Salud Warns of Consumption
Of US Peanut Butter
Products
The Ministerio de Salud (Health ministry) has advised against the
consumption of the product "Salted Nut Roll Bars", a salted nuts
wrapped around chewy candy bar product from the United States.
Salud officials fear that the product could be contaminated with the
salmonella typhimurium bacteria.
A joint investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), of the
ongoing outbreak of illnesses caused by Salmonella Typhimurium,
identified peanut butter and peanut paste made at a
peanut-processing plant in Blakely, Georgia, as sources of the
outbreak.
Salud officials say they received the information from the FDA last
Saturday and have taken steps to ensure that the product doesn't
make it into the country and unto store shelves.
As of Sunday no product was found in Costa Rica, however, health
officials will continue to be vigilant.
On February 20, PCA informed customers who received products from
its Georgia or Texas plants not to distribute or further use those
products and to contact the FDA regarding the proper disposition of
recalled products and any other matters related to the recall via
the FDA recall coordinators. FDA and the Texas Department of State
Health Services are working together to implement the PCA recall.
This is an ingredient-driven outbreak; that is, potentially
contaminated ingredients affected many different products that were
distributed through various channels and consumed in various
settings. The recalled products made by PCA, such as peanut butter
and peanut paste, are common ingredients in cookies, crackers,
cereal, candy, ice cream, pet treats, and other foods. Consumers are
advised to discard and not eat products that have been recalled.
To help consumers identify affected products, FDA has initiated a searchable
database of recalled products that is updated daily or as
additional recalls are identified. To date, more than 2,100 products
in 17 categories have been voluntarily recalled by more than 200
companies, and the list continues to grow.
In January, the recall list was expanded to include some pet-food
products that contain peanut paste made by PCA. Salmonella can
affect animals, and humans who handle contaminated pet-food products
also are at risk. It is important for people to wash their hands –
and to make sure children wash their hands – with hot water and soap
before and, especially, after handling pet-food products and
utensils.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
