Over 125 Products Recalled in Salmonella Outbreak in U.S.

Over 125 varieties of products have been recalled due to possible Peanut Corporation of America ( PCA) contamination and potential high risk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials said Wednesday.

All these products were made with peanut paste or peanut butter made at a Georgia-based plant of PCA, which supplies peanut butter products to manufacturers and institutions. The FDA confirmed the presence of salmonella in the plant, which has suspended production.

The salmonella outbreak was first detected last September. So far, it has sickened more than 480 people in 43 states, with at least 90 of them having to be hospitalized, and may have caused the death of six others.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federal agencies responsible for the oversight of food products, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the FDA have been unable to pinpoint a source for the outbreak.

Salmonella bacteria is the most common source of food poisoning in the United States, causing serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with it often experience fever, diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Source: American Shipper