Vietnam recalls US peanut butter suspected of causing typhoid

Vietnam authorities are set to recall peanut butter brands imported from the US Monday after cases of infection with bacterium salmonella – linked as a causative agent for typhoid – were reported in the US.  Authorities are to withdraw from circulation 24 jars of peanut butter bearing the brand names “Peter Pan” and “Great Value” distributed to the Vietnamese market by Hanoi-based Bao Quang Company.  The firm has imported a total of 720 jars, and the remaining products are still in stock.  Salmonella can also cause food poisoning and intestinal inflammation.  The decision to recall the products were prompted by a recent announcement by the US Embassy in Hanoi that the butter has caused 290 people in the US to be infected with salmonella, with 46 hospitalized.  So far, no cases of typhoid infection from the sandwich and toast spread have been reported in Vietnam.