Salmonella outbreak possibly linked to peanut butter

January 10, 12:25 PMFood ExaminerEric Burkett

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Minnesota officials believe peanut butter
may be the source of the latest salmonella
outbreak.

 

 

For an update on the salmonella outbreak, click here.

Another major Salmonella outbreak has been identified. The Centers for Disease Control announced Friday it had identified 399 cases in 42 states with 55 in California, alone. The kicker? This has been going on since September.

While they have yet to confirm the source, officials at the Minnesota departments of health and agriculture believe peanut butter might be the culprit and have issued a warning for King Nut Creamy Peanut Butter.

Officials at both departments “issued a product advisory after [Minnesota Department of Agriculture's] preliminary laboratory testing indicated the presence of Salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter,” according to the Minnesota Department of Health. King Nut is not sold in stores, but is distributed to institutions such as hospitals, schools, universities, restaurants, delis, cafeterias, and bakeries. The warning has only been issued for Minnesota for the time being.

The last major Salmonella outbreak also occurred last year before it was traced in July to jalapeño and serrano peppers imported from Mexico. Officials mistakenly identified tomatoes as the likely source, dealing a significant blow to American tomato growers, a financial disaster from which they’re still recovering.

Why so long to identify an outbreak?
The problem with outbreaks such as this one is that most cases of Salmonella go unreported. While officials have identified 399 cases as of yesterday, the CDC estimates the actual number of infections could be as high as 30 times that. Why? Most people don’t report food poisoning episodes. Most “develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection,” according to the CDC. “Infection is usually diagnosed by culture of a stool sample. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days. “

Generally, even though the experience is unpleasant enough, it’s not severe enough to merit a visit to the doctor and victims attribute it to the non-existent “stomach-flu”. Consequently, the case isn’t reported to the local health department from which the CDC learns of such outbreaks. Because the details are first assembled at the local level, it can take a while – in this case, four months – for officials to connect all the dots.