Salmonella Blog - Surveillance & analysis on salmonella news & outbreaks

The Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter outbreak has grown tremendously since February, sickening more than 600 in 47 states.  Reuters reports:

A widespread outbreak of salmonella from Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter has sickened 628 people in 47 U.S. states, but fewer people are falling ill, U.S. health authorities said on Thursday.

The outbreak, which came on the heels of a recall of bagged spinach contaminated with E. coli last year, touched off renewed debate about food safety when investigators linked the illnesses to peanut butter made at a ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in Georgia. ConAgra ceased production and recalled the product in February.

In mid-February the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had linked 288 cases of food-borne illness in 39 states to peanut butter consumption. By March 7, that total had climbed to 425 people in 44 states. As of May 22, some 200 more people in another three states were infected.

A Salmonella outbreak in and around Racine, Wisconsin, is over, according to a story in the Racine Report.  According to the newspaper:

No definitive cause of the outbreak has been determined, but health department officials continue to investigate, Gesner said.

As of Tuesday, health officials had identified 34 laboratory-confirmed salmonella cases.

Twenty-nine of the laboratory-confirmed cases were in Racine County, including 18 in the city of Racine. Three cases were in Kenosha County and two were in Waushara County. A case earlier reported in Milwaukee County has since been found to be unrelated.

Although salmonella is quite common — with 900 cases a year in the state — the regional concentration and timing of recent cases suggested an outbreak

Most of the Salmonella cases were reported in the frist two weeks of May, and the concentration led health officials to consider that the victims had eaten food in a common place; however, the investigation into the outbreak so far has not led to a determination of where the outbreak originated.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported that 20 people in Wisconsin have tested positive for Salmonella, one of the most common foodborne illnesses.

Wisconsin-There have been 20 lab-confirmed cases of salmonella in a four-county area, according to Margaret Gesner, health officer for the Caledonia/Mount Pleasant Health Department in Racine County.

Sixteen are in the Racine area, two in Waushara County, one in Kenosha County and one in Milwaukee County, she said.

The Caledonia/Mount Pleasant Health Department is working in conjunction with the City of Racine Health Department, the state Department of Health and Family Services and the State Laboratory of Hygiene to track and monitor the outbreak.

The source of the outbreak is not known, but Gesner said people who have confirmed cases of the illness are being interviewed to determine if there is a link. Salmonella is spread by eating contaminated food or water, or from people who have it or from animals. 

The Associated Press reports that Archer Farms is recalling Four Cheese Risotto for possible salmonella contamination.

Archer Farms four-cheese risotto, sold by Target stores, because it could be contaminated with salmonella. Customers should return the item to the nearest Target store for a full refund. No illnesses have been reported. Details: by phone at 800-440-0680; by Web at http://www.fda.gov.