Seventh Salmonella Death Linked to Peanut Products

ByABC News
January 24, 2009, 9:51 AM

Jan. 25 -- SATURDAY. Jan. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Another person has died from salmonella poisoning believed to come from peanut paste products, bringing the nationwide number to seven.

According to a reports in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, state health officials say the death of an elderly Minnesota woman Jan. 23 was caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhimurium.

In all, there have been three deaths in Minnesota, two in Virginia and one each in North Carolina and Idaho.

More than 200 peanut butter and peanut paste products from at least 38 companies have been recalled so far in the ongoing salmonella outbreak, according to the latest count posted Friday on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site.

The number of people sickened is now 491 the CDC said, with cases in 43 states and one Canadian province. And the scope of the problem is being rapidly revealed in such continually climbing numbers.

  • Peanut Corp of America, whose now-closed Georgia production plant was the source of the salmonella, has issued a recall for at least 6,255 pounds of peanut butter and peanut paste sold in bulk, according to a company news release.

  • The company distributed potentially contaminated product to more than 70 firms, according to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration report Thursday.

  • The product recalls translate so far into an estimated 31 million pounds of peanut butter and peanut paste products, according to an Associated Press report Friday.

  • The scramble for safety is set against this: Americans eat 700 million pounds of peanut butter every year, according to the National Peanut Board.

While jars of peanut butter on store shelves appear to be safe, many other products made with peanut butter or peanut paste have been recalled across the country.

That's because Peanut Corp. sells its peanut butter and peanut paste in bulk containers "for use as an ingredient in hundreds of different products, such as cookies, crackers, cereal, candy and ice cream," the FDA said.