Peanut butter probe expands; takes on new urgency

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Yahoo / AP

WASHINGTON – The latest national food safety investigation took on new urgency Friday as federal officials confirmed salmonella contamination at a Georgia facility that ships peanut products to 85 food companies.

On Capitol Hill, the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested records as it opened its own inquiry.

The outbreak has sickened hundreds of people in 43 states and killed at least six. Earlier this week, it prompted Kellogg to pull some of its venerable Keebler crackers from store shelves, as a precaution.

Although the investigation has gone into high gear, Food and Drug Administration officials say much of their information remains sketchy. And new cases are still being reported.

"This is a very active investigation, but we don't yet have the data to provide consumers with specifics about what brands or products they should avoid," said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's food safety center. Although salmonella bacteria has been found at the Georgia plant, for example, more tests are needed to see if it matches the strain that has gotten people sick.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090116/ap_on_he_me/salmonella_outbreak

[willing dwarf]

1. If it's baked into baked goods wouldn't the heat kill the salmonella?

[Hekate]

3. I would have thought so... But I wonder if sufficient quantities leave toxins behind.

Damn Bush's FDA, USDA, and CDC. These and other agencies USED to work. They USED to have inspectors. They USED to have qualified scientists.

Hekate

[Kittycat]

7. It's probably on the packaging equipment, or any of the equip down the line.

[du_grad]

9. It should kill it

It is my understanding that enteric pathogens are killed at temperatures over 140 degrees F. I am a microbiologist. However, if the food is getting contaminated AFTER the baking, then that can be a problem.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Salmonella_Questions_&_Answers/index.asp - lots of info here

Not sure how peanut butter itself is processed. I work in a hospital and don't know a thing about food microbiology per se, as that's a totally different shtick than medical microbiology. I have identified Salmonella in human stool cultures on many occasions over the last 30 years of my career.

This is how it works in the lab:

The stool specimen is submitted to the lab for culture . We plate it onto a set of plates that will maximize our chance of finding enteric pathogens. In most labs, this includes Salmonella, Shigella, Yersinia, Campylobacter, E. coli O157:H7, and other lesser known enteric pathogens. If Vibrios are suspected by the physician (i.e. cholera and another Vibrio that is found in or around coastal states and thrives in sea water) another type of plate is included.

The plates are incubated overnight. The tech looks at the plates the next day (day 1). If the tech sees certain colony types these are subcultured to get a pure culture. The plates are reincubated. On Day 2, if the isolate still looks suspicious, then a full identification is set up. Most labs utilize automated equipment but some labs use a manual ID system. On Day 3, if the organism identifies as Salmonella or Shigella sp. (Shigella is another enteric pathogen not as well known as Salmonella) the isolate is serogrouped by the technologist. If there is a problem with the serogrouping (i.e. if it doesn't TYPE), an alternate ID system is utilized to confirm the ID. This takes yet another day of incubation. If, however, the organism types as a Salmonella, the physician is notified right away, an antibiotic susceptibility is set up, and the isolate is subcultured to a slant to be sent to the state's health department lab and ultimately the CDC for further serogrouping. This is the serogrouping that determines if these isolates are the same isolate. We do not have that ability at the hospital laboratory level.

As you can see, this all takes TIME. This is why these answers are not instantaneous. Every time something is subbed, and overnight incubation must occur. Many times it is hard to isolate these colonies, due to how they were located on the original culture plate. Negative stool cultures go out in 48 hours, usually. However, most of the colony types we screen turn out to be normal stool flora that can mimic the colony morphology of Salmonella/Shigella. Hence I sign out many cultures that are negative after even 3-5 days of screening.

I do know that, with foodstuffs, the concentration of enteric pathogens is far fewer colony forming units than in human feces, so it's very much like looking for a needle in a haystack. Now that they seem to be narrowing down the source news will come in more quickly. They probably have to screen many samples of peanut butter to find one that screens positive. Then they have to subculture that one and find the Salmonella. It could take awhile. We're talking microorganisms here, people :-(.

Problem with peanut butter is that they probably do not heat it above 140 degrees (although I don't know that for sure) so there is potential for contamination. Who knows where the source could be? Peanuts, after all, are grown down in the soil. If the soil if contaminated it could take a LONG time to find the source. If it's in the factory itself, it could be shorter.

Keep watching the news for recall notices.

[Doremus]

32. Very informative, thanks! n/t

[FedUpWithIt All]

27. I think they mean the ones with the peanut butter filling between two crackers. n/t

[CoffeeCat]

2. It sounds like salmonella has been..

confirmed at this Georgia plant, that manufacturers peanut butter that is sold to companie s, which then use
the stuff in their products.

I'm unclear why it is that the public isn't being told to avoid foods that are made with the peanut butter from
this Georgia plant.

Surely, it would take half a day to determine what companies are getting the Georgia-plant peanut butter and
then for the companies to provide a list of their products that contain the peanut butter, and a warning not
to eat these products.

[AdHocSolver]

5. Gives the companies that used the peanut butter time to sell off inventory.

If there were full disclosure, then all of the companies who put peanut butter from this company into their products would be forced to recall all of it. However, only a limited number of batches were actually tainted.

By not telling the public which products contain potentially tainted peanut butter, the government will discover which companies received tainted stuff by the cases and location of food poisoning that develop. Then they can issue a limited recall and reduce the losses of the companies that bought the bad stuff.

In essence, the government (currently siding with big business thanks to Bush and company) is using the public as guinea pigs. Kudos to Kellogg's for being proactive in this situation. There are still a few companies that care about their reputation.

[bettyellen]

25. it's the filling, not the cracker

[antimatter98]

4. The State of Georgia: all Republican all the time. n/t

[robbibaba]

6. Yup

First state to go all electronic with the voting machines. Remember? It was a stunning upset, confounding the polls and pundits, as Repugs swept into power statewide.

[TroglodyteScholar]

22. ...

[AngryAmish]

16. And next to Florida

[awoke_in_2003]

8. 85 companies?...

I guess Peter Pan will probably fall into this category. Time to throw out my stash of crunchy :(

[Left Coast2020]

10. Off to the fridge I go for some milk and PB&J

[awoke_in_2003]

17. I like PB&J...

but every once and a while I like a PB and mustard sandwich. Yes, I know it sounds gross, but it is an interesting blend of sweet and tangy.

[druidity33]

23. what kinda mustard? nt

[awoke_in_2003]

31. French's yellow...

I normally like a dijon mustard, but the French's works best in this situation.

[druidity33]

35. I woulda thought Gulden's Brown...

i have made a few marinades (for Tofu, not sure if it'd go with meat so much) that combine PB, mustard, ginger, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, etc.

Peanut butter is a lot more versatile than folk give it credit for. Unfortunately my kid goes to a nut free school and it limits our nut cookery. :(.

[awoke_in_2003]

36. I use gulden's for most things. nt

[bvar22]

19. Peter Pan is my favorite.

Man cannot live by bread alone....
He MUST have Peanut Butter.


This makes me really sad.
In 2006, my wife and I moved far into the country to grow our own food.
Peanut Butter is one of the few packaged items I still consume. :(

[tblue37]

21. Jif. Much more peanutty than Peter Pan. nt

[awoke_in_2003]

33. Congrats...

on the move to the country. That is what I am working on myself. To be able to grow and raise your own food, and to be able to trade to get food from people you know (and, consequently, how they produce that food) is one of my dreams.

[bvar22]

37. If you are interested:

In 2006, we quit our jobs, left the Big City (Minneapolis), and moved to our new place in a very rural unspoiled/undeveloped area of The South with an abundant clean water supply surrounded by National Forest (plenty of wildlife, long growing season, low energy demands, very low property taxes).

We have reduced our taxable income to near poverty levels.
We no longer use "credit", don't have a mortgage, build everything ourselves, buy "used, 2nd hand, or salvage" directly from previous owners, and Barter, Trade, or pay CASH to avoid all taxes whenever possible.
As much as possible, we have stopped consuming in the Corporate America sense of the word.

We have planted a large vegetable and fruit garden, have two healthy HoneyBee colonies (expand to 4 colonies next Spring), and keep a dozen chickens. More fruit trees and a large BlueBerry Patch will be added this year. We are freezing and canning this year for consumption over the Winter. Next year we will also be drying our produce for low energy preservation.

We ARE registered to vote, and supported the Democratic Party 100% this election, but don't hold much hope that anything will really change. Our focus has become local Humanitarian/Community Issues, and methods of denying support for Corporate America and our One Party system.

We realize we are very fortunate to be in a situation to do this. We have no dependent children, and are in good health. We miss the advantages of Urban Consumption, but have no desire to return.

We pray that an Obama administration and a Democratic Congress can turn things around for America, but see no signs that this will happen.



Spring Promise 2008

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x5729

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=246x7979

The Gardening Group here is good, and I post there a bunch:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=246

Also, the Rural/Farm Forum:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=268



I recommend:
Mother Earth News (our bible)
http://www.motherearthnews.com/

and

Countryside and Small Stock Journal
http://www.countrysidemag.com/

Good Luck.
You have a friend.

[dipsydoodle]

11. I guess I'd better stop using it

in mouse traps. I wouldn't want to make the mice ill.

[madrchsod]

12. maybe the plant is owned by---OSAMA BIN LADEN !!!!

actually no one has to attack this country because we do a great job of killing or sickening ourselves through neglecting our food safety.

[jberryhill]

29. Neglecting?

Why, no, the plant is owned by Stewart Parnell who was appointed as industry representative to the USDA Peanut Standards Board.

So, uh, big surprise there.

[tiddlywinks]

13. gee, i loved being a guinea pig!

i had something dreadful. I spent new years eve and the next week pretty much in the bathroom- (both ends).
I had the cultures and everything came back negative. needlesstosay, i'm convinced to the contrary that it was some kind of food poisoning. perhaps one the lab didnt culture or just didn't see.
I had taken a bite of a raw jalapeno pepper just 24 hours prior and left it on the counter. Before i could make the pico de gallo my mom threw them away, so I was the only one who ate it in the house and i was the only one who got sick.
No stomach 'virus' i've ever heard of lasts a week, does it. e gads, the details were horrifying.

what can we do to prevent getting sick anymo??? I don't wannna be yo guinea pig...no mo!!!
sung to the tune of some 70/80s song with similar words.. (cept guinea pig)

[remember2000forever]

14. Throw away your present peanut butter. NOW

I remember the last peanut butter recall. Well before the letters and numbers were divulged to the Public I came down with what I thought was a SEVERE case of stomach flu. Low and behold, when I checked my jar of Peanut butter when they had the recall a week later, there was the stamp that was in question, right on the lid.
Since I didn't go to the doctor and document the incident there was nothing I could do but return the jar for a replacement.

Guys, you do not want this to happen to you. Even though it only lasts for 24 hours, I assure you it is miserable.

[RayOfHope]

15. It happened to my daughter too, she ended up in the hospital with dehydration

from all the vomiting and horrible diarrhea. She'd had the first serving of a jar with a matching lot number.

[totodeinhere]

30. I have had my jar of peanut butter for a few weeks, and I have not got sick from it.

So are you saying that people in my situation should throw out their peanut butter? I would think that mine is safe because it has not made me sick. I don't think I will buy another jar though until we get information.

[HughMoran]

18. Wow, I've always though peanut butter wasn't a good growth medium for anything

I and my ex eat a lot of peanut butter from the container while reinserting the bacteria infested knife or fork. Never seen anything grow in it - doh!

[jberryhill]

20. Why is it always "A Peanut Plant In Georgia" - Nobody Owns It?

Not much on their web page, which consists of two press releases.

WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?


Peanut Corporation of America

Private Company, Headquarters Location
2121 Wiggington Rd., Lynchburg, VA 24502-4667, United States
[phone], [phone], [phone] fax, http://www.peanutcorp.com

Owned by Stewart Parnell:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/8/722/49a

[glitch]

24. Life in War Time.

Guess who the enemy is.

[jberryhill]

26. And here's your answer - MF'er was on the standards board

http://southwestfarmpress.com/mag/farming_six_appointed_peanut/

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns has appointed six members to serve on the Peanut Standards Board.

The 2002 Farm Bill provided for the establishment of the board and directed USDA to consult with the board before establishing or changing quality and handling standards for domestically produced and imported peanuts.

The Peanut Standards Board consists of 18 members with equal representation by peanut producers and peanut representatives. Three producers and three industry representatives are appointed from each of three regions - the Southeast (Alabama, Georgia and Florida), Southwest (Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico) and from the Virginia and North Carolina peanut-producing regions. Initial appointments to the board were staggered for 1-, 2- and 3-year terms of office ending June 30, 2003, 2004 and 2005. The new members will replace one producer and one industry member from each peanut-producing region whose terms expired on June 30, 2005.

For the terms of office ending June 30, 2008, the new appointees are:

*

Southeast Region: producer Martin McLendon of Leary, Ga., and industry representative Dennis R. Finch of Samson, Ala.
*

Southwest Region: R. Wayne Hardin of Portales, N.M., and industry representative Alan L. Ortloff of Madill, Okla.
*

Virginia-Carolina Region: James W. Mason of Harrellsville, N.C., and industry representative Stewart Parnell of Lynchburg, Va.

More information on the board can be found at http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/peanut-farmbill.htm.


Parnell owns the facility which killed these people.

[unkachuck]

28. it must be.....

....all the raw unprocessed chicken parts in peanut butter that's causing the problem....

[NoodleyAppendage]

34. FDA = Fictitious Department of Action n/t

J