in November after back-and-forth efforts between the FDA and the company broke down and after the FDA rejected as "unacceptable" findings by a private lab hired by PCA to analyze the company's peanuts, the Associated Press said.

Stephen Sundlof, head of the FDA's food safety center, told the Associated Press on Friday that the Justice Department will investigate possible criminal violations by the PCA. plant. Such probes are rare, but the FDA is under a lot of pressure because of the salmonella scandal.

The FDA has also faced criticism for its failure to regulate PCA. According to the Associated Press, prior to the outbreak, FDA inspectors had not been to the Georgia plant since 2001.

In Wake of Peanut Salmonella, Obama to Announce FDA Review

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The enormous peanut butter salmonella outbreak that has sickened over 500 and is linked to eight deaths has President Barack Obama ordering a “complete review” of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) he said in an interview on the Today Show with Matt Lauer this morning.

The agency has long been criticized for a wide variety of issues, conflicts, and failures, with the recent, highly publicized peanut butter debacle causing outrage nationwide. Said Obama, the peanut butter contamination that has hit nearly every state and Canada was just the most recent in an array of “instances over the last several years” in which “the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to catch,” reported Today.

Obama did not detail any other issues, but Today noted that critics routinely pointed to the recent Bush administration as having “crippled” the FDA with eight years of budget cuts and a refusal to conduct an overhaul of the failing agency. “At bare minimum, we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids safe when they eat peanut butter,” said Obama in the Today Show interview. Obama noted that the peanut butter scandal hits close to home for him referring to his youngest daughter, Sasha, saying, “that’s what Sasha eats for lunch probably three times a week…. I don’t want to have to worry about whether she’s going to get sick as a consequence to having her lunch.”

USA Today said that, last week, Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) expanded its recall to include two years' worth of production and included peanuts and peanut meal, among other products, to the standing peanut butter and paste recall. Over 800 products have been recalled, it said, making it one of the largest recalls in history.

Not only had the FDA ignored the PCA plant solely responsible for the massive outbreak, it knew PCA hired a lab which revealed that it had conducted no less than 12 tests with positive results for salmonella in 2007 and 2008. Instead of ordering a sanitizing and quarantine, which is what the FDA said should have occurred, PCS hired a second lab to conduct testing, reported the Boston Globe, which added that the PCA scandal is not a one-time blunder, but rather, evidence of a routine pattern. The outbreak, in addition to countless illness and deaths, has resulted in hundreds of recalls, said Today, which reported that state and federal health officials confirmed that PCA “knowingly” shipped salmonella-tainted products. A criminal investigation is planned by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigation and the Justice Department.

The Boston Globe reported that well before this outbreak, the FDA received a report of a PCA shipment that was rejected in Canada and returned to the United States because is was severely contaminated with metal fragments. The FDA should have immediately ordered an investigation and didn’t.

This morning, Obama said, “we are going to make sure that we retool the FDA, that it’s operating in a highly professional fashion and, most importantly, that we prevent these things, as opposed to trying to catch them after they’ve already occurred,” reported Today.

The FDA has maintained a page on its site with up-to-date information on the recall at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/Salmonellatyph.html

Salmonella Outbreak Prompts Peanut Butter Recall

Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Peanut butter has was recalled by King Nut Companies Inc. after it was named a suspect in a salmonella outbreak. In a press release announcing the recall, King Nut Companies said salmonella had been found in one opened 5-pound container of King Nut peanut butter.

According to CNN.com, the tainted King Nut peanut butter was found in Minnesota, where it may have contributed to one death. It is not known if the salmonella found in the King Nut peanut butter is the same strain responsible for a multi-state outbreak currently under investigation by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Lab results that could answer that question are expected this week.

The recall includes all peanut butters bearing the King Nut label, as well as those distributed under the Parnell's Pride brand. King Nut Companies asked customers to stop distributing all peanut butter with a lot code that begins with the numeral "8." King Nut distributes peanut butter only through food service account, and it is not sold directly to consumers. The company said in its press release that all other King Nut products are safe and not included in this voluntary recall.

King Nut said it did not supply any of the ingredients for the peanut butter distributed under its label, and that the recalled peanut butter is made by Peanut Corporation of America. According to CNN, Peanut Corporation of America has headquarters in Lynchburg, Virginia, and processing operations in Virginia, Georgia and Texas. King Nut said in its press release that it has canceled all of its orders with that company.

On Friday, the CDC said that 399 cases of salmonella have been confirmed nationally, with nearly 20 percent of those stricken requiring hospitalization. The outbreak began between Sept. 3 and Dec. 29, but most of the people grew sick after Oct. 1, the CDC said. Patients range in age from infants to 98 years. The salmonella strain involved in this particular outbreak is Salmonella Typhimurium, the same strain responsible for the 2007 Banquet Pot Pie outbreak that sickened over 400 people in over 40 states.

Of the 42 states where Salmonella Typhimurium has been identified, California, with 55 victims, is reporting the highest number of cases. It is followed by Ohio with 53 cases, Massachusetts with 39, Minnesota with 30 and Michigan with 20. Other cases have been reported in Alabama (1 case), Arizona (8), Arkansas (3), Colorado (9), Connecticut (6), Georgia (5), Hawaii (1), Idaho (10), Illinois (4), Indiana (3), Iowa (1), Kansas (2), Kentucky (3), Maine (3), Maryland (7), Missouri (8), Nebraska (1), New Hampshire (10), New Jersey (13), New York (12), Nevada (6), North Carolina (1), North Dakota (10), Oklahoma (2), Oregon (5), Pennsylvania (12), Rhode Island (3), South Dakota (2), Tennessee (9), Texas (5), Utah (3), Vermont (4), Virginia (12),Washington (11), West Virginia (2), Wisconsin (3), and Wyoming (2).

This would not be the first time tainted peanut butter has been implicated in a salmonella outbreak. In February 2007, another salmonella outbreak prompted a recall of ConAgra’s Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butters. Those tainted peanut butters were ultimately blamed for 600 cases of salmonella poisoning across the country. ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the Salmonella contamination. The plant in Sylvester, Georgia was closed due to the recall, but reopened later that summer.

Salmonella bacteria cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 72 hours of exposure. Children, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable to complications from salmonella poisoning. In rare cases, extreme instances of salmonella poisoning can lead to a disease called Reiter’s Syndrome, which is associated with chronic arthritis.

Could Peanut Butter Be Causing Another Salmonella Outbreak?

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 00:00:00 -0800

Health officials in Minnesota think some cases of salmonella poisoning there may be linked to tainted peanut butter. However, they can't say yet if contaminated peanut butter is behind a nationwide salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 400 people in 42 states.

According to the Associated Press, Minnesota officials investigating several cases of salmonella in that state detected the bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter. The peanut butter in question is not sold in retail stores, the Associated Press said, but is a food service variety sold to long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, delis, cafeterias and bakeries. The company that makes King Nut brand peanut butter has not been identified, but Minnesota investigators have urged institutions and establishments who use this variety of peanut butter not to serve it, the Associated Press said.

It is not known if the salmonella found in the King Nut peanut butter is the same strain responsible for a multi-state outbreak currently under investigation by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Today, the CDC said that 399 cases of salmonella have been confirmed nationally, with about 20 percent of those stricken requiring hospitalization. The outbreak began between Sept. 3 and Dec. 29, but most of the people grew sick after Oct. 1, the CDC said.

As we reported earlier today, the salmonella strain involved in this particular outbreak—Salmonella typhimurium—is considered common. It is the same strain responsible for the 2007 Banquet Pot Pie outbreak that sickened over 400 people in over 40 states.

If it turns out that peanut butter is behind this latest large-scale salmonella outbreak, it would not be the first time. In February 2007, another salmonella outbreak prompted a recall of ConAgra's Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butters. Those tainted peanut butters were ultimately blamed for 600 cases of salmonella poisoning across the country. ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the Salmonella contamination. The plant in Sylvester, Georgia was closed due to the recall, but reopened later that summer.

Salmonella bacteria cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 72 hours of exposure. Children, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable to complications from salmonella poisoning. In rare cases, extreme instances of salmonella poisoning can lead to a disease called Reiter’s Syndrome, which is associated with chronic arthritis.

Unfortunately, salmonella outbreaks are not rare. Just this past summer, an outbreak linked to imported jalapeno peppers sickened more than a thousand people. Other salmonella outbreaks have been linked to tomatoes, pet food, and even cereal. According to the CDC, salmonella bacteria sicken 40,000 people every year. Although the true number could be much higher, because it is estimated that for every case of salmonella poisoning reported, two others are unreported.

Peter Pan Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak Marks Year Anniversary

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0800

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of the Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter recall. The salmonella tainted peanut butters where recalled by ConAgra foods on February 14, 2007, after they were linked to an outbreak of salmonella poisoning across the country. Eventually, more than 600 cases of salmonella poisoning where blamed on Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter manufactured at ConAgra’s Sylvester, Georgia plant.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Peter Pan peanut butter salmonella outbreak extended to 47 states and two deaths were attributed to the salmonella tainted peanut butter. Though an unusually high incidence of salmonella poisoning was first noticed in Tennessee in November 2006, it is thought that the first illnesses attributable to the peanut butter may have occurred as early as March 2006. However, it wasn’t until February 2007 that the CDC was able to trace the source of the illness to peanut butter produced by a ConAgra factory in Sylvester Georgia. ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the Salmonella contamination. That same month, ConAgra finally issued a recall of its Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter produced at that factory. The ConAgra plant in Georgia was closed for several months after the Peter Pan Peanut Butter salmonella outbreak.

Following the salmonella outbreak, the Food &Drug Administration FDA, as well ConAgra, came under fire for their slow response to the Peter Pan Peanut Butter problems. In April 2007, the Washington Post published documents proving that the FDA, as well as ConAgra, knew of contamination problems at the plant as far back as 2004. The agency took few corrective measures, assuming that ConAgra would address the situation itself. But ConAgra apparently did little to nothing to fix the problem.

The ConAgra plant that produced the salmonella peanut butter finally reopened last summer, with the company boasting that it had spent $15 million to repair problems that allowed the salmonella contamination to occur at the Georgia factory. Peter Pan Peanut Butter was also re-launched last August, amid a huge marketing blitz aimed at restoring customer faith in the product.

Unfortunately, the return of Peter Pan to stores did not end ConAgra’s salmonella woes. In October 2007, the company’s store brand and Banquet Pot Pies were tied to yet another salmonella outbreak. The CDC ultimately traced 272 cases of salmonella poisoning in 35 states to the tainted ConAgra pot pies. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) investigation into the Banquet Pot Pie Salmonella outbreak found flaws with record keeping at the Missouri plant that produced the pot pies, as well as deficiencies with ConAgra’s Hazard Analysis Critical Control plan that spells out what the company does to ensure product safety. The ConAgra Banquet Pot Pie Recall ended up costing ConAgra around $30 million.

ConAgra Fires Food Safety Exec Hired After Peter Pan Peanut Butter Salmonella Debacle

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0800

ConAgra Foods has fired the food safety executive that the company brought on board in the wake of last year’s Peter Pan Peanut Butter Salmonella outbreak and recall. The dismissal of Paul A. Hall from his position as ConAgra’s vice president of global food safety is not encouraging news as the company tries to recover from the fallout from not only the Peter Pan Peanut Butter Salmonella recall, but last fall’s Banquet Pot Pie Salmonella outbreak and recall as well.

ConAgra maintains that Hall was terminated because he violated one of the food giant’s employment policies, and that the move was not related to food safety. But the news only again underscores the food safety problems ConAgra has faced this year. Hall was hired in April 2007, following the February recall of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butters that where produced at ConAgra’s Sylvester, Georgia plant. Those tainted peanut butters were blamed for an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning that sickened more than 600 people. ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the Salmonella contamination. The plant in Sylvester, Georgia was closed due to the recall, but reopened last summer.

In August, ConAgra re-launched Peter Pan, once one of the country’s top-selling peanut butters. The product returned to stores with much fanfare, with ConAgra backing Peter Pan with a 100-percent money back guarantee. Prior to the launch, ConAgra mailed out 2 million coupons for free Peter Pan Peanut Butter, as well as $1-off coupons. ConAgra also redesigned the Peter Pan Peanut Butter jar with a “New Look” label.

But ConAgra’s Peter Pan re-launch was quickly overshadowed by the Banquet Pot Pie Salmonella outbreak. ConAgra’s Banquet and store brand pot pies were first linked to dozens of cases of Salmonella poisoning throughout the country on October 9. That day, ConAgra issued a health alert about the Salmonella pot pie outbreak, warning consumers not to eat any of its 7-ounce store brand or Banquet Pot Pies with the codes “P-9” or “Est 1059” on the package. Despite the health alert, ConAgra did not recall the tainted Banquet pot pies. Instead, ConAgra tried to deflect blame for the Salmonella pot pies by claiming that consumers caused the outbreak by failing to cook the pies properly. On October 11, ConAgra finally did issue a pot pie recall.

Ultimately, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) traced 272 cases of Salmonella poisoning in 35 states to the tainted ConAgra pot pies. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) investigation into the Banquet Pot Pie Salmonella outbreak found flaws with record keeping at the Missouri plant that produced the pot pies, as well as deficiencies with ConAgra’s Hazard Analysis Critical Control plan that spells out what the company does to ensure product safety. The ConAgra Banquet Pot Pie Recall ended up costing ConAgra around $30 million.

ConAgra Banquet Pot Pie, Peter Pan Peanut Butter Recall Executive to Leave Company

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0800

The ConAgra executive who was involved in this year’s Banquet Pot Pie and Peter Pan Peanut Butter recalls will be leaving the company next July.   Even though the two separate Salmonella outbreaks linked to the recalled Banquet Pot Pies and Peter Pan Peanut Butter have tarnished ConAgra’s image, the company is insisting that those events had nothing to do with Dean Hollis’ decision to leave.

Dean Hollis was named president and chief operating officer of Consumer Foods in 2005, the ConAgra division responsible for producing Banquet and store brand pot pies and Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter. ConAgra’s Banquet and store brand pot pies were first linked to dozens of cases of Salmonella poisoning throughout the country on October 9. That day, ConAgra issued a health alert about the Salmonella pot pie outbreak, warning consumers not to eat any of its 7-ounce store brand or Banquet Pot Pies with the codes “P-9” or “Est 1059” on the package. Despite the health alert, ConAgra did not recall the tainted Banquet pot pies. Instead, ConAgra tried to deflect blame for the Salmonella pot pies by claiming that consumers caused the outbreak by failing to cook the pies properly. On October 11, ConAgra finally did issue a pot pie recall.

Ultimately, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) traced 272 cases of Salmonella poisoning in 35 states to the tainted ConAgra pot pies. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) investigation into the Banquet Pot Pie Salmonella outbreak found flaws with record keeping at the Missouri plant that produced the pot pies, as well as deficiencies with ConAgra’s Hazard Analysis Critical Control plan that spells out what the company does to ensure product safety.   The ConAgra Banquet Pot Pie Recall ended up costing ConAgra around $30 million.

The ConAgra Banquet Pot Pie recall came as the company was still reeling from February’s recall of Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butters. Those tainted peanut butters were blamed for another outbreak of Salmonella poisoning that sickened more than 600 people. ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the Salmonella contamination. The plant in Sylvester, Georgia was closed due to the recall, but reopened earlier this summer.

In August, ConAgra re-launched Peter Pan, once one of the country’s top-selling peanut butters. The product returned to stores with much fanfare, with ConAgra backing Peter Pan with a 100-percent money back guarantee. Prior to the launch, ConAgra mailed out 2 million coupons for free Peter Pan Peanut Butter, as well as $1-off coupons. ConAgra also redesigned the Peter Pan Peanut Butter jar with a “New Look” label.   All of this was an attempt to regain customer loyalty after the February recall, and there is no way of knowing if the later Banquet pot pie salmonella outbreak hurt these efforts.

A spokesperson for ConAgra who talked with the Associated Press praised Hollis for helping improve sales and strengthen ConAgra's portfolio of brands as part of companywide restructuring efforts. The company said Hollis plans to seek "the top leadership position at another consumer business."

ConAgra Finally Issues Banquet Pot Pie Recall, As Number of Salmonella Victims Reaches 165

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700

ConAgra Foods announced late yesterday that it was finally recalling its Salmonella tainted Banquet and store brand pot pies. The announcement came several days after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) had linked the ConAgra pot pies to more than 100 cases of Salmonella poisoning around the country.   Earlier in the week, ConAgra had refused to issue a recall, and maintained that the pot pies were safe provided consumers cooked the products properly.

In addition to recalling turkey and chicken varieties of its pot pies, ConAgra is also asking consumers to return beef pot pies manufactured by the company as well.   Included in the ConAgra pot pie recall are all varieties of Banquet Pot Pies, as well as ConAgra-produced generic brand pot pies under the following labels: Albertson's, Food Lion, Great Value, Hill Country Fare, Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer and Western Family. The pies were sold in 7 oz. single serving packages bearing an establishment number "P-9" or "Est. 1059" printed on the side of the package. The Salmonella contaminated pot pies were sold in all fifty states, as well as in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean Islands.

The ConAgra pot pies are the prime suspects in a Salmonella epidemic that has so far sickened more than 165 people in 31 states.   Salmonella bacteria cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever within 72 hours of exposure. Children, the elderly or people with weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable to complications from Salmonella poisoning.   In rare cases, extreme instances of Salmonella poisoning can lead to a disease called Reiter’s Syndrome, which is associated with chronic arthritis.

The ConAgra pot pie recall follows an October 9 health alert issued by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) linking the pies to a nationwide Salmonella outbreak.   ConAgra warned consumers not to eat its pot pies, and asked stores to pull the tainted product from their shelves.   ConAgra even suspended production at the Missouri plant that manufactured the Banquet and store brand pot pies. But despite the fact that the number of people sickened in the Salmonella outbreak then numbered well over 100, ConAgra refused to recall the pot pies.   The company maintained that the pies were safe, and that the illnesses were the result of consumers undercooking the frozen pot pies. ConAgra also insisted that the health alert only applied to chicken and turkey pot pies, not beef.

Yesterday, news reports said that two state health officials from Minnesota and Oregon and formally requested that ConAgra officially recall the pies, but were rebuffed. Shortly after those reports circulated, ConAgra announced the pot pie recall.   In its press release, the company said it had acted “to ensure the utmost clarity for consumers about the fact that they should not eat these products.”

This is the second time this year that ConAgra has had to issue a large-scale product recall because of Salmonella dangers. In February, the company recalled its Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter after it was blamed for a Salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 600 people in 47 states. Considering how long ConAgra allowed its Salmonella tainted pot pies to stay in circulation, it would not be surprising if this latest outbreak became just as extensive.

ConAgra Says No to Banquet Pot Pie Recall, as Fallout over Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak Still Reverberates

Thu, 11 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700

More than 150 people in 31 states have now been sickened by Salmonella tainted Banquet-brand and generic store brand pot pies manufactured by ConAgra Foods, prompting the company to ask retailers across the country to pull the defective products from their shelves.   But ConAgra, yet to recover from this year’s earlier recall of Salmonella infected Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter, is steadfastly refusing to issue an official pot pie recall.

At least 20 people have been hospitalized after eating the contaminated ConAgra pot pies. Disturbed by the sheer size of the Banquet Pot Pie Salmonella outbreak, health officials from several states held a conference call yesterday with federal authorities.   During the call, two officials from Oregon and Minnesota reported that they pleaded with the ConAgra to remove all of its pot pies from the market. They complained that Salmonella tainted ConAgra pies could still be found in stores, and decried the lack of an unambiguous message about the danger posed by the products. According to those officials, their request for a recall was turned down. For its part, ConAgra continues to insist that the pot pies are only dangerous if consumers fail to cook them properly.

In fact, ConAgra seems to be doing everything it can to downplay the entire Salmonella pot pie incident.    While the company has posted a press release on its website announcing a “health alert” regarding the tainted Banquet and store brand pot pies, there is no official list of pot pies affected by the notice.   ConAgra is simply telling consumers to check pot pies for the code “P-9” marked on the box.   But this could confuse some people who might not realize that a pot pie bearing the name of a local supermarket is actually a ConAgra product.

Even stranger, ConAgra is doing everything that would be required to actually recall the Salmonella tainted pies. The company has asked stores to pull turkey and chicken varieties of its Banquet and private label pies from their shelves, and it is offering consumers refunds if they return pot pies.   The company has also stopped producing pot pies at its Missouri factory until the source of the Salmonella contamination can be determined.   Yet ConAgra stubbornly refuses to issue an official recall, an omission that might lead some people to believe that the bacteria tainted pot pies are not dangerous. Taken in this light, ConAgra’s refusal to issue an actual recall notice is somewhat mystifying.

ConAgra’s refusal to recall its Salmonella tainted pot pies could have origins in its recall of Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter earlier this year. Those tainted peanut butters were blamed for an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning that sickened more than 600 people.   ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the Salmonella contamination. The plant in Sylvester, Georgia was closed due to the recall, but reopened earlier this summer.

In August, ConAgra re-launched Peter Pan, once one of the country’s top-selling peanut butters. The product returned to stores with much fanfare, with ConAgra backing Peter Pan with a 100-percent money back guarantee. Considering all of the money it has spent to bring back Peter Pan, the last thing ConAgra wants is to remind consumers of the peanut butter fiasco by recalling yet another Salmonella contaminated product.   Immediately following the peanut butter recall, it was alleged that ConAgra may have taken its time responding to the Salmonella outbreak in order to protect its bottom line. Now in the case of its Banquet and store brand pot pies, it appears that ConAgra could once again be putting sales figures ahead of its customers’ well being.

Banquet Pot Pies Made by ConAgra Foods Tied to Salmonella Outbreak

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Another ConAgra Foods product has been implicated in an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning. Officials in several states have reportedly linked the company’s Banquet Pot Pies to several cases of Salmonella.   Right now, officials at ConAgra say no recall of the pot pies is in the works, and the company insists that the product is safe if consumers prepare it properly.   ConAgra is still trying to recover from this year’s recall of its Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter. Those products were blamed for a multi-state Salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds.

According to the Associated Press, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is investigating a large Salmonella outbreak in several states. Health officials in those states have linked many of the illnesses the chicken and turkey varieties of Banquet Pot Pies. No other information regarding the Salmonella outbreak has been released, although, the CDC is expected to issue some findings later today.

For its part, a ConAgra spokesperson told the Associated Press that the company believes the pies are safe. ConAgra appears to be trying to defect blame for the outbreak by claiming that consumers are not preparing the Banquet Pot Pies correctly. The ConAgra spokesperson said that proper cooking would kill any pathogens in the Banquet Pot Pies, and that steam rising from a pie was a good sign that it had cooked thoroughly.

According to the CDC, Salmonella affects around 40,000 people every year.   The illness is mostly associated with undercooked products that contain eggs or poultry; however recent outbreaks of Salmonella poisoning have been tied to fresh produce and snack food.   Salmonella causes fever, abdominal pain, nausea, gas and bloody diarrhea. Symptoms appear within 36 hours of exposure, and usually last four to seven days. Salmonella can be particularly dangerous for children, the elderly and people with weakened immune systems. Some victims of Salmonella will develop a disease called Reiter’s Syndrome, a difficult- to- treat condition that can lead to chronic arthritis.

ConAgra is still reeling from this February’s recall of Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butters.   Those tainted peanut butters were blamed for an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning that sickened more than 600 people.   ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the Salmonella contamination. The plant in Sylvester, Georgia was closed due to the recall, but reopened earlier this summer.

In August, ConAgra re-launched Peter Pan, once one of the country’s top-selling peanut butters. The product returned to stores with much fanfare, with ConAgra backing Peter Pan with a 100-percent money back guarantee. Prior to the launch, ConAgra mailed out 2 million coupons for free Peter Pan Peanut Butter, as well as $1-off coupons. ConAgra has also redesigned the Peter Pan Peanut Butter jar with a “New Look” label. All of this was an attempt to win back customer trust after the Salmonella debacle badly damaged the Peter Pan brand’s image. But these efforts to rehabilitate Peter Pan might not do any good if a new Salmonella outbreak is associated with yet another ConAgra product.

Food Poisoning Scandals Erode Consumer Confidence and Food Industry Profits

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Food poisoning scares have made most Americans far less trusting of the US food supply. According to two recent surveys of American attitudes on food safety, recent outbreaks of Salmonella, E. coli and other food borne illnesses tied to peanut butter, snack foods, meat and fresh spinach have raised concerns among consumers that the food they eat might be dangerous. And now, those fears are being reflected in the bottom lines of the country’s largest food producers.

National Pasteurized Eggs surveyed 2,500 Americans about their attitudes regarding food safety and found that 93-percent are more concerned about food borne illness this year than they have been in previous years. Ninety-six percent said that media reports of food poisoning outbreaks had influenced their perceptions of food safety issues. A second study by the Food Marketing Institute found that only 66-percent of American shoppers are confident that the food they buy is safe. Thirty-eight percent of those surveyed said they had stopped buying items that had been linked to food poisoning outbreaks.

These findings are not surprising, considering the number of food poisoning scandals US consumers have endured in the last year. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), there are 76 million cases of food borne illnesses every year in the US, 5,000 of which result in fatalities. In the past year, large scale food poisoning outbreaks have been in the news almost constantly. Last summer, E. coli-tainted fresh spinach sickened more than 200 people and killed three. In February, Con Agra’s Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butters left more than 600 people ill with Salmonella poisoning. An outbreak of botulism this summer was traced to contaminated hot dog chili sauces produced by the Castleberry's Food Company. Other outbreaks of both E. coli and Salmonella have been linked to meats, snack mixes, pet food, tomatoes and lettuce. In this light, it’s easy to see why consumers are feeling a little queasy when it comes to their food.

And that lack of confidence is hurting profits at some of the nation’s biggest food producers. ConAgra saw its profits drop substantially after the peanut butter Salmonella debacle. Last week, Proctor & Gamble blamed recalls of its pet foods for low quarterly profits posted by its snacks, coffee and pet care unit. Even companies not implicated in a food poisoning outbreak still suffer because of them. Chiquita Brands, Inc. has said that sales of its Fresh Express bagged salads have yet to recover from last year’s spinach E. coli outbreak because consumers are now less trusting of any bagged greens.

Now, the food industry is scrambling to restore consumer confidence, but it could be a tough sell, as reports of tainted foods make it into the news every day. Just last week, more bagged fresh spinach was recalled after it was found to be contaminated with Salmonella. And an outbreak of E. coli in the Pacific Northwest resulted in the recall of tons of ground beef distributed by Interstate Meats of Oregon. Companies have increased inspections and added to their food safety research budgets, but until the recalls and outbreak stops, these steps will have little effect on consumer confidence.

Peter Pan Peanut Butter Back In Stores Following Salmonella Recall

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Six months after a Salmonella outbreak forced ConAgra to issue a massive Peter Pan Peanut Butter Recall the food giant is putting Peter Pan back on the shelf. Once the number one selling brand in much of the United States, ConAgra is hoping that former fans of Peter Pan Peanut Butter will give it another chance even though it was linked to more than 600 cases of Salmonella poisoning earlier this year.

In February, ConAgra’s Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butters were recalled after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) linked those brands to a Salmonella outbreak. The peanut butter Salmonella eventually sickened 628 people in 47 states. ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system at its production facility for causing the Salmonella contamination. The plant in Sylvester, Georgia was closed due to the recall, but reopened earlier this summer.

ConAgra began returning Peter Pan Peanut Butter to store shelves last week amid a huge marketing blitz. The company is optimistic that its marketing campaign will encourage former customers put off by the Salmonella contamination to give Peter Pan a try. The company said that by early August, 90-percent of its retail customers had already placed orders for Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Right now, Peter Pan is available in three sizes of creamy and crunchy varieties.   Other varieties, including lower fat Peter Pan, will appear in stores sometime next year.

To regain the trust of customers who might be suspicious following the Salmonella debacle, ConAgra is backing Peter Pan with 100-percent guarantee. Prior to the launch, ConAgra mailed out 2 million coupons for free Peter Pan Peanut Butter, as well as $1-off coupons. Most of those coupons went to people who contacted ConAgra about the recall. ConAgra has also redesigned the Peter Pan Peanut Butter jar, and it includes a “New Look” label.

But it remains to be seen if free Peter Pan and a new label will be enough to restore trust in Peter Pan Peanut Butter.   ConAgra had been criticized for not recalling its Salmonella-tainted peanut butters soon enough. Though people started becoming sick as early as March 2006, it wasn’t until February 2007 that ConAgra finally issued a recall of its Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter. In April 2007, the Washington Post published documents proving that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as ConAgra, knew of contamination problems at the Sylvester, Georgia plant in 2004. The FDA took few corrective measures, choosing instead to let ConAgra deal with the problems. Unfortunately, whatever the company did was not enough to prevent the Salmonella outbreak.

ConAgra says that it has spent $15 million to repair problems that allowed the Salmonella contamination to occur at the Georgia factory. And the company boasts that its new marketing campaign is the biggest investment the company has ever made in Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Why ConAgra did not make a bigger investment in the safety of its Peter Pan Peanut Butter factory prior to the recall is a question that remains to be answered.   But it is certain that all the money ConAgra is spending to re-launch Peter Pan will do little to help the 628 people injured by the Salmonella-laced peanut butter.

ConAgra's Peter Pan Peanut Butter Set to Return Amid Huge Marketing Blitz

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Peter Pan Peanut Butter, one of the brands responsible for an outbreak of Salmonella poisoning earlier this year, will return to stores this month. And ConAgra, the company that manufactures Peter Pan, is planning a marketing extravaganza that it hopes will cause this year’s Salmonella debacle to fade from its customers’ memories.

Prior to the Salmonella outbreak, Peter Pan was the number three peanut butter brand in the U.S. In February, Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butters were recalled by ConAgra after the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) linked those brands to several cases of Salmonella. The peanut butter Salmonella eventually sickened 628 people in 47 states. ConAgra faulted a leaky roof and malfunctioning sprinkler system for causing the Salmonella contamination. ConAgra’s Sylvester, Georgia plant was closed due to the recall, but reopened last week. The company said that it has spent $15 million to repair problems at the factory. ConAgra is also having Peter Pan manufactured by a subcontractor at another plant to build up inventory for its re-launch.

Whether consumers will want to give Peter Pan Peanut Butter another chance remains to be seen. The peanut butter market is competitive and customers are known for brand loyalty. No one knows if Peter Pan’s old customers will trust the peanut butter enough to abandon brands they have been using since the recall.

And Peter Pan Peanut Butter could be an even tougher sell, because ConAgra did not seem to have its customer’s best interest in mind during the recall. Though people may have started becoming sick as early as March 2006, it wasn’t until February 2007 that ConAgra finally issued a recall of its Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter. In April 2007, the Washington Post published documents proving that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as ConAgra, knew of contamination problems at the Sylvester, Georgia plant as far back as 2004. The FDA took few corrective measures, assuming that ConAgra would address the situation itself. Unfortunately, whatever the company did was not enough to prevent the Salmonella outbreak.

But ConAgra claims surveys show that 83-percent of its former customers want Peter Pan to return. The company is determined to lure those customers back, and has mailed out 2 million coupons for free peanut butter, as well as $1-off coupons. Most of those coupons went to people who contacted ConAgra about the recall. Customers purchasing other peanut butter brands will be given a $1-off coupon at store checkouts, triggered by scans of store loyalty cards that indicate the consumer had purchased Peter Pan in the past. ConAgra has also redesigned the Peter Pan Peanut Butter jar, and it includes a “New Look” label. The company is also offering a 100-percent satisfaction guarantee, and will offer refunds to consumers unhappy with the product.

ConAgra says the new campaign is the biggest investment the company has ever made in Peter Pan Peanut Butter. It is worth noting that had ConAgra invested more in its Peter Pan Peanut Butter factory prior to the Salmonella outbreak, the new marketing blitz would never have been necessary.

11 Year Old Victim of Salmonella-Tainted Peanut Butter Returns Home Following Kidney Transplant

Mon, 02 Jul 2007 00:00:00 -0700

An 11-year-old girl who needed a kidney transplant after eating Salmonella-tainted Peter Pan Peanut Butter has returned home from the hospital.   Krystina Burgh, who received the kidney from her father on June 18th, had been undergoing dialysis since she was diagnosed with Salmonella poisoning stemming from Peter Pan Peanut Butter in January.   Salmonella is a food-borne illness characterized by cramping, vomiting and diarrhea. Severe cases can lead to serious complications like kidney failure and a difficult-to-treat-disease called Reiter’s Syndrome. At a news conference prior to her release, Krystina said she was feeling well, but was disappointed she would miss out on summer activities while she recuperates. Doctors are hopeful that the little girl will have a full recovery, although they concede it could be at least a year before they know if the transplant is successful.

Krystina’s case is particularly tragic since quicker action from ConAgra, Peter Pan Peanut Butter’s manufacturer, and the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) would have prevented her illness. Krystina’s parents said that prior to becoming ill in January 2007, their daughter had eaten Peter Pan Peanut Butter with a product code starting with 211. That lot of peanut butter would be recalled for Salmonella contamination in February.

In April 2007, the Washington Post published documents proving that the FDA, as well as ConAgra, knew of contamination problems at the Sylvester, Georgia plant where the peanut butter was made as far back as 2004. The agency took few corrective measures, assuming that ConAgra would address the situation itself. Unfortunately, whatever steps the company took did not prevent the Salmonella outbreak. Had the FDA ordered ConAgra to take corrective action at that time, Krystina’s illness, as well as the illnesses of hundreds of people, would have been prevented.

Even after the first cases of Salmonella poisoning were noticed in Tennessee in March 2006, little was done to address the problem. While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) slowly worked to track the source of the disease, jars of tainted peanut butter were being shipped from the Georgia factory, exposing thousands of people to Salmonella poisoning.     Finally in February - nearly a year after Salmonella started sprouting up around the country -ConAgra issued a recall of Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter.   Of course that recall came too late for hundreds of victims like Krystina. Earlier this month, Krystina’s parents, who face mounting medical bills, filed suit against ConAgra, alleging that the company’s negligence is to blame for her illness. The family says it also hopes the lawsuit will highlight the FDA’s inability to regulate the food industry.

Late last month, the CDC reported that 628 people in 47 states were confirmed to have contracted Salmonella from the peanut butter. The toll also included 2 deaths.   However, because it took nearly an entire year to trace the Salmonella contamination to the peanut butter, some believe these numbers could be much higher.   There is a very good chance that victims made ill long before the February 2007 recall never linked their illness to the tainted product, and thus never reported anything to health officials. It could be some time, if ever, before the full scope of the problem becomes apparent.

Salmonella Tainted Peter Pan Peanut Butter Caused Indiana Girl to Suffer Sever Kidney Damage - Family Sues

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

An 11-year-old girl in need of a kidney transplant was one of two plaintiffs to file suit against ConAgra Foods last week, saying that the company’s Salmonella-tainted Peter Pan Peanut Butter was to blame for her kidney failure. Her case is only the latest of what legal experts say will be hundreds of lawsuits stemming from ConAgra’s recall of contaminated peanut butter earlier this year.

Krystina Burgh, the little girl named in the Indiana suit, first became ill in January 2007 with what her parents thought was a stomach flu. Unfortunately, her symptoms became worse and she had to be hospitalized. Krystina was found to be suffering from Salmonella, a food-borne illness that causes serious vomiting and diarrhea. The lawsuit alleges that, that her disease was extremely severe and progressed to the point of damaging her kidneys. Krystina’s parents say that her symptoms appeared shortly after she had eaten Peter Pan Peanut Butter. The jar their daughter had been eating from had a product code that started with 211, indicating that the peanut butter came from the same infected lot that Con-Agra would end up recalling in February.

According to the lawsuit, Krystina continues to suffer the effects of the tainted Peter Pan Peanut Butter. Her parents say that she is exhausted every night by 6:00 p.m. Krystina, who spends a good portion of the night hooked up to a dialysis machine, is expected to undergo a kidney transplant in Chicago on June 18th. She will be receiving one of her father’s kidneys.

Timothy Harper, a resident of Nashville, Tennessee, is also suing Con-Agra. Harper claims that he had to be hospitalized with Salmonella poisoning after eating the same brand of the peanut butter. He is accusing ConAgra foods of negligence, and is charging that the company with violating the Tennessee Products Liability Act.

Salmonella poisoning was first noticed in Tennessee in November 2006, it is thought that the first illnesses may have occurred as early as March 2006. It wasn’t until February 2007 that the CDC was able to trace the source of the illness to peanut butter produced by a ConAgra factory in Sylvester. Georgia. That same month, ConAgra finally issued a recall of its Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter produced at that factory. Last month, the CDC announced that 628 people nationwide had become sick over salmonella-tainted peanut butter.

In April 2007, the Washington Post published documents proving that the FDA, as well as ConAgra, knew of contamination problems at the Georgia plant as far back as 2004. The agency took few corrective measures, assuming that ConAgra would address the situation itself. Unfortunately, whatever the company did was not enough to prevent the Salmonella outbreak.

ConAgra plans to reintroduce Peter Pan in July. The company says it will contract with another factory to make the peanut butter until renovations are completed at the Sylvester plant. Those renovations are supposed to eliminate the moisture problems that ConAgra says contributed to the Salmonella poisoning.

Underreporting of Salmonella and E-coli Food Poisoning - Probably 25,000 Cases of Salmonella Poisoning from Peter Pan Peanut Butter

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

In February of 2007, the FDA warned the country about Salmonella-tainted peanut butter distributed by food conglomerate, ConAgra Foods. However, the Salmonella-tainted Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter may have gone unreported by the CDC for months. As a result, hundreds, possibly thousands of people have been sickened by a company with a history of producing tainted foods.

Besides the recent recall of Peter Pan Peanut Butter, ConAgra faced another governmental recall in August 2002 when their Greeley, Colorado beef plant produced meat contaminated with E-coli. Around 19 million pounds of tainted beef were recalled. E-coli, an intestinal bacteria, causes symptoms such as abdominal pain, severe cramping, bloody diarrhea, and vomiting. About 5 to 10 percent of infected individuals go on to develop Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome which can lead to kidney failure and death. One person was reported to have died in Ohio after eating the contaminated meat.

Although the tainted peanut butter was not officially addressed until February 2007, the CDC detected an increased incidence of Salmonella-related sicknesses as far back as November 2006. The CDC could have made an inquiry in November when the outbreak began to appear, but instead waited until February after more and more people were coming down with Salmonella. Given ConAgra's recent past, the CDC should have been stricter in flushing out the food corporation's mistakes. Apparently ignoring their past problems with contamination, the CDC gave ConAgra Foods a mere slap on the wrist, hoping the company would correct itself. Unfortunately, ConAgra did little to fix its Salmonella problem and thus more people ended up with tainted peanut butter in their pantries and on their sandwiches.

A major hurdle in trying to figure out exactly how many people have been afflicted with ConAgra's tainted products has to do with incidences of underreporting. For instance, one of the major problems with trying to quantify the differences between reporting normal diarrhea and food poisoning is that many people will mistake an upset stomach as stress or will attribute it to some other ailment such as the flu. And although it's understandable that the general public may not know the difference between the flu and Salmonella symptoms, doctors are also capable of underreporting. The best way to diagnose Salmonella is to test the germs in the stool of an afflicted person; however doctors don't routinely test everyone, thus perpetuating the cycle of underreporting.

This occurrence of underreporting is disturbing because Salmonella is one of the most vicious strains of food poisoning. Although it is usually not life-threatening, Salmonella can be potentially fatal if untreated. Symptoms can last five to seven days and can include: severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps, fever, nausea, dehydration, and vomiting. Headaches and muscle and joint pain can cause flu-like symptoms which inhibit an individual's ability to cope with everyday responsibilities such as work and family. One of the main problems associated with Salmonella is a debilitating condition called Reiter's Syndrome. The most common symptoms of Reiter’s Syndrome are arthritis, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms and typically affect the knees, ankles, and feet, causing pain and swelling for up to a year or more after the initial infection. Those with weakened immune systems, specifically infants and the elderly are especially at risk to lose their lives.

CDC, FDA, ConAgra or Peter Pan himself, Who's to Blame for the Underreporting of Sickening and Potentially Deadly Salmonella & E-Coli Food Poisoning Cases?

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

This week, cases of the dangerous food-borne illness e-coli were reported in several states, including California, Arizona and New York. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control revealed that incidences of salmonella linked to contaminated Peter Pan and Great Value brands of peanut butter were far more wide spread than previously thought. These revelations, coming as they do on the heels of recent scandals involving tainted spinach and poisoned animal foods, have many Americans questioning the safety of the nation’s food supply.

Late last month, the CDC reported that confirmed cases of salmonella caused by the Peter Pan and Great Value brands of Peanut Butter had grown by nearly 200 since the agency’s last report in March. The CDC now puts the number of individuals sickened by the peanut butter at more than 600 in 47 states. The toll also included 2 deaths. However, because not all cases of salmonella are reported, some believe these numbers could be much higher. It could be some time, if ever, before the full scope of the problem becomes apparent.

Several government agencies, as well as the peanut butter’s manufacturer ConAgra, have come under fire for their slow response to the outbreak. Though an unusually high incidence of salmonella poisoning was first noticed in Tennessee in November 2006, it is thought that the first illnesses may have occurred as early as March 2006. It wasn’t until February 2007 that the CDC was able to trace the source of the illness to peanut butter produced by a ConAgra factory in Sylvester Georgia. That same month, ConAgra finally issued a recall of its Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter produced at that factory.

The federal agency responsible for insuring food safety was also been taken to task for its role in the incident. In April 2007, the Washington Post published documents proving that the FDA, as well as ConAgra, knew of contamination problems at the plant as far back as 2004. The agency took few corrective measures, assuming that ConAgra would address the situation itself. ConAgra apparently did little to nothing to fix the problem.

And this was not the first time the FDA knew about food safety problems but did little to correct them. The Post article also cited evidence that the agency had been aware of problems with contaminated spinach and other California greens as far back as 1995. In the fall of 2006, hundreds of people were sickened and three were killed after contracting e-coli from contaminated California Spinach.

Critics say that under-funding and a lack of trained inspectors at the FDA have left the nation’s food supply in a perilous condition. A congressional fact sheet published by Henry Waxman (D-Calif) in 2006 said funding for the FDA fell short by $135 million. The number of scientists employed by the FDA’s food division dropped from 1,000 to 800 in the past three years. This decrease in personnel and the ongoing budget cuts have overwhelmed the agency, greatly impacting its ability to watch over the food supply. The results of this shortfall are apparent -- according to the CDC, contaminated foods cause 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths each year.

Families struck by E. coli demand better monitoring

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Families victimized by tainted spinach and peanut butter Tuesday urged lawmakers to strengthen federal oversight of the nation's food supply. "I can't protect them from spinach only you guys can," said Michael Armstrong, as he and wife, Elizabeth, cradled daughters Ashley, 2, and Isabella, 5. The girls fell ill, Ashley gravely in September after eating a salad made with a triple-washed bag of spinach contaminated by E. coli.

That and other incidents of contamination have raised questions not only about the U.S. food supply but also efforts by the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies to keep it safe.

"I hope these hearings will help alert the American people, Congress and the administration to the seriousness of this issue. If it is not taken seriously, these kinds of poisonings can, and will, happen again. Food poisonings will happen to you, to me and to our children and our pets," said Rep. Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

Also testifying was Gary Pruden, joined by his 11-year-old son, Sean, who was seriously sickened in November by E. coli after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant. Pruden said a key element of trade and commerce is trust - whether placed in accountants, airline pilots or auto mechanics.

"That is also extended to the trust in the food we order or buy from the grocery store - that it's edible and safe. Without that trust, commerce cannot work. And where failure occurs, oversight is required," Pruden told the subcommittee.

The safety of food raised domestically was questioned anew last fall when officials traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to contaminated spinach processed by Natural Selection Foods LLC. Three people died and nearly 200 others were sickened. More recently, contaminated peanut butter and pet food have been recalled.

"I don't see the latest string of incidents as aberrations. It's become a systemic problem and it calls for systemic solutions," said Rep. Diana DeGette, a Colorado Democrat.

DeGette has introduced legislation that would give the FDA and Agriculture Department the authority to mandate recalls, in line with a proposal by the Government Accountability Office. Other legislative efforts include proposals to create a single Food Safety Administration and develop a uniform reporting system to track contaminated food.

The Peter Pan brand of peanut butter was the subject of a nationwide recall in February after a salmonella outbreak. More than 400 people were sickened, and the recall cost manufacturer ConAgra Foods Inc. $50 million to $60 million.

Victims of Tainted Spinach, Peanut Butter Urge Congress for Better Oversight of Food Supply

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Families victimized by tainted spinach and peanut butter put a human face Tuesday on a recent string of high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness, urging lawmakers to strengthen federal oversight of the nation's food supply.

"I can't protect them from spinach only you guys can. I can't," said Michael Armstrong, as he and wife, Elizabeth, cradled daughters Ashley, 3, and Isabella, 5.

The two girls fell ill, Ashley gravely in September after eating a salad made with a triple-washed bag of the leafy greens contaminated by E. coli.

That and other incidents of contamination have raised questions not only about the U.S. food supply but efforts by the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies to keep it safe.

"I hope these hearings will help alert the American people, Congress and the administration to the seriousness of this issue. If it is not taken seriously, these kinds of poisonings can, and will, happen again. Food poisonings will happen to you, to me and to our children and our pets," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations. "The American people expect and deserve better from its government."

Also testifying was Gary Pruden, whose 11-year-old son Sean was seriously sickened in November by E. coli after eating at a Taco Bell restaurant. Pruden said a key element of trade and commerce is trust whether placed in accountants, airline pilots or auto mechanics.

"That is also extended to the trust in the food we order or buy from the grocery store that it's edible and safe. Without that trust, commerce cannot work. And where failure occurs, oversight is required," Pruden told the subcommittee.

The safety of food raised domestically was questioned anew last fall when officials traced a nationwide E. coli outbreak to contaminated spinach processed by Natural Selections LLC. Three people died and nearly 200 others were sickened.

Testing put in place by the company since the outbreak has found 35 lots of spinach contaminated by E. coli, said Stupak, suggesting the problem is ongoing.

"I don't know what the right answer is, but I do know what the wrong answer is: It is to continue doing what we're doing, when it's not working," Michael Armstrong later told Stupak when asked how the food safety system should be changed.

The popular Peter Pan brand of peanut butter was the subject of a nationwide recall in February after a salmonella outbreak. More than 400 people were sickened, and the recall cost manufacturer ConAgra Foods Inc. between $50 million and $60 million.

Terri Marshall said her mother-in-law, Mora Lou Marshall, has been hospitalized or in a nursing home since early January, after she became seriously ill from eating Peter Pan. The elder Marshall, 85, had kept a jar of the peanut butter on her nightstand to supplement her diet — and had unwittingly continued to eat it, even after she fell ill.

"The very food she thought would improve her health had begun to ravage her body," Terri Marshall said.

Pet food has also had its problems. In March, Menu Foods recalled 60 million cans of dog and cat food after the deaths of 16 pets, mostly cats, that had eaten products contaminated with the chemical melamine. Other companies have since recalled pet foods also tainted by melamine, mixed in with ingredients imported from China.

Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, called on the Chinese to allow FDA inspectors visit the plants where the tainted ingredients were made. The agency has awaited letters from the government needed to obtain visas for its inspectors.

"My message, and I think the message of this subcommittee on a bipartisan basis, to the Chinese government is plain: stop these shenanigans," Barton said.

Witnesses slated to testify later Tuesday included officials from food manufacturers and distributors involved in the recent food recalls.

"I don't see the latest string of incidents as aberrations. It's become a systemic problem and it calls for systemic solutions," said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. Degette has introduced legislation that would give the FDA and Agriculture Department the authority to mandate recalls.

FDA knew of contamination tied to outbreaks

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has known for years about contamination problems at a Georgia peanut butter plant and on California spinach farms that led to disease outbreaks that killed three people, sickened hundreds, and forced one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. history, documents and interviews show.

Overwhelmed by huge growth in the number of food processors and imports, however, the agency took only limited steps to address the problems and relied on producers to police themselves, the documents show.

Congressional critics and consumer advocates said both episodes show that the agency is incapable of protecting the safety of the food supply.

FDA officials conceded that its system needs to be overhauled but denied that the agency could have done anything to prevent either contamination episode because evidence of a truly dangerous situation was not apparent.

Meanwhile, the FDA last week notified California state health officials that hogs on a farm in the state had likely eaten feed laced with melamine, an industrial chemical blamed for the deaths of dozens of pets in recent weeks. Officials are trying to determine whether the chemical's presence in the hogs represents a threat to humans. Pork from animals raised on the farm has been recalled. The FDA has said its inspectors probably wouldn't have found the contaminated food if not for the massive pet food recall.

The outbreaks point to a need to completely overhaul the way the agency does business, said Robert Brackett, director of the FDA's food safety arm, which is responsible for safeguarding 80 percent of the nation's food supply.

"We have 60,000 to 80,000 facilities that we're responsible for in any given year," Brackett said. Explosive growth in the number of processors and the amount of imported foods mean manufacturers "have to build safety into their products rather than us chasing after them," Brackett said. "We have to get out of the 1950s paradigm."

On Tuesday, the House Energy and Commerce committee will hold a hearing into the unprecedented spate of recalls, including the contamination of pet food with melamine.

"This administration does not like regulation, this administration does not like spending money, and it has a hostility toward government. The poisonous result is that a program like the FDA is going to suffer at every turn of the road," said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the panel, who is considering legislation to boost the agency's accountability, regulatory authority and budget.

William Hubbard, who retired as associate FDA commissioner in 2005 and founded the Coalition for a Stronger FDA, said that in the 1970s, the FDA's food safety arm claimed half its budget and personnel.

"Now it's about a quarter at a time in which the problems have grown, the size of the industry has grown and imports of food have skyrocketed," Hubbard said.

Lawyers visit Ga. peanut butter plant

Mon, 09 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

More than a dozen plaintiffs' lawyers and investigators inspected the south Georgia peanut butter plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 400 people nationwide.

Engineers, photographers, mapping specialists, attorneys and videographers on Monday scouted the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in Sylvester, Ga., that produced the Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recalled in February after the outbreak.

The Omaha, Neb.-based company said it traced the salmonella outbreak to roof leak during an August rainstorm and a faulty sprinkler system.

The inspectors also looked at machinery throughout the plant, said one Seattle attoreny, one of several trial lawyers who organized the trip.

"When you do have a factory that's manufacturing this much product, there's some small glitch in the system and it gets amplified," said the Seattle attorney, whose firm is representing more than 5,000 clients.

ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said moisture from faulty sprinklers and a leaky roof likely mixed with dormant salmonella bacteria in the plant that may have come from raw peanuts and peanut dust. Although she said the plant was cleaned thoroughly after the roof leak and sprinkler problem, the salmonella remained and somehow came in contact with peanut butter before it was packaged.

"We may never know the exact details of how it happened," said Childs. "But we know the most probable causes. And part of our renovation plan is to address those most probable causes and take the opportunity to update the entire facility."

The team of inspectors was organized by a handful of law firms that represent the bulk of the cases against ConAgra, but Marler estimates more than 250 law firms may eventually file a claim.

More inspections are likely on the way for ConAgra.

Already, an industrial hygienist and other inspectors are scheduled to visit Sylvester within a week to probe the plant's grinders, roasters and other equipment, said Jerrold Parker, a plaintiff's attorney whose firm is also involved in the inspection.

"It's standard procedure in a case like this," said Parker, from the New York law firm Parker & Waichman, which is representing more than 3,000 clients in the case.

FDA Plans More Peanut Butter Inspections

Sun, 08 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday it will increase the frequency of investigations at plants that make peanut butter and similar products, saying this year's salmonella outbreak showed peanut butter is riskier than health officials had thought.

All Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter that ConAgra Foods Inc. made at its Sylvester, Ga., plant was recalled in February after health officials linked the product to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 400 people nationwide.

"Up until this point, peanut butter has not been considered a high-risk food," said Dr. David Acheson, chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "We now know peanut butter can be a vehicle for salmonella."

Acheson said peanut butter will almost certainly move up on the FDA's list of high-risk foods, and the agency bases its inspection schedule on the relative risk of foods. He said peanut butter is not likely to knock fresh produce off the top of that list, because the risks are highest with foods that don't get cooked later.

For example, three people died last year and more than 200 became sick after eating spinach tainted with E. coli. And Taco Bell blames lettuce contaminated with E. coli for sickening more than 70 people last fall.

"For anybody who makes peanut butter, we've now learned that if there's salmonella in the environment there could be a problem," Acheson said.

That's why Acheson said salmonella infections could happen at other peanut butter plants, but he believes the industry has been paying attention.

"I would be pretty certain that every other peanut butter producer is having the same thought we are and is paying a lot of attention to it to make sure that it doesn't happen," he said.

Officials at Unilever, the company that makes Skippy peanut butter, say they have been monitoring the FDA investigation at ConAgra's plant.

"While we do have very strict manufacturing and supply chain protocols in place, we constantly review them to ensure consumer safety," Unilever spokeswoman Anita Larsen said.

Acheson said the basic process used at all peanut butter plants is similar. They all bring raw peanuts in, roast and grind them, mix and blend them, and put the product in bottles or cans.

"It's a call to all of us to be thinking about if it can happen in the ConAgra plant in Georgia, why couldn't it happen in some other peanut butter plant? And I think the answer is it could," Acheson said.

The explanation for the salmonella outbreak ConAgra officials offered Thursday fits with what the FDA found, Acheson said, but the government investigation has not been completed.

FDA officials will decide whether to pursue any sanctions against ConAgra after the investigation, Acheson said.

"It doesn't automatically follow that a company, just because they had a recalled product that made people sick, did anything wrong that they could have done differently and did it deliberately," Acheson said.

ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said Thursday the company traced the salmonella outbreak to three problems at its Sylvester, Ga., plant last August.

The plant's roof leaked during a rainstorm, and the sprinkler system went off twice because of a faulty sprinkler, which was repaired.

The moisture from those three events mixed with dormant salmonella bacteria in the plant that Childs said likely came from raw peanuts and peanut dust.

The plant was cleaned thoroughly after the roof leak and sprinkler problem, but the salmonella remained and somehow came in contact with peanut butter before it was packaged, she said.

The FDA last inspected the ConAgra plant in 2005 and did not find any problems.

Bacteria in peanut butter linked to leak

Sat, 07 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Moisture from a leaky roof and faulty sprinkler helped salmonella bacteria grow and contaminate peanut butter at its Georgia plant last year, sickening more than 400 people nationwide, ConAgra Foods said.

The Omaha-based company conducted a nearly two-month investigation into the contamination and pledged to ensure that Peter Pan peanut butter is safe when it returns to stores in mid-July.

"Consumer safety and health is our top priority," ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said Thursday. "We plan to do our best to regain consumer trust once Peter Pan returns to stores."

Childs said the company traced the salmonella outbreak to three problems at its Sylvester, Ga., plant last August.

The plant's roof leaked during a rainstorm, and the sprinkler system went off twice because of a faulty sprinkler, which was repaired.

The moisture from those three events mixed with dormant salmonella bacteria in the plant that Childs said likely came from raw peanuts and peanut dust.

The plant was cleaned thoroughly after the roof leak and sprinkler problem, but the salmonella remained and somehow came in contact with peanut butter before it was packaged, she said.

ConAgra recalled all its peanut butter in February after federal health officials linked it to cases of salmonella infection. At least 425 people in 44 states were sickened, and lawsuits have been filed against the company.

The recall covered all Peter Pan peanut butter and all Great Value peanut butter made at the Sylvester plant since October 2004. That plant is ConAgra's only peanut butter plant.

Peanuts grow underground and salmonella is present in the dirt, but generally any bacteria are killed when raw peanuts are roasted.

When making peanut butter, the nuts are again heated above the salmonella-killing temperature of 165 degrees as they are ground into a paste and mixed with other ingredients before being squirted into jars and quickly sealed.

Experts had speculated that salmonella would be most likely to contaminate peanut butter as it cooled and was placed in jars. At most plants, those steps take just minutes.

The company plans to redesign the plant to provide greater separation between raw peanuts and the finished product, Childs said. The plant will also get a new roof.

ConAgra plans to reopen the plant in early August.

Before this recall, none of ConAgra's recent routine testing had detected salmonella, so the company plans to develop a new procedure.

The Food and Drug Administration inspected the plant in February 2005 and found no problems, agency spokesman Michael Herndon has said. He did not immediately return calls Thursday.

ConAgra has hired an experienced microbiologist to oversee food safety, Childs said.

While renovations are being done, Peter Pan will be made at another company's plant, the company said. Childs declined to identify that manufacturing partner and said ConAgra had not decided whether that plant will continue making Peter Pan after its Sylvester factory reopens.

Since the recall shut down production, the Sylvester plant's roughly 100 workers have been paid to do maintenance work. Childs said it's not yet clear how the renovations will affect those employees.

Before the recall, ConAgra sold $150 million worth of peanut butter each year, Childs said.

In addition to peanut butter, the company's brand names include Healthy Choice, Chef Boyardee and Orville Redenbacher.

Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the U.S. and kills about 600. It can cause diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.

ConAgra Foods Blames Moisture From Leaky Roof and Faulty Sprinkler in Its Sylvester, Georgia Plant for Salmonella Outbreak; Parker Waichman Alonso LLP & Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP to Visit Plant This Month to Conduct Independent Inspection

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP (www.yourlawyer.com) and Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP have received permission to visit ConAgra Foods' (NYSE:CAG) manufacturing plant in Sylvester, Georgia. Earlier today, ConAgra Foods blamed the outbreak on moisture from a leaky roof and a faulty sprinkler, which allowed dormant salmonella to infect its peanut butter.

The firms have been contacted by thousands of people who became sick after ingesting contaminated peanut butter manufactured by ConAgra. If you believe you became ill after eating contaminated peanut butter, you can request a free case evaluation by visiting www.peanut-butter-recall.com or www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/peanut_butter_salmonella or by calling 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP and Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP believe an independent investigation is needed to ensure that ConAgra is not minimizing the cause of the contamination, which would ultimately put millions of consumers at risk when the product returns to market. The investigation will be conducted by industry experts over a three day period.

The firms are currently representing thousands of clients affected by contaminated peanut butter, including the family of a woman who died from salmonella-related complications after ingesting Peter Pan peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111. That case was filed last month in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi Delta Division (Docket # 2:07-CV-35-P-A).

Peter Pan and Great Value Product Code 2111 Recalled

On March 1, 2007, the FDA announced it found the strain of salmonella that tainted peanut butter made at the ConAgra Foods plant in Sylvester, Georgia. Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. On February 14, 2007, ConAgra Foods recalled certain lots of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter due to salmonella contamination and widespread reports of related illness in multiple states. The FDA warned the public not to eat Peter Pan or Great Value (a Wal-Mart brand manufactured by ConAgra) peanut butter to avoid becoming sick with Salmonellosis. The recalled peanut butter jars have a product code beginning with "2111" on the jar lid. Consumers are being advised to avoid the recalled peanut butter. This lot of peanut butter was first manufactured in May 2006 and continued through the February, 2007 recall. ConAgra manufactures both the Peter Pan and Great Value brands in the company's Sylvester, Georgia facility. The FDA has sent investigators to ConAgra's processing plant in Sylvester, Georgia to review records, collect product samples and conduct tests for Salmonella Tennessee.

About Parker Waichman Alonso LLP

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP is a leading products liability and personal injury law firm that represents plaintiffs nationwide. The firm has offices in New York and New Jersey. Parker Waichman Alonso LLP has assisted thousands of clients in receiving fair compensation for injuries resulting from defective products, tainted foods, medications and medical devices. For more information on Parker Waichman Alonso LLP please visit: www.yourlawyer.com or call (800) LAW-INFO.

The Parker Waichman Alonso LLP logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3424

About Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP

Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP has represented injury victims and their families for almost three decades. The firm represents victims of serious injury and death resulting from offshore and maritime incidents, automobile accidents, dangerous products, medical negligence, workplace accidents, and environmental exposure to dangerous and toxic substances. Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP is involved in a variety of class actions against manufacturers of dangerous products and unsafe pharmaceutical drugs. For more information on Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP please visit www.nbalawfirm.com.

More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primenewswire.com/ca

CONTACT: Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
          David Krangle, ESQ.
          (800) LAW-INFO
          (800) 529-4636
          info@yourlawyer.com
          www.yourlawyer.com

ConAgra expands peanut butter recall

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin says the current Peter Pan/Great Value peanut butter recall has been expanded to include all peanut butter and toppings produced since October 2004, that have the product code 2111.

In a follow-up to the recent Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing consumers that ConAgra has extended its recall of all Peter Pan peanut butter, and all Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111, including peanut butter toppings, back to October 2004.

The FDA has included the recall as part of an ongoing investigation.

Consumers who have purchased any of the products since October 2004 should discard them. FDA's advice to consumers continues to be not to eat any Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter beginning with the 2111 product code.

Symptoms of food-borne illness caused by Salmonella include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.

Individuals who have recently eaten peanut butter-containing products from these companies and who have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately and report the illnesses to their state or local health authorities.

Company expands peanut butter recall

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

ConAgra Foods Inc. has extended its recall of all peanut butter produced at a plant in Georgia by more than a year, back to October 2004, the Food and Drug Administration reports.

The recall covers all Peter Pan peanut butter and all Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111, including peanut butter toppings.

Peanut butter has a long shelf life, and the FDA’s announcement reflects the ongoing investigation, said ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs. Any peanut butter matching the recall, regardless of the date, can be returned to the place of purchase, or customers can send the lid to ConAgra for a refund.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 425 people have fallen ill from the outbreak of salmonella that has been traced back to the plant in Sylvester, Ga.

In the meantime, peanut butter lovers in Western North Carolina can still get their fix, albeit of other brands.

“We’ve been able to replace the lost volume with other national brands and our own Laura Lynn brand,” said Ron Freeman, chief financial officer of Ingles Markets.

On a recent morning, the Ingles at 915 Merrimon Ave. included four shelves of peanut butter selections, though no Peter Pan brand.

“We haven’t been told when (The ConAgra plant) will reopen or how long it will take after reopening for us to get new shipments of Peter Pan,” said Freeman, who added there has not been any price impact from the recall. The store doesn’t carry the Great Value brand, he said.

Bi-Lo spokeswoman Ann Cheshire said the S.C.–based chain has had no problems stocking the shelves with other brands, a view echoed at the Grove Corner Market. “We don’t seem to be having any trouble,” said staff member Jack Ramshaw.

“If you want peanut butter, it’s out there,” said shopper Kay Dechant of Asheville, who said she purchased some last week.

Peanut butter recall backdated to 2004

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

ConAgra Foods Inc. has extended its recall of all peanut butter produced at a plant in Georgia by more than a year, back to October 2004, the Food and Drug Administration said.

The recall covers all Peter Pan peanut butter and all Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111, including peanut butter toppings.

Any peanut butter matching the recall, regardless of the date, can be returned to the place of purchase, or customers can send the lid to ConAgra for a refund.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 425 people have fallen ill from the outbreak of salmonella that has been traced back to the plant in Sylvester, Ga.

The initial recall by ConAgra, issued Feb. 14, applied to all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made since Dec. 2005.

Peanut Butter Recall Expands as Law Firms Continue to Investigate Salmonella Claims

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

On March 10, 2007, the FDA warned consumers who have purchased Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter products since October 2004 to discard them, and not to eat any peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111. Earlier this month, the FDA said it found the strain of salmonella that tainted peanut butter made at the ConAgra Foods plant in Sylvester, Georgia. Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. On February 14, 2007, ConAgra Foods recalled lots of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter due to salmonella contamination and widespread reports of related illness in multiple states.

The recalled peanut butter jars have a product code beginning with “2111” on the jar lid. Consumers are being advised to avoid the recalled peanut butter. This lot of peanut butter was 1st manufactured in October 2004 and continued through the February, 2007 recall. ConAgra manufactures both the Peter Pan and Great Value brands in the company’s Sylvester, Georgia facility. The FDA has sent investigators to ConAgra’s processing plant in Sylvester, Georgia to review records, collect product samples and conduct tests for Salmonella Tennessee.

Two law firms, Parker Waichman Alonso LLP (www.yourlawyer.com) and Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP, also announced they have expanded their investigation of peanut butter related illnesses to include jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter dating back to October 2004. The law firms decided to expand their investigation after ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) said all peanut butter produced in its Sylvester, Georgia plant since October 2004 should be discarded. The company’s initial recall only covered jars produced since December 2005. The product codes for these jars all start with “2111”.

ConAgra Extends Peanut Butter Recall After Salmonella Scare

Sat, 10 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

ConAgra Foods Inc. has extended its recall of all peanut butter produced at a plant in Georgia by more than a year, back to October 2004, the Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

The recall covers all Peter Pan peanut butter and all Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111, including peanut butter toppings.

Peanut butter has a long shelf life, and the FDA's announcement reflects the ongoing investigation, said ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs. Any peanut butter matching the recall, regardless of the date, can be returned to the place of purchase, or customers can send the lid to ConAgra for a refund.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 425 people have fallen ill from the outbreak of salmonella that has been traced back to the plant in Sylvester, Ga.

The FDA warned consumers who have purchased any of the products since October 2004 to discard them, and not to eat any Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111.

ConAgra on Feb. 14 recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at the Georgia plant after federal health officials linked the product to an outbreak that began in August. At that time the recall applied to all peanut butter made since December 2005.

To obtain a refund, consumers can return the product to the store where they bought it or mail in lids with their names and addresses to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 3768, Omaha, NE 68103.

Food poisoning ID'd in Louisiana

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

One case of salmonella tied to tainted peanut butter made at a ConAgra Foods Inc., plant in Georgia has been identified in Louisiana, the Food and Drug Administration says.

The FDA has identified 425 cases of food poisoning from the peanut butter in 44 states.

On Feb. 14, ConAgra recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at its Sylvester, Ga., plant. Beyond the plant, a strain of salmonella has been isolated from open jars of the company's peanut butter and some of the people who have fallen ill.

Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. Peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter - in Australia during the mid-1990s - was blamed on unsanitary plant conditions.

The FDA is advising consumers not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter and not to eat Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111.

The Peter Pan product is made exclusively at the Sylvester plant, along with the Great Value product with the 2111 product code.

Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers is not affected, the FDA said.

FDA Update on Peanut Butter Recall

Fri, 09 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

As a follow-up to the recent Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is informing consumers that ConAgra has extended their recall of all Peter Pan peanut butter, and all Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111, including peanut butter toppings, back to October 2004. This information was obtained recently as part of the ongoing investigation being conducted by FDA.

Consumers who have purchased any of the products since October 2004 should discard them. FDA's advice to consumers continues to be not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter or any Great Value peanut butter beginning with the 2111 product code.

FDA will provide updates on recalled products, including any other products that may have been made with potentially contaminated peanut butter and distributed to consumers.

Symptoms of foodborne illness caused by Salmonella include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections or death. Individuals who have recently eaten peanut butter-containing products from these companies and who have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately and report the illnesses to their state or local health authorities. Similarly, institutional food establishments and other food service providers who have received reports of illness from consumers after they consumed a product containing this peanut butter are encouraged to share that information with their local health department.

FDA is continuing to work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and with states and local officials to identify how the contamination occurred in order to prevent similar foodborne illness outbreaks.

One case of peanut butter salmonella in Louisiana

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

One case of salmonella tied to tainted peanut butter made at a ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in Georgia has been identified in Louisiana, the Food and Drug Administration says.

The FDA has identified 425 cases of food poisoning from the peanut butter in 44 states.

On Feb. 14, ConAgra recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at its Sylvester, Ga., plant. Beyond the plant, a strain of salmonella has been isolated from open jars of the company's peanut butter and some of the people who have fallen ill.

Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. Peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter in Australia during the mid-1990s was blamed on unsanitary plant conditions.

The FDA is advising consumers not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter and not to eat Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111. The Peter Pan product is made exclusively at the Sylvester plant, along with the Great Value product with the 2111 product code.

Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers is not affected, the FDA said.

Peanut butter sickens Wilmington woman

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

State health officials said a 75-year-old Wilmington woman contracted salmonella by eating peanut butter, giving Delaware its first case in a nationwide outbreak that sickened hundreds.

The woman did not know whether she had eaten Peter Pan or Great Value brand peanut butter. Jars of peanut butter from those brands that have product codes beginning with 2111 have been linked to a nationwide outbreak of salmonella that has sickened 370 people from 42 states.

People who think they've been sickened by eating peanut butter should see their doctor, health officials say.

The woman, who was not identified, recovered from the infection without hospitalization, said Sue Shore, an epidemiologist with the state's public health division. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed Delaware's preliminary analysis that the woman suffered from Salmonella tennessee, which causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramping.

Shore said Salmonella tennessee is rare but exhibits the same symptoms as other types of salmonella. The illness usually lasts four to seven days.

The state's public health division has received more than a dozen calls from consumers who've eaten the peanut butter in question. The agency has run tests on salmonella this year but have no other confirmed cases of the specific strain.

Last year, the public health division had about 150 confirmed or probable cases of all types of salmonella reported to the CDC.

There have been a string of outbreaks of food-borne illnesses in the last seven months, including two E. coli outbreaks and a case of salmonella-tainted tomatoes.

But it's hard to say whether it means that outbreaks are becoming more prevalent, said professor Doug Archer, associate dean for research at the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida.

Archer credits PulseNet with increasing the visibility of outbreaks. Run by the CDC, PulseNet is a national network of public health and food regulatory agency labs that perform special molecular testing of food-borne bacteria. The tests can be used to distinguish strains of organisms such as E. coli and salmonella.

"It can find outbreaks where before we formally couldn't," Archer said. "It doesn't take long now to say that a single case in Delaware is related to a bigger piece of an outbreak going on."

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP and Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP Files Lawsuit Against ConAgra Foods Inc. On Behalf of Daughter of Woman Who Died From Salmonella Poisoning After Eating Peter Pan Peanut Butter

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP (http://www.yourlawyer.com) and Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP have filed a lawsuit against ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE:CAG - News) on behalf of the daughter of a woman who died from Salmonella poisoning after eating Peter Pan peanut butter. The case was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi Delta Division (Docket # 2:07-CV-35-P-A). The suit alleges, amongst other things, that ConAgra's negligence, and its failure to comply with the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et. seq.) contributed to the peanut butter contamination and subsequent outbreak of Salmonella.

Prior to the February 14, 2007 recall, the decedent ingested Peter Pan peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111. Shortly after consuming the peanut butter the decedent began developing symptoms, including fever, vomiting and diarrhea and was hospitalized at the Methodist German Town Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Treatment options were unsuccessful and the woman died from salmonella related complications on February 15, 2007. In addition to the pain and suffering the decedent's family continues to endure, they have also incurred significant medical expenses as a result of this illness and death.

The firms have been contacted by thousands of people who became sick after ingesting contaminated peanut butter manufactured by ConAgra. If you believe you became ill after eating contaminated peanut butter, you can request a free case evaluation by visiting http://www.peanut-butter-recall.com or http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/peanut_butter_salmonella or by calling 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).

Peter Pan and Great Value Product Code 2111 Recalled

On March 1, 2007, the FDA announced it found the strain of salmonella that tainted peanut butter made at the ConAgra Foods plant in Sylvester, Georgia. Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. On February 14, 2007, ConAgra Foods recalled lots of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter due to salmonella contamination and widespread reports of related illness in multiple states. The FDA warned the public not to eat Peter Pan or Great Value (a Wal-Mart brand manufactured by ConAgra) to avoid becoming sick with Salmonellosis. The recalled peanut butter jars have a product code beginning with ``2111'' on the jar lid. Consumers are being advised to avoid the recalled peanut butter. This lot of peanut butter was 1st manufactured in May 2006 and continued through the February, 2007 recall. ConAgra manufactures both the Peter Pan and Great Value brands in the company's Sylvester, Georgia facility. The FDA has sent investigators to ConAgra's processing plant in Sylvester, Georgia to review records, collect product samples and conduct tests for Salmonella Tennessee.

CDC Investigation Into Salmonella Tennessee Outbreak

Salmonella Tennessee is a bacterium that causes illness when ingested. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ``CDC,'' released a study on February 13 that drew the connection between 288 cases of food borne illness in 39 states to consumption of certain types of Peter Pan peanut butter. While most infections seem to be in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri, there are victims in almost every state in the country. The first illness from the current peanut butter epidemic may have occurred in August 2006. As a result of broad epidemiological testing and recent case control studies, the CDC was recently able to identify Peter Pan peanut butter as the likely cause of illness.

About Parker Waichman Alonso LLP

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP is a leading products liability and personal injury law firm that represents plaintiffs nationwide. The firm has offices in New York and New Jersey. Parker Waichman Alonso LLP has assisted thousands of clients in receiving fair compensation for injuries resulting from defective products, tainted foods, medications and medical devices. For more information on Parker Waichman Alonso LLP please visit: http://www.yourlawyer.com or call (800) LAW-INFO.

About Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP

Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP has represented injury victims and their families for almost three decades. The firm represents victims of serious injury and death resulting from offshore and maritime incidents, automobile accidents, dangerous products, medical negligence, workplace accidents, and environmental exposure to dangerous and toxic substances. Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP is involved in a variety of class actions against manufacturers of dangerous products and unsafe pharmaceutical drugs. For more information on Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP please visit http://www.nbalawfirm.com.

More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at http://www.primenewswire.com/ca

Contact:

          Parker Waichman Alonso LLP
          David Krangle, ESQ.
          (800) LAW-INFO
          (800) 529-4636
          info@yourlawyer.com
          www.yourlawyer.com

Daughter of Woman who Died from Contaminated Peter Pan Peanut Butter Files Lawsuit

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Two law firm firms announced today that they filed a lawsuit on behalf of the daughter of a woman who died after consuming Peter Pan peanut butter. In a statement released earlier today the law firms, Parker Waichman Alonso LLP and Neblett, Beard & Arsenault LLP, said the woman ingested Peter Pan peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111. On February 14, 2007, ConAgra Foods recalled lots of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter due to salmonella contamination and widespread reports of related illness in multiple states.

he FDA warned the public not to eat Peter Pan or Great Value (a Wal-Mart brand manufactured by ConAgra) to avoid becoming sick with Salmonellosis. The recalled peanut butter jars have a product code beginning with “2111″ on the jar lid. Consumers are being advised to avoid the recalled peanut butter. This lot of peanut butter was 1st manufactured in May 2006 and continued through the February, 2007 recall. ConAgra manufactures both the Peter Pan and Great Value brands in the company’s Sylvester, Georgia facility. The FDA has sent investigators to ConAgra’s processing plant in Sylvester, Georgia to review records, collect product samples and conduct tests for Salmonella Tennessee. On March 1, 2007, the FDA announced it found the strain of salmonella that tainted peanut butter made at the ConAgra Foods plant in Sylvester, Georgia. Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment.

The case was filed yesterday in Federal court in Mississippi and alleges, amongst other things, that ConAgra’s negligence, and its failure to comply with the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetics Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et. seq.) contributed to the peanut butter contamination and subsequent outbreak of Salmonella. The law firms say they have been contacted by thousands of people claiming to be sickened by the contaminated peanut butter. Consumers can request a legal consultation by visiting www.peanut-butter-recall.com.

Peanut butter taken off local shelves after salmonella scare

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

A Vietnamese distributor has pulled all Peter Pan products from store shelves after reports the brand’s peanut butter may contain salmonella bacteria.

Representatives of the Bao Quang Trading and Manufacturing Company Viet Nam, said the goods, including 720 jars of the likely contaminated peanut butter, were out of grocery stores as of yesterday.

The company is the exclusive distributor of Peter Pan peanut butter in Viet Nam. Peter Pan products used to be sold in many of Ha Noi and HCM City-convenience stores and supermarkets.

The plan of action follows the Viet Nam Food Safety Administration’s warning asking consumers not to buy Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butters suspected of causing a salmonella outbreak in the US.

The organisation made the announcement when the US Embassy in Ha Noi received reports the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), based in the US, traced the cases of food poisoning to the product’s manufacturer, the ConAgra Corporation.

According to a press release, the FDA forced American stories to pull all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butters with product numbers beginning with the number 2111, just before ConAgra put out its own notice February 25.

The FDA is also recommending people throw out any of the brand’s peanut butter purchased since May 2006.

The symptoms of salmonella poisoning include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, said health professionals. The bacteria can be potentially fatal in people with poor health or weakened immune systems.

Salmonella Tennessee Confirmed in Johnson County

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

The Johnson County Health Department (JCHD) has a confirmed case of Salmonella Tennessee which has been linked to recalled peanut butter with the product code "2111". The peanut butter was purchased at a Johnson County grocery store.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued the following warnings:

Not to eat jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter with the product code "2111" due to risk of contamination with Salmonella Tennessee (a bacterium that causes foodborne illness).
Individuals who have recently eaten Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter and have experienced symptoms listed below should contact their physician or health care provider immediately. Save the peanut in case testing is needed.
Consumers should discard any uneaten or unopened jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter with the code "2111".

Symptoms of Salmonella include: fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.

To date, the state of Kansas has confirmed nine cases which can be linked to Salmonella Tennessee.

Salmonella found in the ConAgra Plant

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

As a follow-up to the recent Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is conducting an extensive inspection of ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia processing plant. Samples collected by the FDA revealed the presence of Salmonella. The fact that FDA found Salmonella in the plant environment further suggests that the contamination likely took place prior to the product reaching consumers. Last week, tests by several states identified Salmonella in many open jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recovered from consumers. In these instances, the Salmonella found in the plant and in the open jars matched the outbreak strain recovered from consumers who became ill.

Peanut Butter Toppings Part of Recall

FDA has learned that the ConAgra plant in Sylvester, GA, sent bulk Peter Pan peanut butter to its plant in Humboldt, TN. The three brands described below are part of the original Peter Pan recall. These brands have been recalled and are no longer being sold. However, some consumers may still have these products in their home.

Consumers who have any of the products listed below should discard them. Individuals who are not sure if the purchased product contains the recalled peanut butter topping should contact the store where the product was purchased.

The bulk peanut butter was used to make the following toppings:

Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10.5 oz cans. Sonic outlets used the topping until 2/16/07, when the product was recalled.
The topping was used in the following Sonic products:
Peanut Butter Shake
Peanut Butter Fudge Shake
Peanut Butter Sundae
Peanut Butter Fudge Sundae

Carvel Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans. Carvel used the topping until 2/16/07, when the product was recalled.
The topping was used in the following Carvel ice cream products:

Chocolate Peanut Butter
Peanut Butter Treasure
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae Dasher
Any other customized products containing the Peanut Butter Topping, including peanut butter flavored ice cream in ice cream cakes

J. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans: This topping may be used by retail and restaurant outlets throughout the United States but is not available for direct purchase by the public.

Recall Status and More Information

ConAgra informed the public that it is recalling all Peter Pan peanut butter and all Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111. The company's recall extends to products made since December 2005. FDA's advice to consumers continues to be not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter or any Great Value peanut butter beginning with the 2111 product code.

FDA will provide updates on recalled products, including any other products that may have been made with potentially contaminated peanut butter and distributed to consumers.

Symptoms of foodborne illness caused by Salmonella include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections or death. Individuals who have recently eaten peanut butter-containing products from these companies and who have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately and report the illnesses to their state or local health authorities. Similarly, institutional food establishments and other food service providers who have received reports of illness from consumers after they consumed a product containing this peanut butter are encouraged to share that information with their local health department.

FDA is continuing to work closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and with states and local officials to identify how the contamination occurred in order to prevent similar foodborne illness outbreaks.

FDA links plant to salmonella strain

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Federal inspectors found the strain of salmonella behind a recent food-poisoning outbreak at the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant that made the tainted peanut butter, the Food and Drug Administration said Thursday.

Beyond the Sylvester, Ga., plant, the strain also has been isolated from open jars of the company's peanut butter and some of the 370 people who have fallen ill in the outbreak, the FDA said.

ConAgra on Feb. 14 recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at the Georgia plant after federal health officials linked the product to an outbreak that began in August. The recall now includes all such products made since December 2005, the FDA said.

"The fact that FDA found salmonella in the plant environment further suggests that the contamination likely took place prior to the product reaching consumers," the agency said in a statement.

On Thursday, the FDA said the company had sent bulk Peter Pan peanut butter to its plant in Humboldt, Tenn. There, it was incorporated into various ice cream, sundae and shake toppings. Health officials warned the public to discard the products, some of which have been recalled.

The products are:

Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10.5 oz cans. Sonic outlets used the topping until Feb. 16, when the product was recalled.
Carvel Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans. Carvel also used the topping until Feb. 16, when it too was recalled.
J. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans. The topping is used by retail outlets and restaurants nationwide but is not available for direct purchase by the public, the FDA said.

Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. Peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter in Australia during the mid-1990s was blamed on unsanitary plant conditions.

FDA Finds Salmonella Contamination at ConAgra Plant

Thu, 01 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0800

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that an inspection of ConAgra’s production facility in Sylvester, Georgia, revealed evidence of salmonella contamination. The samples taken matched the strain of salmonella that was found in jars of contaminated Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter.

“The fact that FDA found salmonella in the plant environment further suggests that the contamination likely took place prior to the product reaching consumers,” the agency noted.

The FDA also reminded consumers that the product recall extends to three brands of peanut-butter toppings that were made with bulk peanut butter from the ConAgra plant: Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter (6 lb. 10.5 oz cans), Carvel Peanut Butter Topping (6 lb. 10 oz. cans), and J. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping (6 lb. 10 oz. cans).

CDC: Salmonella Cases Hit 370

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

The number of illnesses resulting from salmonella contamination in jars of peanut butter has climbed to 370, federal health officials said.

The number is up from 329 confirmed cases last week. Forty-two states have confirmed cases, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ConAgra Foods Inc. on Feb. 14 recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at its Sylvester, Ga., plant after federal health officials linked the product to an outbreak of an unusual type of salmonella that has sickened people since August.

Sixty people have been hospitalized, but there have been no deaths, CDC officials said.

The recall has been widely reported and prompted lawsuits. It's likely that additional cases are due to raised awareness and not recent illnesses, CDC spokesman Dave Daigle said Tuesday.

"There may be a few weeks from when a case occurs to when it is officially reported, so we would attribute this rise in the case count to a reporting phenomenon rather than a new spike in cases," he said.

Government and industry officials have said the contamination may have been caused by dirty jars or equipment. Peanuts are usually heated to high, germ-killing temperatures during the manufacturing process. The only known salmonella outbreak in peanut butter in Australia during the mid-1990s was blamed on unsanitary plant conditions.

Shoppers are being asked to toss out jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter with a product code on the lid beginning with "2111." The jars or their lids can be returned to the store where they were purchased for a refund.

CDC Issues Update About Salmonella Outbreak

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this week that the number of patients affected by the recent salmonella outbreak has risen to 370, and incidents have been reported in 42 states. The CDC and FDA are asking consumers to refrain from eating all jars of Peter Pan peanut butter, along with certain lots of Great Value peanut butter (product code starting with 2111) that are produced at the same Georgia facility.

Although the first patients fell ill as far back as August, the majority of cases have occurred in the past three months and as recently as two weeks ago. According to the CDC, most patients infected with salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours after infection, and the effects usually last four to seven days. Although most people recover without treatment, the elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more susceptible to severe illness.

Last week, the CDC confirmed that the outbreak was connected to tainted peanut butter made at a ConAgra plant in Sylvester, Georgia. A recall of the product has expanded internationally as authorities try to ascertain just how the contamination occurred. Several lawsuits have been filed against the producer, including one brought by the family of Roberta Barkay, a Pennsylvania woman who died last month, alleging that Barkay’s death resulted from consuming the company’s salmonella contaminated peanut butter. The couple is claiming negligence and wrongful death and seeking unspecified damages.

Child's illness linked to peanut butter

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Recalled peanut butter is suspected in a child's illness in Stutsman county.

The child, who is less than 10 years old, was diagnosed with a strain of salmonella similar to the strain responsible for the outbreak linked to peanut butter, said Kirby Kruger, North Dakota Department of Health epidemiologist.

"We are not surprised to see we have a case of salmonella potentially linked to peanut butter," Kruger said. "The good news is that the child is recovering."

The child was not hospitalized. He had eaten Peter Pan peanut butter before becoming ill. Peter Pan and Great Value brands were affected by the salmonella outbreak.

Symptoms of salmonella include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, vomiting and fever.

"The symptoms are similar to those caused by other bacteria and viruses," Kruger said.

The only way to tell is to grow the virus from a sample, he said. The department of health did lab tests on the sample, and it will test the peanut butter.

Children and the elderly are particularly susceptible to salmonella. It can infect the bloodstream and can cause a person to be hospitalized.

The peanut butter affected by the outbreak is Great Value peanut butter with lot number 2111 or Peter Pan peanut butter purchased since May 2006.

The health department is advising people who ate peanut butter and became ill to visit their healthcare provider and the department of health. The peanut butter should be kept for testing.

Global Peanut Butter Warning: Salmonella-Tainted Product Recalled In 60 Countries

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Tainted peanut butter that caused salmonella in 41 of the 50 U.S. states also was sold in more than 60 other countries on three other continents and islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific, the manufacturer says.

It was sold in Iraq, Iceland, India, American Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, Netherlands Antilles, South Korea, Singapore, Brazil, Belize, Africa, Europe, and South America.

Stephanie Childs, a spokeswoman for the manufacturer, ConAgra Foods Inc., said Monday that word of the problem with the tainted peanut butter has gone out everywhere peanut butter is sold under the Peter Pan and Great Value label: If the top on the jar has a number starting with ''2111,'' do not eat it.

''This is a full recall, including all the product,'' Childs said.

The code designates the packing plant where the product originated, in Sylvester, Ga. Georgia produces about 40 percent of the U.S. yield of peanuts.

In the U.S., the tainted peanut butter has been blamed for sickening 329 people in 41 states since August. Salmonella is a bacterium found in feces that can cause severe diarrhea.

During the weekend, China announced a recall of the peanut butter. The official Xinhua news agency said three batches of the two brands were imported between September and January, totaling 742 cases.

The agency said at least 156 cases already had been sold in Beijing, and even though the lids had the suspect code, no one had reported being sickened by the peanut butter.

ConAgra's Web site advises consumers who identify the possibly tainted product from its lid to discard it, saving the lid or label to submit for a refund. Those should be mailed to distributors listed for each country on the Web site, the company said.

China recalls peanut butter

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

China is recalling U.S. peanut butter following the manufacturer's announcement that certain batches had been tainted with salmonella, state media said Sunday.

ConAgra Foods Inc. last week recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter made at its Sylvester, Georgia plant after health officials linked the product to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 329 people in the United States since August.

China imported three batches of the two peanut butter brands in September and December of 2006 and January of 2007, totaling 742 cases, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

At least 156 cases have already been sold in Beijing, it said. Xinhua did not say if there had been any reports of people getting sick in China from eating the peanut butter.

Peter Pan Recall Lawsuit Peanut Butter Salmonella Lawyer

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 00:00:00 -0800

Lawyers Representing Peanut Butter Salmonella Victims

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP is currently evaluating thousands of cases of peanut butter related salmonella. If you or a loved one has eaten Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter, contact the lawyers at Parker Waichman Alonso LLP to have your case evaluated for free. Parker Waichman Alonso LLP has already filed lawsuits against Conagra Food Inc., the manufacturers of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butters, and intends to file many additional claims in the coming weeks.

Cause of Peanut Butter Salmonella Found
U.S. health officials stated on March 1, 2007, that a bacteria linked to contaminated peanut butter that sickened hundreds of people has been traced to a plant owned by ConAgra Foods Inc. where it was made. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it discovered the salmonella bacteria during an inspection of the now shut down plant in Sylvester, Georgia that made Peter Pan brand peanut butter and the Great Value brand sold by Wal-Mart Inc.

"The fact that FDA found Salmonella in the plant environment further suggests that the contamination likely took place prior to the product reaching consumers," the agency said. The bacteria infection can cause abdominal cramps, diarrhea and fever. While it can usually be treated with antibiotics and hydration, it can cause a small number of people to develop Reiter's syndrome that leads to painful joints and urination complications.

Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter Linked to Salmonella
On February 14, 2007, the FDA warned consumers not to eat certain jars of Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter due to risk of contamination with Salmonella Tennessee. The contaminated jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butters have a product code located on the lid of the jar that begins with the number 2111. ConAgra manufactures both the Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter in a single facility in Sylvester, Georgia. Great Value (a Wal-Mart brand) peanut butter made elsewhere is not affected. Consumers have been told to throw away either of these peanut butter brands if they were purchased since May 2006.

CDC Study Links Peter Pan Peanut Butter for 288 Salmonella Cases
The FDA's warning is based on a new study released on February 13, 2007 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state and local health agencies. The study connects 288 cases of food borne illness in 39 states to consumption of certain types of Peter Pan peanut butter. While most infections seem to be in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri, there are victims in many other states. The first illness from the current peanut butter epidemic may have come in August 2006. As a result of broad epidemiological testing and recent case control studies, the CDC was recently able to identify Peter Pan peanut butter as the likely cause of illness. The number of sick people has now risen to 329 across 41 states.

Peter Pan and Great Value Peanut Butter Recalled
ConAgra is in the process of recalling all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter beginning with product code 2111 that were already distributed. The FDA has sent investigators to ConAgra's processing plant in Sylvester, Georgia to review records, collect product samples and conduct tests for Salmonella Tennessee.

Salmonella / Salmonellosis Symptoms
    * Fever
    * Headache
    * Diarrhea
    * Abdominal Cramping
    * Vomiting and Nausea
    * Dehydration

In individuals with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, Salmonella can enter the bloodstream from the intestines and cause life-threatening infections. This infection can sometimes be treated with antibiotics. Individuals who have recently eaten Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter and have experienced any adverse symptoms should contact a physician.

Reiter's Syndrome
Contaminated peanut butter has also been linked to Reiter's syndrome, a reactive arthritis casused by inflammation of the joints caused by certain bacterial infections. The condition occurs after a bacteria, in this case salmonella, travels through the body to a joint or joints. The person may have already been treated for the initial infection, and there may be a delay of weeks before the symptoms of reactive arthritis show themselves. Reiter's syndrome is said to occur when reactive arthritis is evident and at least one other non-joint area, such as the eyes, skin or muscles, is affected.

Attorneys for Salmonella Victims
If you or a loved recently ate Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter and suffered Salmonella poisoning (Salmonellosis), you may have valuable legal rights, please fill out the form at the right for a free evaluation by a qualified attorney. Alternatively, call our toll free number: 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636)

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