King Nut Companies of Solon, Ohio, recalled the brand of peanut butter that tested positive for salmonella bacteria. Minnesota investigators found that the majority of people with recent salmonella infections had eaten King Nut brand.

 

Peanut butter may be the source of infection for almost 400 people in 42 states. The first case was reported September 3, but most cases occurred between October and the end of December. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, California has the largest number of cases, 55, followed by Ohio, 53, and Massachusetts, with 39. Minnesota has 30 cases, ten of them being found in nursing homes and most of the other 20 in schools or hospitals.

 

The brand is primarily used to school, hospitals and restaurants, according to the Minnesota Dept. of Health. They are not sold directly to consumers. The peanut butter was distributed through food service providers based only in Ohio, Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Arizona, Idaho, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Florida.

 

Minnesota investigators had obtained the tub of peanut butter that tested positive for salmonella from a senior care facility that had several residents infected with the outbreak strain of salmonella typhimurium. Salmonella Typhimurium is one of the most common types of the 2,500 known types of this infection. However, the symptoms are usually the same in all types of infection with this bacterium. Patients usually develop diarrhea, fever and experience abdominal cramps 12 to 17 hours after the infection.

 

King Nut Companies said that it asked costumers to stop distributing all peanut butter under its King Nut and Parnell’s Pride Brands with a specific code that begins with “8.” Martin Kanan, president of King Nut Companies released a statement saying “we are very sorry this happened. We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority.”

Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, generally lasting from four to seven days. Even if most people recover without medical attention, in the very young, very old and those with impaired immune systems it can develop into a severe illness. Consumers can reduce their risk from foodborne illness by following safe food-handling recommendations and avoiding the consumption of unpasteurized milk, raw or undercooked oysters, raw or undercooked eggs, raw or undercooked ground beef, and undercooked poultry. Keep raw meats, fish and poultry from other food that will not be cooked.

 

Most people recover from salmonella illness without special treatment, but cases of severe diarrhea require medical attention and there’s a risk of infection spreading from the intestines to the bloodstream, a condition that could turn fatal.

The current outbreak follows another salmonella outbreak, when salmonella Saintpaul caused more than 1,400 illnesses all over the United States from April through August last year. The salmonella problem was first associated to tomatoes, but the CDC later identified jalapeno peppers as the source of the outbreak.

An outbreak of salmonella was linked to Peter Pan brand peanut butter in 2007.