Your rice may not be trying to kill you, and technically neither is your nut butter product - but it could land you (or your kids) in the hospital.
In case you missed it, Trader Joe's recently issued a voluntary recall of three nut-containing products which the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Disease Control and Prevention and state health agencies believe could be linked to recent outbreaks of Salmonella. The recall has since been expanded to include about 100 products from the Sunland Inc. production facility, according to a press release from the FDA.
If you thought shopping at other food retails insulated you from potentially dangerous nut products, think again. Read on for more info on what's safe...and what's not.
See also: - Your Rice Is NOT Trying to Kill You (But Some EPA Standards Couldn't Hurt) - Five Favorite Peanut Butter & Jelly Creations in Metro Phoenix
The initial recalled products include Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter, Valencia Peanut Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds and Almond Butter with Roasted Flaxseeds, all of which were produced by Sunland, Inc. a company that specializes in Valencia peanuts.
As of Tuesday the list has been expanded to include along list of almond butters, peanut butters, cashew butters, tahini and roasted blanched products with best by dates between May 1, 2013 and September 24, 2013.
To this point the voluntary recall is limited to Sunland, Inc. products but includes products from labels such as Archer Farms and Earth Balance (both sold at Target), fresh & easy, Sprout's and Harry and David. You'll want to look over the complete list of products before diving into your next PB&J.
If you're having flashbacks to the 2008 salmonella outbreak, take comfort in knowing that this time around the damage should be less far-reaching.
As of Monday, 30 people have reported illnesses, called Salmonella bredeney PFGE, in 18 different states. Compared to the 2008 outbreak, when hundreds off people in more than 40 states experienced illness, this incident looks to be less offensive. The 2008 outbreak affected the Peanut Corporation of American plant in Georgia and led to nine deaths. No deaths have been reported in relation to the current outbreak.
The majority of those who have become ill have been children under the age of 18. Symptoms of the illness include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps, which usually appear 12 to 72 hours after infection. Sickness usually lasts between four and seven days, and in many cases people recover without treatment.
Sunland Inc. requests customers who purchased the possibly contaminated products to return them to the store for a complete refund. For more information visit the FDA or Sunland, Inc. websites.
