The Peanut Butter Illnesses Rise as FDA Splits Hairs

Federal and state health officials claim to be continuing to trace the source of the Salmonella peanut butter infestation that has sickened consumers nationwide. The official number of Salmonella cases linked to tainted jars of peanut butter has risen to 370.

Looking at the official tally, 370 persons infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Tennessee have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control from 42 states. Among 294 patients for whom clinical information is available, 60 (20%) were hospitalized. No deaths have been officially attributed to this infection, though two deaths are under investigation.

The actual number is many times that, however, judging from the number of complaints received by ConsumerAffairs.Com, which had received 142 complaints as of February 28. Most consumers did not seek medical treatment or, if they did, were not given a specific diagnosis and therefore would not be included in the official count.

Onset dates, which are known for 256 patients, ranged from August 1, 2006 to February 16, 2007, and 62% of these illnesses began after December 1, 2006, the CDC said.

In all the cases so far health officials say they have investigated, the tainted peanut butter has been traced to product produced at a ConAgra plant in Georgia, packaged under the Peter Pan and Great Value brand names.

Meanwhile, health officials say they are investigating the origin of peanut butter found in other products. In an exclusive report, ConsumerAffairs.com has found at least one consumer who said she became ill after eating a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.

"I'm not trying to start a mass hysteria situation, but I did eat a King Size Reese's Peanut Butter Cup product almost three weeks ago," wrote Althea of Hialeah, Fla. "I got sick with diarrhea later on that same evening and it was an ongoing thing for almost a week ... I couldn't sit down for more than 10 minutes without having to go to the toilet."

Until now, the recall has been limited to Peter Pan and Great Value jars with the product code 2111 on the lid.

Who's On First?

The Food and Drug Administration has said it is investigating other possible sources of infection but FDA press officer Mike Herndon took issue with ConsumerAffairs.Com's report about the woman who blamed her illness on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. That report quoted FDA as saying it was still investigating the possibility that the tainted peanut butter might show up in other products.

"I said FDA was still trying to determine the various distribution points. I merely added that FDA became recently aware ConAgra had distributed its products to a number of institutions," Herndon said, denying he had suggested a link to Reese's.

"Although I never definitively ruled it out (because FDA's investigation is still onging [sic]) I NEVER ruled it in, either," Herndon said. "In the future I would appreciate it if you were more careful in your reporting and suggesting that I said something I didn't say [sic]."

Hershey's, parent company of Reese's, also complained throughout the day about the story, repeating its statement that it "does not source any peanut butter from ConAgra," which manufactured the infected Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter, but refusing to say where its peanut butter comes from.

ConAgra will not say whether the Reese's chocolates contain any of its peanut butter.

Despite FDA's claims that it is investigating other sources of infection, it did not ask for additional information that would have enabled it to investigate the illness Althea of Hialeah attributed to Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Nor did Hershey's express any interest in contacting Althea.

What To Do

Persons who think they may have become ill from eating peanut butter should consult a physician if they do not get better in a few days. If the illness affects small children, the elderly, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems, a doctor should be consulted promptly.

The FDA and other agencies have been advising consumers who have Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111 to discard the jar and keep the lid.

However, attorneys advise that, if consumers were seriously harmed by their illness, they should seal the jar in a plastic bag and store it out of the reach of children or others in the household, so that it is available as evidence.

Although a few lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed, one experienced consumer attorney who asked not to be identified expressed doubt such actions would be successful.

"The vast majority of suits will be individual actions. A class suit would be difficult to certify," he said.

ConAgra has publicly offered to repay the money consumers spent on the peanut butter and any attempt to recover medical costs and wages lost to illness would require the filing of an individual personal injury suit. Such suits are usually not economically feasible unless consumers have suffered serious injury or death.

Consumers could also file in Small Claims Court if they have well-documented expenses and a firm diagnosis. Consumers should note that they cannot claim punitive damages for pain and suffering in most small claims cases.

Statistical Reports

PulseNet, the national subtyping network for foodborne disease surveillance coordinated by CDC, detected a slowly rising increase in cases of Salmonella Tennessee this fall. OutbreakNet, the national network of public health officials coordinated by CDC that investigates enteric disease outbreaks, then worked for several weeks to identify this unusual food vehicle.

Public health officials from several states have isolated Salmonella from open jars of peanut butter of both Peter Pan and Great Value brand. For nine jars, the serotype has been confirmed as Tennessee and DNA fingerprinting has shown that the pattern is the outbreak strain, the CDC said.

FDA officials say the agency is "working collaboratively" with the peanut butter manufacturer to learn more about production of peanut butter to determine how it may have become contaminated.

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

The states that have reported cases are Alaska (1 case), Alabama (10), Arkansas (3), Arizona (5), California (4), Colorado (11), Connecticut (2), Florida (4), Georgia (18), Iowa (7), Illinois (9), Indiana (15), Kansas (9), Kentucky (10), Massachusetts (6), Maryland (2), Maine (1), Michigan (9), Minnesota (5), Missouri (17), Mississippi (5), Montana (2), Nebraska (2), Nevada (1), New Jersey (6), New Mexico (1), New York (41), North Carolina (22), North Dakota (1), Ohio (9), Oklahoma (11), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (27), South Carolina (8), South Dakota (6), Tennessee (18), Texas (16), Virginia (23), Vermont (7), Washington (4), Wisconsin (6), and West Virginia (4).

By Joseph S. Enoch and Mark Huffman
Source: www.consumeraffairs.com