Atlanta (ChatterShmatter) – The recent outbreak of salmonella which is being investigated by a joint task force of the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has to date sickened at least 625 people in 47 states and is being linked to 5 deaths.
The deaths were of elderly people who has salmonella when they died but it is not confirmed to be the cause of death. Two of the deaths were reported in Minnesota & Virginia each and one in Idaho.
Along with the rising number of the inflicted so to rises the need to determine the source. Although the investigation continues it has been reported that a peanut butter plant in Georgia has shown signs of contamination. This does not confirm the plant as the source but further tests are being done to confirm if the contamination found matches the strain of bacteria found in the sick.
As a result of the findings Peanut Corporation has temporarily halted production of it’s product and recalled more than 21 lots of peanut butter manufactured since July. The company calls these actions voluntary and being done out of public concern and should not be construed as an admission of guilt.
One major company taking a hit due to the halt in production and recall is Kellog Co. which obtains some of it’s peanut butter paste from the company. They too have stopped production of products using the paste but have not issued a recall of the products.
Salmonella is the most common strain of bacteria when it comes to food poisoning, resulting in approximately 40,000 cases per year, with more than 1 million people affected and resulting in 500 deaths.
Leave a Reply