US - Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

[Farmer]

Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

http://in.reuters.com/article/healt...HM20090110?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

By Maggie Fox

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Minnesota health officials issued a product alert for peanut butter on Friday after finding a jar that was contaminated with a strain of salmonella linked to an outbreak across the United States.

While the bacteria in the peanut butter match the outbreak strain genetically, the health officials said it was not clear yet that the peanut butter could be linked to any cases.

The outbreak of salmonella food poisoning has sickened at least 399 people and put 70 or more into hospital since September.

Officials from Minnesota's departments of agriculture and health said they were issuing a product advisory for King Nut brand creamy peanut butter after finding the Salmonella typhimurium bacteria in a big institutional-size jar.

"The Minnesota cases have the same genetic fingerprint as the cases in a national outbreak that has sickened almost 400 people in 42 states," the health department said in a statement.

It said the product was distributed in Minnesota to places such as long-term care facilities, hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, cafeterias and bakeries.

"At this time, the product is not known to be distributed for retail sale in grocery stores," it said. "State officials are urging establishments who may have the product on hand to avoid serving it, pending further instructions as the investigation progresses."

Earlier on Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed the numbers of cases in each of the 42 affected states. California was hardest hit with 55 cases, while Ohio had 53 and Minnesota had 30.

An outbreak of salmonella was linked to Peter Pan brand peanut butter in 2007. ConAgra Foods Inc closed a Georgia plant after more than 300 people became ill in that outbreak.

The CDC is trying to trace the source of the outbreak, which began in September. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, state health officials and the Food and Drug Administration are also involved.

Tracking the source of such an outbreak can be tricky. The CDC said poultry, cheese and eggs are the most common source of Salmonella typhimurium strains.

Every year, about 40,000 people are reported ill with salmonella in the United States, the CDC says, but many more cases are never reported.

There have been several high-profile outbreaks of foodborne illness in the United States, including a strain of salmonella carried by peppers from Mexico that sickened 1,400 people from April to August 2007 and an E. coli epidemic in 2006, traced to California spinach, that killed three people.

(Editing by John O'Callaghan)

 

[gsgs]

Re: US - Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

why is the butter not heated ?

 

[AlaskaDenise]

Re: US - Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

Making peanut butter

?6 The peanut butter manufacturers first dry roast the peanuts. Dry roasting is done by either the batch or continuous method. In the batch method, peanuts are roasted in 400-pound lots in a revolving oven heated to about 800 degrees Fahrenheit (426.6 degrees Celsius). The peanuts are heated at 320 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius) and held at this temperature for 40 to 60 minutes to reach the exact degree of doneness. All the nuts in each batch must be uniformly roasted.

Large manufacturers prefer the continuous method, in which peanuts are fed from the hopper, roasted, cooled, ground into peanut butter and stabilized in one operation. This method is less labor-intensive, creates a more uniform roasting, and decreases spillage. Still, some operators believe that the best commercial peanut butter is obtained by using the batch method. Since peanut butter may call for a blending of peanuts, the batch method allows for the different varieties to be roasted separately. Furthermore, since peanuts frequently come in lots of different moisture content which may need special attention during roasting, the batch method can also meet these needs readily. The steps outlined below apply to peanut butter manufacturing that uses the batch method of roasting.

http://www.enotes.com/how-products-encyclopedia/peanut-butter

 

[mixin]

Re: US - Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

this is from the last time we had contaminated peanut butter; I wonder what they'll find this time:

The plant's roof leaked during a rainstorm, and the sprinkler system went off twice because of a faulty sprinkler, which was repaired.

The moisture from those three events mixed with dormant salmonella bacteria in the plant that Childs said likely came from raw peanuts and peanut dust.

The plant was cleaned thoroughly after the roof leak and sprinkler problem, but the salmonella remained and somehow came in contact with peanut butter before it was packaged, she said.

Peanuts grow underground and salmonella is present in the dirt, but generally any bacteria are killed when raw peanuts are roasted.

When making peanut butter, the nuts are again heated ? above the salmonella-killing temperature of 165 degrees ? as they are ground into a paste and mixed with other ingredients before being squirted into jars and quickly sealed.

Experts had speculated that salmonella would be most likely to contaminate peanut butter as it cooled and was placed in jars. At most plants, those steps take just minutes.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-04-05-peanut-butter-contamination_N.htm

 

[gsgs]

Re: US - Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter

just heat the closed glasses to 165F=74C

 

[mixin]

Peanut Plant Was Cited for Violations

Peanut Plant Was Cited for Violations

The plant in Georgia that produced peanut butter tainted by salmonella has a history of sanitation lapses and was cited repeatedly in 2006 and 2007 for having dirty surfaces and grease residue and dirt buildup throughout the plant, according to health inspection reports. Inspection reports from 2008 found the plant repeatedly in violation of cleanliness standards.

Inspections of the plant in Blakely, Ga., by the State Agriculture Department found areas of rust that could flake into food, gaps in warehouse doors large enough for rodents to get through, unmarked spray bottles and containers and numerous violations of other practices designed to prevent food contamination. The plant, owned by the Peanut Corporation of America of Lynchburg, Va., has been shut down. ( After 3 years worth of violations and hundereds of people sickened, I'd say it was about time! )

A typical entry from an inspection report, dated Aug. 23, 2007, said: ?The food-contact surfaces of re-work kettle in the butter room department were not properly cleaned and sanitized.? Additional entries noted: ?The food-contact surfaces of the bulk oil roast transfer belt? in a particular room ?were not properly cleaned and sanitized. The food-contact surfaces of pan without wheels in the blanching department were not properly cleaned and sanitized.?

A code violation in the same report observed ?clean peanut butter buckets stored uncovered,? while another cited a ?wiping cloth? to ?cover crack on surge bin.? Tests on samples gathered on the day of that inspection were negative for salmonella.

The inspection reports were provided by Georgia officials in response to a request made by The New York Times under the state?s open-records act.

Two inspection reports from 2008 found the plant out of compliance with practices for making sure ?food and non-food contact surfaces were cleanable, properly designed, constructed and used.?

The state performs the inspections on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration as part of a contractual agreement with the federal agency, officials said.

Representatives of the Peanut Corporation of America did not respond to requests for comment.

The salmonella outbreak has sickened almost 500 people around the country and is linked to seven deaths. More than 125 products containing peanut butter or peanut paste from the Georgia plant have been recalled.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27peanuts.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss