Since last Thursday we are in the process of responding to over 3,000 emails or phone calls for people from nearly every State and several foregin countries about salmonella-contaminated peanut butter.  Our great staff and attorneys are working hard to respond to everyone as quickly as possible.

We have asked people to respond to my email – bmarler@marlerclark.com – and to provide us with the names and ages of all family members who became ill after eating the peanut butter, as well as a phone number and mailing address so that we can mail an investigation packet (questionnaire, releases and retainer agreement) and begin collecting information about the claim.

In addition:

  • We encourage all people who are still experiencing symptoms of a Salmonella infection to seek medical attention and to obtain a stool test, which your primary physician can order and have done at a local lab. Your local health department may also be of some assistance in having a stool test done.
  • Retain any jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter (with code beginning 2111) that you have not yet thrown away, whether opened or not. If there are jars that you have recently thrown away that are retrievable, please take them out of the trash and keep them. Please place the jars in a plastic bag and keep the bag in an area where the peanut butter will not be exposed to extreme temperatures; this can be the refrigerator (not the freezer) or a cupboard. Marler Clark is in the process of retaining a private lab, where we will send the peanut butter for testing.

  • Please also immediately notify your county’s health department of the fact that you have suffered a gastrointestinal illness after eating peanut butter that is subject to the national recall. The purpose of this call is not to have the health department test the peanut butter-although that is permissible if they want to do that-but to create a record of the fact that you have reported a gastrointestinal illness possibly related to the peanut butter outbreak.
  • If the health department does want to test your peanut butter, please photograph the jar(s) before handing them over, and please write down the details of your transaction with the health department official. In other words, please memorialize all identifying information on the peanut butter jar (brand, lot number, etc.); write down the name of the health official who has taken the jar; have the health official sign the document; date the document; and sign the document yourself. Once you’ve taken these steps, it is OK to let the health official take your jar of peanut butter.