Stores all over the country were forced to recall peanut butter products produced at the Peanut Corporation of America. In early February, a PCA plant located in Plainview, Texas was discovered to be afflicted with Salmonella Typhimurium. It is believed the contamination stemmed from dead rodents, rodent excrement, and bird feathers that were found in a crawl space above the production area of the company. In January, a PCA plant in Georgia was also found to have tested positive for salmonella. In the Georgia facility, mold, roaches, and a leaking roof were found by inspectors.

Sadly, it has been revealed that the company continued to ship products from both facilities, despite knowing the products had tested positive for salmonella. There is mounting evidence against PCA, including damaging information that indicates the president of the company, Stewart Parnell had the tainted products sent to the victims of recent disasters and poor schoolchildren. But many of the products made it to store shelves and more than 200 companies have since removed over 2.700 products due to contamination concerns. To date, this has been one of the largest food recalls in the nation.

The major peanut butter-related products including Skippy, Peter Pan, and Jif are not part of the present recall. But the list of tainted products that are on the recall list can now be found at the newly established website from the Food and Drug Administration, which outlines the list of recalled merchandise affected by the contamination of peanut butter at the PCA facilities.

One concern about the peanut butter recall surrounds the Girls Scouts of America organization and its annual cookie sale. Many of the products on the cookie sale list include peanut butter as a main ingredient but according to the bakers of the cookies, Little Brownie Bakers ensures that all Girl Scout Cookies are safe and the peanut butter used has not been affected by the recall.

The other products on the extensive list from the FDA’s website can be used to ascertain whether or not any products you currently have in your household have been affected by the recall. Salmonella can cause fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. In the more serious cases, it can lead to endocarditis, arthritis, and arterial infections. If you have any products on the list, it may be difficult to seemingly waste so much food but in this scenario, it is much better to ditch the bad foods than to suffer the consequences.

Consumer Alert: Peanut Butter Sickness Source Found was created by and is property of American Consumer News.

In early September, officials in China found evidence of the chemical in powdered infant formula, which caused the deaths of the infants. After further investigation, melamine has shown up in other merchandise, including milk products. Last year, prior to the September incidents, pet food was quickly pulled from store shelves all over the country after melamine was found by the Food and Drug Administration. Many pets became seriously ill and many died after eating the tainted food.

Product Being Recalled

The candy that has been subsequently recalled by the US distributor is called White Rabbit Creamy Candy. It is sold in packages of 8 and 16 ounces and is available in flavors such as Red Bean, Coffee, Mango, Strawberry, Lychee, Corn, and Assorted. The package contains a logo with the words “White Rabbit” and a picture of one.  The US distributor noted that the candy was distributed in several states, including New York, California, Georgia, Oregon, Hawaii, Illinois, Texas, Washington, and Minnesota.

While the United States has removed the White Rabbit candy from the stores, other countries have also been faced with a melamine-tainted product crisis. Several products exported from China have tested positive for melamine but none of those products have been distributed to the United States. In Britain, the makers of Cadbury chocolate candies recalled 11 Chinese-made chocolates due to contamination concerns. However, in the US, Cadbury chocolates’ is manufactured by the Hershey Company, which does not purchase milk products or other ingredients from China. Hershey ensure that their products are safe and not related to the British Cadbury recall.

When ingested, melamine can cause stones in the kidneys and lead to complete failure in the kidneys. Officials in the US have not been notified of any illnesses linked to the tainted candy and the FDA pointed out that infant formula in the US is safe as formula companies have not been importing Chinese-made ingredients for the purpose of manufacturing powdered or liquid formulas.

Chinese Milk Scandal Hits US Shelves was created by and is property of American Consumer News.