Dover Veterinary Hospital Blog
Peanut Butter/Nut Butter RECALL
The large-scale recall for Trader Joe's-brand Valencia peanut butter,
announced Saturday, now applies to nut butter sold under 14 different
brand names at stores around the country, including almond butter and
peanut butter with flaxseed sold under Target's in-store brand Archer
Farms.
So far, only the Trader Joe's peanut butter has been linked to
salmonella illnesses. But butters from all the named brands were made
on the same line of a factory owned by Portales, N.M.-based nut butter
maker Sunland Inc., so the company opted to pull all the possibly
affected products from shelves. (You can find a full list of the
products being recalled at the bottom of this article.)
Sunland spokeswoman Katalin Coburn described the move as "a huge and
possibly overkill step" in a conversation with The Huffington Post,
but she also noted that the salmonella strain found in the Trader
Joe's peanut butter had been identified as "particularly cunning" and
hard to detect by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Coburn pointed to the fact that Sunland's food safety testing
procedures had failed to detect any salmonella before it sickened at
least 29 people in 18 states as evidence of the elusiveness of the
strain. "None of the peanut butter that has been shipped has been
tested positive, which makes it so darn frustrating," she said.
Sunland has not yet been able to identify the source of the salmonella
contamination, Coburn said, but added that the company is working
closely with the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration to do so.
Neither Trader Joe's nor Target responded to a request for comment
from The Huffington Post.
Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food
Safety, said that peanut butter has traditionally been an extremely
unlikely vector for salmonella outbreaks, noting that only four such
outbreaks (including the one in process) have been linked to the
spread in history. Peanuts, he explained, are roasted before being
ground into butter, virtually guaranteeing that any salmonella that
might have been picked up on the farm is killed.
"If you roast properly, then that should take care of the problem of
the nuts being contaminated by the salmonella in the field," Doyle
said
That means any salmonella that makes it into peanut butter is more
likely the result of an inadequate cooking process or contamination
after roasting, according to Doyle. He said that it was impossible,
without visiting the Sunland plant, to say which might have led to the
current recall.
Doyle added that peanut butter does make a good vessel for salmonella
if it is introduced at some stage of manufacture. Although there's not
enough water in peanut butter to allow salmonella to grow, individual
bacteria can live for months, or even years, trapped in the peanut
oil. Then, once an unwitting victim eats the salmonella-infected
spread, the salmonella can grow in the small intestine, potentially
causing disease.
"Very small numbers of salmonella can produce illness in these fatty
products," Doyle said.
In other words, although the Trader Joe's peanut butter is the only
one linked to any illness, it's probably wise to discard any product
on the list of recalled nut butters. It's not yet clear how much
peanut butter is affected by the recall or how much the recall will
ultimately cost Sunland.
The recall applies to nut butters with the following names, jar sizes
and UPC numbers and with sell-by dates between May 1, 2013, and Sept.
24, 2013. Customers who've already purchased such products should
throw them away and contact Sunland's 24/7 recall hotline at
1-866-837-1018:
Archer Farms Creamy Almond Butter, 16 oz 8523902334
Archer Farms Peanut Butter with Flax Seeds, 16 oz
8523902333
Earth Balance Natural Almond Butter and Flaxseed, 16 oz
3377610090
Fresh & Easy Crunchy Almond Butter, 16 oz
051379022518
Fresh & Easy Organic Creamy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 16 oz
20003357
Fresh & Easy Creamy Peanut Butter, 18 oz
20003364
Fresh & Easy Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 16 oz
20003388
Fresh & Easy Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 oz
051379026431
Fresh & Easy Creamy Almond Butter, 16 oz
20003395
Fresh & Easy Organic Creamy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 16 oz
20003357
Fresh & Easy Crunchy Peanut Butter, 18 oz
20003371
Heinen's All Natural Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
2060140048
Heinen's All Natural Peanut Butter, Crunchy, 16 oz
2060140047
Heinen's Organic Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
2060140046
Heinen's Organic Peanut Butter, Crunchy, 16 oz
2060140045
Joseph's Salt-Free No Sugar Added New Crunchy Valencia Peanut Butter, 18 oz
3307915073
Joseph's Salt-Free No Sugar Added New Creamy Valencia Peanut Butter, 18 oz
3307915072
Natural Value Creamy Peanut Butter/Salt, 15 lb
910053
Natural Value Crunchy Peanut Butter/Salt, 15 lb
910060
Naturally More Organic Peanut Butter, 16 oz
5859500020
Naturally More Almond Butter, 16 oz
5859500019
Naturally More Peanut Butter Crunchy, 16 oz
5859500033
Naturally More Peanut Butter, Gluten Free Vegan, 26 oz
5859500055
Naturally More Peanut Butter, Gluten Free Vegan, 16 oz
5859500050
Open Nature Crunchy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7989311202
Open Nature Old Fashioned Creamy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7989311201
Peanut Power Butter, Original Formula, 16 oz
5855200003
Peanut Power Butter, Original Formula, 4 lb
5855200007
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Almond Butter Creamy, 12 oz
4792100442
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Organic No-Stir Peanut Butter, Crunchy, 16 oz
4792100439
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Organic No-Stir Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
4792100438
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Organic Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
4792100436
Serious Food, Silly Prices, No-Stir Peanut Butter, Crunchy, 16 oz
4792100435
Serious Food, Silly Prices, No-Stir Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
4792100434
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
4792100432
Snaclite Power PB, 16 oz
8506000004
Sprout's Farmers Market Creamy Peanut Butter, No Salt, 16 oz
7487500334
Sprout's Farmers Market Crunchy Peanut Butter, No Salt, 16 oz
7487500335
Sprout's Creamy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7487500336
Sprout's Crunchy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7487500337
Sprout's Creamy Almond Butter, 16 oz
7487500433
Sprout's Crunchy Almond Butter, 16 oz
7487500434
Sprout's Creamy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7487500431
Sunland Natural Peanut Butter Crunchy Valencia No Stir, 16 oz
4868787906
Sunland Natural Peanut Butter Creamy Valencia No Stir, 16 oz
4868786906
Sunland Natural Peanut Butter Creamy Salt Free Valencia, 16 oz
4868722906
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 40 oz
4868709915
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 12 oz
4868726910
Sunland Valencia Peanut Butter, 36 oz
4868785920
Sunland Dark Roast Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
062725
Sunland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
4868730725
Sunland Pecan Deluxe Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
029725
Sunland Pecan Deluxe Crunchy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
028725
Sunland Creamy Dark Roast Peanut Butter, 500 lb
26570
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 18 oz
4868726909
Sunland Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, 18 oz
4868767909
Sunland Valencia Peanut Sauce, 36 oz
4868785920
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
22725
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 5 lb
22704
Sunland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
4868722715
Sunland Crunchy Peanut Butter, 15 lb
4868721722
Sunland Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, 5 lb
48687009704
Sunland Creamy Natural Stabilizer Peanut Butter, 50 lb
4868790301
Sunland Crunchy Natural Stabilized Peanut Butter, 40 lb
87725
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 35 lb
4868786724
Sunland Creamy No Stir Peanut Butter, 5 lb
4868786704
Sunland Extra Stabilized Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, 50 lb
4868784301
Sunland Crunchy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
21705
Crunchy Sugar Butter, 5 lb
25704
Creamy Sugar Butter, 5 lb
26704
Sunland Almond Butter, 5 lb
072704
Dogsbutter RUC with Flax PB, 16 oz
003050
Sunland Natural Almond Butter, Creamy Roasted Almond, 16 oz
4868772906
Trader Joe's Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds, Crunchy
and Salted, 16 oz
00989275
Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 16 oz
00971119
Trader Joe's Almond Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds, Crunchy & Salted, 16 oz
00940795
announced Saturday, now applies to nut butter sold under 14 different
brand names at stores around the country, including almond butter and
peanut butter with flaxseed sold under Target's in-store brand Archer
Farms.
So far, only the Trader Joe's peanut butter has been linked to
salmonella illnesses. But butters from all the named brands were made
on the same line of a factory owned by Portales, N.M.-based nut butter
maker Sunland Inc., so the company opted to pull all the possibly
affected products from shelves. (You can find a full list of the
products being recalled at the bottom of this article.)
Sunland spokeswoman Katalin Coburn described the move as "a huge and
possibly overkill step" in a conversation with The Huffington Post,
but she also noted that the salmonella strain found in the Trader
Joe's peanut butter had been identified as "particularly cunning" and
hard to detect by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Coburn pointed to the fact that Sunland's food safety testing
procedures had failed to detect any salmonella before it sickened at
least 29 people in 18 states as evidence of the elusiveness of the
strain. "None of the peanut butter that has been shipped has been
tested positive, which makes it so darn frustrating," she said.
Sunland has not yet been able to identify the source of the salmonella
contamination, Coburn said, but added that the company is working
closely with the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration to do so.
Neither Trader Joe's nor Target responded to a request for comment
from The Huffington Post.
Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food
Safety, said that peanut butter has traditionally been an extremely
unlikely vector for salmonella outbreaks, noting that only four such
outbreaks (including the one in process) have been linked to the
spread in history. Peanuts, he explained, are roasted before being
ground into butter, virtually guaranteeing that any salmonella that
might have been picked up on the farm is killed.
"If you roast properly, then that should take care of the problem of
the nuts being contaminated by the salmonella in the field," Doyle
said
That means any salmonella that makes it into peanut butter is more
likely the result of an inadequate cooking process or contamination
after roasting, according to Doyle. He said that it was impossible,
without visiting the Sunland plant, to say which might have led to the
current recall.
Doyle added that peanut butter does make a good vessel for salmonella
if it is introduced at some stage of manufacture. Although there's not
enough water in peanut butter to allow salmonella to grow, individual
bacteria can live for months, or even years, trapped in the peanut
oil. Then, once an unwitting victim eats the salmonella-infected
spread, the salmonella can grow in the small intestine, potentially
causing disease.
"Very small numbers of salmonella can produce illness in these fatty
products," Doyle said.
In other words, although the Trader Joe's peanut butter is the only
one linked to any illness, it's probably wise to discard any product
on the list of recalled nut butters. It's not yet clear how much
peanut butter is affected by the recall or how much the recall will
ultimately cost Sunland.
The recall applies to nut butters with the following names, jar sizes
and UPC numbers and with sell-by dates between May 1, 2013, and Sept.
24, 2013. Customers who've already purchased such products should
throw them away and contact Sunland's 24/7 recall hotline at
1-866-837-1018:
Archer Farms Creamy Almond Butter, 16 oz 8523902334
Archer Farms Peanut Butter with Flax Seeds, 16 oz
8523902333
Earth Balance Natural Almond Butter and Flaxseed, 16 oz
3377610090
Fresh & Easy Crunchy Almond Butter, 16 oz
051379022518
Fresh & Easy Organic Creamy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 16 oz
20003357
Fresh & Easy Creamy Peanut Butter, 18 oz
20003364
Fresh & Easy Organic Crunchy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 16 oz
20003388
Fresh & Easy Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 oz
051379026431
Fresh & Easy Creamy Almond Butter, 16 oz
20003395
Fresh & Easy Organic Creamy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 16 oz
20003357
Fresh & Easy Crunchy Peanut Butter, 18 oz
20003371
Heinen's All Natural Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
2060140048
Heinen's All Natural Peanut Butter, Crunchy, 16 oz
2060140047
Heinen's Organic Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
2060140046
Heinen's Organic Peanut Butter, Crunchy, 16 oz
2060140045
Joseph's Salt-Free No Sugar Added New Crunchy Valencia Peanut Butter, 18 oz
3307915073
Joseph's Salt-Free No Sugar Added New Creamy Valencia Peanut Butter, 18 oz
3307915072
Natural Value Creamy Peanut Butter/Salt, 15 lb
910053
Natural Value Crunchy Peanut Butter/Salt, 15 lb
910060
Naturally More Organic Peanut Butter, 16 oz
5859500020
Naturally More Almond Butter, 16 oz
5859500019
Naturally More Peanut Butter Crunchy, 16 oz
5859500033
Naturally More Peanut Butter, Gluten Free Vegan, 26 oz
5859500055
Naturally More Peanut Butter, Gluten Free Vegan, 16 oz
5859500050
Open Nature Crunchy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7989311202
Open Nature Old Fashioned Creamy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7989311201
Peanut Power Butter, Original Formula, 16 oz
5855200003
Peanut Power Butter, Original Formula, 4 lb
5855200007
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Almond Butter Creamy, 12 oz
4792100442
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Organic No-Stir Peanut Butter, Crunchy, 16 oz
4792100439
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Organic No-Stir Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
4792100438
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Organic Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
4792100436
Serious Food, Silly Prices, No-Stir Peanut Butter, Crunchy, 16 oz
4792100435
Serious Food, Silly Prices, No-Stir Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
4792100434
Serious Food, Silly Prices, Peanut Butter, Creamy, 16 oz
4792100432
Snaclite Power PB, 16 oz
8506000004
Sprout's Farmers Market Creamy Peanut Butter, No Salt, 16 oz
7487500334
Sprout's Farmers Market Crunchy Peanut Butter, No Salt, 16 oz
7487500335
Sprout's Creamy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7487500336
Sprout's Crunchy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7487500337
Sprout's Creamy Almond Butter, 16 oz
7487500433
Sprout's Crunchy Almond Butter, 16 oz
7487500434
Sprout's Creamy Peanut Butter, 16 oz
7487500431
Sunland Natural Peanut Butter Crunchy Valencia No Stir, 16 oz
4868787906
Sunland Natural Peanut Butter Creamy Valencia No Stir, 16 oz
4868786906
Sunland Natural Peanut Butter Creamy Salt Free Valencia, 16 oz
4868722906
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 40 oz
4868709915
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 12 oz
4868726910
Sunland Valencia Peanut Butter, 36 oz
4868785920
Sunland Dark Roast Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
062725
Sunland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
4868730725
Sunland Pecan Deluxe Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
029725
Sunland Pecan Deluxe Crunchy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
028725
Sunland Creamy Dark Roast Peanut Butter, 500 lb
26570
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 18 oz
4868726909
Sunland Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, 18 oz
4868767909
Sunland Valencia Peanut Sauce, 36 oz
4868785920
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
22725
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 5 lb
22704
Sunland Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
4868722715
Sunland Crunchy Peanut Butter, 15 lb
4868721722
Sunland Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, 5 lb
48687009704
Sunland Creamy Natural Stabilizer Peanut Butter, 50 lb
4868790301
Sunland Crunchy Natural Stabilized Peanut Butter, 40 lb
87725
Sunland Creamy Peanut Butter, 35 lb
4868786724
Sunland Creamy No Stir Peanut Butter, 5 lb
4868786704
Sunland Extra Stabilized Organic Creamy Peanut Butter, 50 lb
4868784301
Sunland Crunchy Peanut Butter, 40 lb
21705
Crunchy Sugar Butter, 5 lb
25704
Creamy Sugar Butter, 5 lb
26704
Sunland Almond Butter, 5 lb
072704
Dogsbutter RUC with Flax PB, 16 oz
003050
Sunland Natural Almond Butter, Creamy Roasted Almond, 16 oz
4868772906
Trader Joe's Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds, Crunchy
and Salted, 16 oz
00989275
Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter with Sea Salt, 16 oz
00971119
Trader Joe's Almond Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds, Crunchy & Salted, 16 oz
00940795
