It’s our favorite except the two guys at home. Abby and I usually eat it even without wheat bread. We can’t stop spooning out the Skippy super chunk extra crunchy peanut butter. We don’t ran out of peanut butter at home or at least by the time another jar gets empty, either I buy or a big box from in-laws (with peanut butter jars) arrives – that’s why I learned to make peanut butter cookies.
Recently, a Salmonella outbreak in the US were linked to peanut butter and other peanut containing products. According to MSNBC news, the outbreak has lead to the deaths of eight people and illnesses in at least 529 in 43 states in the US. This was confirmed by FDA and CDC epidemiological analysis and laboratory testing that the sources of illness were caused by Salmonella Typhimurium are peanut butter and peanut paste produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at its Blakely, Georgia processing plant.
FDA has recalled the products made by PCA and they have created a searchable database for these products, which can be found here. The list is updated frequently.
Wala naman ang Skippy duon. Buti na lang. Actually, hindi lang naman peanut butter ang maaring ma-contaminate ng Salmonella. It can also be found in brownie, cake, candy, cookie, cracker, donut, fruit and vegetable, ice cream, pet food pre-package meals, snack bar and snack mix products na merong peanut ingredients. Anyways, here in Davao as I observed, sa Gaisano mall talaga ang maraming imported products so check talaga natin mga labels.
Be alert for the symptoms of Salmonella. According to CDC, most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12–72 hours after infection. Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. Although most people recover without treatment, severe infections may occur. Infants, elderly persons, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness. When severe infection occurs, Salmonella may spread from the intestines to the bloodstream and then to other body sites and can cause death unless the person is treated promptly with antibiotics.
Actually, di lang naman natin makukuha ang salmonella sa pagkain ng peanut butter. Pati sa food handling especially meat products, we need to be careful and be aware. There’s a lot of information about it, just go to the CDC web page