Peanut butter trips up produce packs

TK: The recent travails of peanut butter linked to salmonella have disturbed the otherwise placid waters of produce safety. From the FDA Web site:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- IRWINDALE, Calif., January 20, 2009 -- After receiving notification from one of its suppliers, Ready Pac Foods, Inc. is announcing that they are initiating a voluntary recall of certain products containing peanut butter that may have been contaminated with Salmonella. These products have been distributed to different retailers in the states of California, Utah, Illinois, Washington, Texas, New Jersey, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maryland. This recall is part of a nationwide recall initiated by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).

Ready Pac has earned an outstanding food safety record for over 40 years and out of an abundance of caution has taken this immediate action in the interest of public health and safety.

We notified all of our customers who have received the products in question and directed them to remove products from their shelves. Neither Ready Pac nor its customers have received any reports of illness connected to any of these products.

It is possible that some products may have already been purchased by consumers and therefore anyone who has purchased the following products with the expiration dates listed should dispose of the product or return the product to the store for a full refund. No other products are impacted in this recall.

• Ready Pac Cool Cuts Celery with Peanut Butter 12/6.75 oz
  By Dates of 12/27/08 to 2/2/09 and UPC: 077745-22415-2
• Trader Joe's Celery with Peanut Butter 12/6.75 oz
  By Dates of 12/27/08 to 2/2/09 and UPC: 0048-5401
• Trader Joe's Celery with Peanut Butter 30/6.75 oz
  By Dates of 12/27/08 to 2/2/09 and UPC: 0048-5401
• Eating Right Apples with Peanut Butter 12/6.75 oz
  By Dates of 12/27/08 to 2/2/09 and UPC: 0-79893-70175-2
• Eating Right Celery with Peanut Butter 12/6.75 oz
  By Dates of 12/27/08 to 2/2/09 and UPC: 0-79893-70172-1

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.