As more items linked to the recent salmonella outbreak are pulled from the shelves, local health officials are warning residents to stay away from peanut butter snacks.
“It appears a wide range of products are affected by the recall,” said Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein.
“And the list isn’t complete yet.”
Nearly 90 products have been recalled in recent days, such as Keebler Soft Batch peanut butter cookies and Austin’s toasty crackers with peanut butter.
“It’s possible a lot of people have some of these products in their houses,” Sharfstein said, adding the recall does not include jars of peanut butter.
The products have been linked to the outbreak that has sickened at least 475 people in 43 states — including eight in Maryland — since Sept. 8, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The salmonella outbreak may have caused the deaths of six people, the CDC said.
In Baltimore, three people — a 1-year-old, 9-year-old, and 20-year-old — have become ill from this strain, Sharfstein said.
Salmonella can cause fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, according to the CDC. A small number of people with salmonella develop joint pain, irritation of the eyes and painful urination, a condition called Reiter’s syndrome, which can last for months or years, and lead to chronic arthritis.
Officials have traced the contamination to a plant in Blakely, Ga., owned by Peanut Corporation of America, which makes peanut butter and peanut paste distributed to manufacturers and used in products such as cookies, candies and ice cream, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Samples of King Nut peanut butter, a PCA distributor to large institutions such as cafeterias and long-term care facilities, matched the strain of salmonella, FDA said.
“Peanut butter is a very common ingredient in foods and snacks,” said Mickey Parish, chair of the nutrition and food science department at the University of Maryland in College Park.
After the months-long salmonella investigation last year in which tomatoes were wrongfully fingered as the culprit, officials likely waited to announce recalls until the source was more clear, Parish said.
“I suspect they are being a little more cautious this time,” he said.
However, this raises the question of whether officials should act fast to warn against eating suspected foods before the source has been found, risking more illnesses, Parish said.
“That has always been a balancing act.”
