FDA, CDC Investigate Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Jif Peanut Butter Products

Tub of Jif peanut butter. (Mike Mozart [CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>]/Wikimedia Commons)

The Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating a salmonella outbreak linked to certain Jif peanut butter products that have since been recalled.

The FDA issued a public advisory on Saturday telling people to not eat, serve, or sell certain recalled Jif peanut butter products that were produced at the J.M. Smucker Company facility in Lexington, Kentucky.

“This product has a two-year shelf life so consumers should check any Jif peanut butter in their home,” the FDA stated.

J.M. Smucker on Friday issued a voluntary recall of certain Jif peanut butter products that have lot codes between 1274425 to 2140425, only if the first seven digits end with 425, indicating they were manufactured in Lexington. The recall includes more than 45 kinds of products. The lot codes can be found next to the use-by dates.

A review by the CDC showed that five out of five people, before becoming ill, reported eating peanut butter, with four of those five people saying they had different varieties of Jif brand peanut butter.

The FDA carried out a lab test on a sample collected from the J.M. Smucker Company facility in Lexington back in 2010 and the analysis “shows that this 2010 environmental sample matches the strain causing illnesses in this current outbreak,” the agency said on Saturday.

“Epidemiologic evidence indicates that Jif brand peanut butter produced in the J.M. Smucker Company facility located in Lexington, KY, is the likely cause of illnesses in this outbreak,” it added. “FDA’s investigation is ongoing and more information will be provided as it becomes available.”

People who have used the recalled Jif brand peanut butter “should wash and sanitize surfaces and utensils that could have touched the peanut butter,” the FDA said.

Anyone who consumed this peanut butter and have symptoms of salmonella infection should contact their doctor to receive care.

Salmonella infection is a bacterial disease that affects the intestinal tract. People contract the disease mainly through contaminated water or food. Symptoms normally develop about 12 to 72 hours after infection, and include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. In more severe cases, symptoms include a high fever, aches, headaches, lethargy, a rash, and blood in the stool.

People normally recover without treatment after four to seven days of symptoms. However, some severe cases can be deadly.

The CDC estimates that about 450 people in the United States die each year from salmonella infection. Groups more at risk of severe infection and death include children younger than five, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.