Two products manufactured and marketed by ConAgra Foods have been the subject of a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Class I recall and a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) public health warning after being linked to foodborne illnesses since August 2006. The outbreak should be considered ongoing.

On February 12, 2007, the USDA issued a Class I recall for ConAgra’s Banquet Homestyle Bakes containing pasta and meatballs. On February 14, the FDA issued a public health advisory warning consumers to avoid eating certain jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed that 288 cases of foodborne illness from Salmonella Tennessee in 39 states were linked to Peter Pan peanut butter.

As of February 27, 2007, 370 persons had contracted Salmonella Tennessee and 60 of the stricken persons had been hospitalized. Forty-two states have confirmed cases. No deaths have been reported.

CDC spokesman Dave Daigle said the rise in recent case numbers is probably due to more accurate reporting as news of the outbreak became known, rather than the incidence of new infections. ConAgra Foods has recalled all Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with the number “2111” located on the lid of the jar. ConAgra also destroyed all remaining lots of the product in its possession. Some additional products may also be contaminated. Potentially contaminated products include the ¾-ounce and 1.1-ounce single-serve-packs of Peter Pan peanut butter.

Production of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter has been discontinued while authorities search for the source of the Salmonella Tennessee contamination in a ConAgra plant located in Sylvester, GA believed to be the source of the original contamination. The FDA has sent microbiologists and investigators to the processing plant to review records, conduct tests on the product, and to collect specimens. The goal is to identify the cause of the contamination and then to eliminate it.

It is now known that contaminated Peter Pan peanut butter was distributed to 60 countries. Great Value’s U.S. distributor was Wal-Mart, and authorities do not know yet if Great Value was distributed internationally. An epidemiology report on the S. Tennesee outbreak has shown that no other brands of peanut butter are involved in the outbreak.

Sources: “CDC: Salmonella Cases Hit 370”, Forbes.com, February 27, 2007; U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center For Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, “Questions and Answers: Peter Pan & Great Value Peanut Butter, Salmonella Outbreak and Product Recall,” February 25, 2007; U.S. Food and Drug Administration Release #P07-27, February 23, 2007.