Salmonella outbreak linked to Jif peanut butter products

The FDA, together with the CDC and state and local partners are investigating an outbreak of fourteen (14) Salmonella Senftenberg infections in twelve US states.

Two people have been hospitalized.

Cases have been reported in Arkansas (1), Georgia (2), Illinois (1), Massachusetts (1), Missouri (1), Ohio (1), North Carolina (1), New York (1), South Carolina (1), Texas (2), Virginia (1), and Washington (1).

According to the FDA, five out of five outbreak victims who were interviewed reported consuming peanut butter prior to becoming ill. Four of the five specifically mentioned Jif peanut butter.

Although the FDA has not yet found the outbreak strain in a finished product sample, the agency reports that a strain of Salmonella recovered from an environmental sample collected at the Jif Lexington, Kentucky, production plant twelve years ago (in 2010) is a genetic match for the Salmonella strain recovered from victims in this current outbreak.

This archival culture, combined with the information from outbreak victims who had consumed Jif peanut butter, catalyzed a voluntary recall on the part of The J.M. Smucker Co., the manufacturer of the Jif family of products.

The recall

The recall includes lot codes from 1274425 to 2140425, but only for lot codes that end in “425,” which is the identifier code for the Lexington, Kentucky production plant. Recalled products were distributed nationwide in the United States.

For a complete list of affected products, please refer to the J.M. Smucker recall notice.

As the recalled products have a two-year shelf life, the FDA urges consumers to check their pantries and discard or return any of the products included in the recall.

The lot code can be found near the bottom of the product label, directly below the BEST IF USED BY date, as illustrated here.

FDA recommends:

• Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should not eat, sell, or serve any recalled Jif brand peanut butter that have lot code numbers 1274425 through 2140425. This product has a two-year shelf life so consumers should check any Jif peanut butter in their home.
• If you have used the recalled Jif brand peanut butter that have lot code numbers 1274425 through 2140425, you should wash and sanitize surfaces and utensils that could have touched the peanut butter.
• If you or someone in your household ate this peanut butter and have symptoms of salmonellosis, please contact your healthcare provider.

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Read more about Salmonella in peanut butter in TAINTED. From Farm Gate to Dinner Plate, Fifty Years of Food Safety Failures, now available in digital, print and audiobook editions.