Salmonella recall of peanut products

The recall of Salmonella products has continued to expand over the past several weeks, as the CDC has traced the national Salmonella outbreak upstream to a particular plant  in Blakely, Georgia, owned by a particular manufacturer, Peanut Corporation of America,  and then downstream to various products containing peanut paste which was produced at the subject plant.  Originally it was thought that the Salmonella contamination was limited to institutional packages of peanut butter, but now more than 100 products that include peanut paste have been identified and recalled. 

Nutrisystem has recalled peanut butter granola bars and PetSmart has recalled dog biscuits.  Kellogg has recalled crackers, including those sold under the Keebler brand.  The FDA has set up a website database to enable consumers to identify the 125+ products that have been identified as tainted.  The outbreak is known to have made almost 500 people ill and six people are known to have died.  The identified plant has suspended production.  CDC investigators said that Salmonella is a particular problem in peanut butter production because peanut butter cannot be heated again after roasting:  it becomes unpalatable.  The bacteria, which is present on many agricultural products including peanuts, must be eliminated in the roasting process.  The FDA database for peanut products is http://tinyurl.com/8s3mwr.