FDA: Postpone eating products with peanut butter

As many of my readers are mom's with children I thought this would be an important read...

First it was bulk peanut butter shipped to schools, hospitals and nursing homes. Now the concern is spreading.

While name brand jars of peanut butter, on your grocery store shelves, are believed to be safe, we're at the point now where the FDA is warning you should postpone eating cookies, ice cream and other products containing peanut butter until the FDA can get a handle on the extent of this salmonella problem.

Six deaths, including two in Minnesota, are blamed on contaminated peanut butter products.

Kellogg has already recalled more than a dozen of their creations.

And this could be just the tip of the iceberg.

Today Hy-Vee grocery stores, including stores in Minnesota, have recalled some of their cookies and other products containing peanut butter.

And today the FDA said that if you have any products in your kitchen cupboards that contain peanut butter, it would be best not to eat them yet because its unknown if those products contain salmonella.

Salmonella has been found at a plant in Georgia owned by Peanut Corporation of America. That company distributes peanut butter and peanut paste to 85 different food companies. That means the peanut butter may have found its way into a large number of products.

Kellogg has recalled 16 products including Austin and Keebler brand peanut butter sandwich crackers and snack size packs of Famous Amos peanut butter cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle peanut butter cookies. Click here for more.

Stephen Sundlof, with the FDA, said today, "In terms of food products that contain peanut butter, but have not yet been recalled, we urge consumers to postpone eating these products until further info becomes available about whether that product may be affected. We have been advised by manufacturers that product specific info may be made available within the new few days." So avoid products with peanut butter in them for now and throw out recalled products.

The Hy-Vee recall is for its own brand of products. It said in a news release today that it is recalling its Peanut Butter Cookies, Monster Cookies, Peanut Butter Reeses Pieces Cookies, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Lunchbox Reeses Pieces Cookies, Lunchbox Peanut Butter Cookies, People Chow Party Mix and Assorted Truffle Fudge. Click here for Hy-Vee's website.

As for that jar of peanut butter on your shelf, the FDA says there is no indication that the major national brand name peanut butters sold in grocery stores are linked to this outbreak.

Sundlof says, "Most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe."

Click here for the FDA website.