Peanut Butter:

As of July 27, 2022, a total of 21 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Senftenberg were reported from 17 states. Illnesses started on dates ranging from February 20, 2022, through May 24, 2022.

Sick people ranged in age from less than one to 85 years, with a median age of 59, and 75% were female. Of 13 people with information available, 4 were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.

State and local public health officials interviewed people about the foods they ate in the week before they got sick. Of the 13 people interviewed, 13 (100%) reported eating peanut butter in the week before they got sick. This percentage was significantly higher than results from a survey of healthy people, in which 57% of respondents reported eating any peanut butter in the week before they were interviewed. This suggests that people in this outbreak got sick from eating peanut butter. All 13 people reported eating Jif brand peanut butter specifically.

Public health investigators used the PulseNet system to identify illnesses that were part of this outbreak. CDC PulseNet manages a national database of DNA fingerprints of bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses. DNA fingerprinting is performed on bacteria using a method called whole genome sequencing (WGS). WGS showed that bacteria from sick people’s samples were closely related genetically. This means that people in this outbreak likely got sick from the same food.

FDA conducted WGS analysis on an environmental sample collected at the Lexington, Kentucky, J.M. Smucker Company facility in 2010. The analysis shows that this 2010 environmental sample was closely related genetically to the outbreak strain.

On May 20, 2022, J.M. Smucker Company recalled multiple Jif brand peanut butter types made at the Lexington, Kentucky, facility. Additional companies recalled foods made with Jif brand peanut butter.

As of August 2, 2022, a total of 18 outbreak-associated cases of hepatitis A have been reported from 3 states.

Strawberries:

Illnesses started on dates ranging from March 28, 2022, to May 6, 2022. Ill people range in age from 9 to 73 years, with a median age of 57.5 years. Sixty-seven percent of ill people are female. Of 18 people with available information, 13 (72%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.

In total, there were 10 laboratory-confirmed cases of hepatitis A illness reported in two provinces: Alberta (4) and Saskatchewan (6). Individuals became ill between early and mid-April 2022. Individuals who became ill were between 10 to 75 years of age. Four individuals were hospitalized. No deaths were reported.

The CFIA conducted a food safety investigation into the FreshKampo brand fresh organic strawberries purchased between March 5 and 9, 2022 at Co-op stores in Alberta and Saskatchewan. There were no food recall warnings associated with this outbreak.

Epidemiologic and traceback evidence indicate that fresh organic strawberries, imported from Baja California, Mexico, are the likely source of this outbreak. The potentially affected FreshKampo and HEB products are past shelf life and no longer available for purchase in the United States. People who purchased FreshKampo or HEB fresh organic strawberries during March 5, 2022, through April 15, 2022, and then froze those strawberries for later consumption should not eat them. These products may have been sold at the following retailers, including, but not limited to: HEB, Kroger, Safeway, Sprouts Farmers Market, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Weis Markets, and WinCo Foods.

The downstream recall previously reported (Urban Remedy Organic Revitalizing Tea Tonic Strawberry Hibiscus Rose) is now considered a market withdrawal. It has been determined that the product was not made using implicated strawberries.

In interviews, ill people answered questions about the foods they ate and other exposures in the 2 to 7 weeks before they became ill. Of people who were interviewed, 11/15 (73%) reported eating fresh organic strawberries. This proportion was significantly higher than results from a survey of healthy people in which 50% reported eating fresh strawberries in the week before they were interviewed.