Washington state residents urged to check all peanut products
Washington state residents should not eat any peanut products until they’re sure the products are not part of nationwide recall of peanut-containing products due to concerns they may be contaminated with Salmonella, Washington State Department of Health Officials warned today.
To date, 15 Washington residents have contracted the infection. Nationwide 550 cases have been identified. About one in five of those have needed to be hospitalized. At least eight patients have died.
State officials are concerned that Washington residents are not aware how broad the recall has become and urge them to make sure any peanut-containing products they have are not on the recall list before eating them.
In addition to food items, certain pet foods and pet treats have been recalled and should be discarded. Anyone handling these products should wash their hands afterwards.
A list of recalled products sold in Washington has been posted online on the Department of Health’s website.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has set up an online list of peanut butter-containing products that have been recalled nationwide.
The list is searchable by brand name (such as “Keebler”), by description (such as “Crackers with Peanut Butter), by Universal Product Code (UPC), the unique identifying number on which barcodes are based, or any combination of brandname, description or UPC code.
Certain pet foods and treats have also been recalled and should be discarded.
To view and search the list go to: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm
Specifically the CDC warns consumers:
- Consumers who have recalled products in their homes should discard those
products.
- Consumers also should avoid eating products made with peanut butter,
peanut paste, or other peanut-containing products if they are unsure whether
these products have been recalled.
- National brands of jarred peanut butter sold in grocery stores have not been
implicated in this outbreak.
- Consumers with pets should know that some pet foods and pet treats may contain peanut butter, including dog biscuits and bird food. If you have a recalled pet product in your household, do not feed it to your pet or other animals. For more information about this outbreak and your pet, you may visit Questions and Answers Related to theSalmonella Typhimurium Outbreak and Pets.
- To determine whether a product has been recalled, consumers can search the
list of recalled products at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website or
telephone the company that distributed the product at the phone number on the
package.
- Consumers without internet access can telephone 1-800-CDC-INFO
(1-800-232-4636), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for product recall information
from the FDA website and for other information on salmonellosis.
- Persons who think they might have become ill from eating peanut butter or
peanut-containing products should consult their health-careproviders.
- Infants, elderly persons, and persons with impaired immune systems are more
likely than others to develop severe illness.
Salmonella is a bacteria which causes a gastrointestinal infection. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), People infected with the bacteria typically develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12-72 hours after infection.
Most people recover within 4 to 7 days without treatment, but infants, the elderly, and those with impaired immune systems are at risk of developing more severe infections in which the bacteria enters the bloodstream and infects other parts of the body, the CDC warns.
Such infections can be fatal and should be treated with antibiotics, the CDC says.
PHOTO CREDIT: CDC
To learn more:
- Read more of LocalHealthGuides coverage in postings below.
- Visit the CDC’s Salmonella Outbreak Update Web page.
- Visit the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Salmonella Outbreak Update Web page.
- Visit Public Health – Seattle & King County information page which has links to information on Salmonella in Chinese, English, Korean, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese.
- Read the press release from the Washington State Department of Health below.
Salmonella update: state health urges residents to check all peanut products
Nationwide voluntary recall of peanut products continues to expand
OLYMPIA – State health officials say consumers should postpone eating peanut products until they’re sure those products aren’t part of a major recall due to a national salmonellosis outbreak. This advice does not include national brands of jarred peanut butter sold in grocery stores.
The state Department of Health is concerned some Washington residents aren’t aware of how broad the recall has become and urges them to check the product recall list thoroughly. A list of affected products sold in Washington (www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/food/salmonellaoutbreak.html) is available online.
In Washington, 15 people have been diagnosed with illness caused by Salmonella Typhimurium among more than 500 cases nationwide. The two most recent cases occurred in children who became ill in mid-January; the other cases were in November and December.
Salmonellosis is the illness caused by the many strains of Salmonella bacteria. Symptoms include severe diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, fever, chills, abdominal discomfort, and occasionally vomiting. The symptoms generally appear one to three days after exposure. Serious infections can occur, particularly in the very young or elderly. Most people recover on their own without medication, but some severe cases require IV-fluids to prevent dehydration.
The far-reaching recall has expanded daily and now covers hundreds of products. State health is working with local health partners and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to make sure recalled products are removed from sale.
Anyone who’s unsure if a specific peanut-product has been recalled should not eat it or feed it to family or pets until they get more information about the product. The FDA has an online list of all products affected by the recall (www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm).
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Related posts:
- FDA posts online list of peanut butter products recalled due to Salmonella fears
- Salmonella outbreak due to peanut butter products “ongoing” – CDC
- Salmonella cases linked to tainted peanut butter products top 500
- CDC telephone helpline provides info about recalled peanut products 24-hours a day
- Do not eat peanut butter containing products for now – warns CDC
