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Thursday, February 22, 2007

HILLTOPTIMES.COM

Photo by Beth Young
Commissary customers will find empty spaces on the shelves where the store has pulled the Peter Pan brand of peanut butter after it was linked to a Salmonella outbreak.

Hill Commissary pulls peanut butter from shelves

by Beth Young
75th Air Base Wing Public AffairsThe daughter of an Airman, who had purchased Peter Pan peanut butter from the Hill Commissary, became ill this weekend after eating the product, which was recalled due to its link to the food borne illness caused by Salmonella. The family is currently awaiting test results to see if her illness is Salmonella or connected to the peanut butter.

The Hill Air Force Base Commissary pulled the products from their shelves on Feb. 14 when the manufacturer, ConAgra Foods, did a voluntary recall of their Peter Pan and Great Value brands of peanut butter with the code 2111 imprinted on the lid after a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked these products to Salmonella.

"We want to ensure that it does not happen to anyone else," said Karen Ochsner, Hill Commissary store manager. "We usually act on voluntary recalls so by the time it�s official, (the product has) already been pulled."

According to a press release, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has revised its original warning to include all Peter Pan peanut butter products bought since May 2006. The FDA�s warning is based on an epidemiological study by the CDC, which linked 290 cases of food borne illness in 39 states to consumption of varying types of Peter Pan peanut butter since August.

"Bring it back to us, and we will gladly refund it," Ms. Ochsner said. "We will also ensure that it will be disposed of properly."

Those who have purchased peanut butter at the commissary can either return it to the store or send the lid or label with the product code beginning with 2111 to ConAgra Foods along with your name and mailing address for a full refund. That mailing address is ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 3768, Omaha, NE, 68103.

"Food safety is paramount (at the commissary)," Ms. Ochsner said. "We have more rules and regulations than the outside. Part of that is to keep the military safe."

Symptoms of illness caused by Salmonella include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In persons with poor underlying health or weakened immune systems, Salmonella can invade the bloodstream and cause life-threatening infections.

Ms. Ochsner said that individuals who have recently eaten Peter Pan and Great Value brand peanut butter and have experienced any of these symptoms should contact their doctor or health care provider immediately. Any such illnesses should be reported to state or local health authorities.

More information about this and other FDA recalls can be found at the commissary�s food safety website:

http://commissaries.com/food_safety.cfm.

Consumers who have questions should contact ConAgra at 866-344-6970.

CLICK HERE to return to Peanut Butter Main Page.

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