My husband loves peanut butter. He is one of 299.34 million Americans who consumed this high protein product back in 2020. Consequently, the JIF brand peanut butter recall by the CDC grabbed both our attention.
- Reason for the recall: Salmonella contamination.
So far, 16 people across 12 states have symptoms of Salmonellosis and 2 have been hospitalized – which means symptoms were severe enough to demand medical attention. Luckily, there have been no deaths.
- If you are worried whether your pantry has a recalled product, you can click HERE to review what’s on the recall list.
To recap what the FDA suggests, if you have Jif peanut butter at home, do the following:
- Locate the lot code on the back of the jar.
- You will find this under or next to the ‘Best If Used By Date.’
- If the first 4 digits of the lot code are between 1274 and 2140, and the 3 numbers after that are ‘425’, this is a recalled product.
- Please discard.
- Unsure of your Jif peanut butter product?
- Contact parent company J.M. Smucker Company for more information:
- Their Hotline: 800-828-9980
- Website: jif.com/contact-us.
- Contact parent company J.M. Smucker Company for more information:
- All recalled products must be trashed immediately.
Each year, 1 in 6 people in the United States get sick from eating food contaminated with harmful bacteria.
- When 2 or more people get the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink, the event is called a food borne disease outbreak.
- When the illness is due to Salmonella bacteria, it’s called Salmonellosis.
Once you have thrown out the recalled product, do the following:
- Wash and sanitize surfaces and utensils that could have touched the peanut butter.
- Then, wash hands with water and soap.
- If you or someone in your household ate this peanut butter/food item containing the recalled peanut butter, AND have symptoms of salmonellosis, please contact your healthcare provider.
How on earth does Salmonella get into food products?
- Via food handlers who do not wash
- their hands
- the surfaces and tools they use between food preparation steps
At risk of serious salmonellosis are children under 5 years of age, people with weak immune systems, and people older than 65 years.
- Considering that these at-risk individuals are at high risk of many other infectious diseases as well, an easy solution is for everyone (including those working with the food products) to pay attention to their hand hygiene.