Update on Salmonella Outbreak and Peter Pan Peanut Butter

RECENT UPDATE FROM FDA:

As of February 16, the FDA advised consumers not to eat any Peter Pan peanut butter purchased since May 2006 and not to eat Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with "2111" purchased since May 2006 because of risk of contamination with Salmonella Tennessee. Salmonella is a bacterium that causes foodborne illness, and “Tennessee” is a type of Salmonella. All Peter Pan peanut butter purchased since May 2006 is affected; only those jars of Great Value peanut butter purchased since May 2006 with a product code beginning with "2111” are affected. Although Great Value peanut butter with the specified product code has not been linked by CDC to the cases of Salmonella Tennessee infection, the product is manufactured in the same plant as Peter Pan peanut butter and, thus, is believed to be at similar risk of contamination. Great Value peanut butter made by manufacturers other than ConAgra is not affected.

Number of Cases and State Locations:


The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified 290 people from 39 states who have gotten sick from Salmonella Tennessee, the Salmonella type associated with this outbreak. Forty six (46) patients are known to have been hospitalized and there have been no reported deaths.

The 39 states with reported illness are: Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

E. coli cases keep increasing

As Sarah Avery reported for newsobserver.com, E. coli cases keep increasing in North Carolina. So far, 24 cases have been confirmed and 33 cases are being studied to see whether the cases are related.

The most common link among the people who are sick is a trip to the State Fair last month -- in particular, to a petting zoo exhibit. Of the 33 cases under scrutiny, 15 have State Fair connections, one attended the Cleveland County fair, seven did not attend the fair and the remainder have not completed the investigator's questionnaire.

"If it does turn out to be a petting zoo, there are thousands of people who were exposed, and they are widespread," said Dr. Jeffrey Engel, state epidemiologist. "People came to visit from other states."

The outbreak is North Carolina's largest E. coli infection since a 2001 incident in Robeson County that stemmed from unpasteurized butter offered to schoolchildren during a demonstration. More than 200 grew sick.

Food contamination, particularly from beef that has come in contact with animal feces during slaughter and processing, is often the source of E. coli infections, but petting zoos are also common sources.

William Marler, a Seattle lawyer who has built a national practice filing lawsuits in E. coli and other contamination cases, said petting zoos are aware of the dangers of the business, and most provide hand-washing stations. But even the best of precautions can still fall short.

He said he represented 25 families in an unsuccessful Oregon case in which people grew ill after visiting the petting zoo. Half of the victims washed their hands; half didn't. Babies in strollers got sick despite never getting out of their strollers or touching the animals.

"The frustrating thing was, there wasn't a common denominator," Marler said. "We were trying to figure out what the fair did or should've done to prevent the outbreak."

He said two of the North Carolina families in the current outbreak have called him, but he does not know whether there is a legal case. Much depends on what state health investigators turn up and whether the outbreak is traced to the State Fair.

"When I was a kid taking my cow to the fair, nobody even heard of E. coli," Marler said. "That was 35 years ago. But since Jack in the Box, and with repeated fair outbreaks, we have to be more vigilant."