Tainted Cantaloupe, Baby Food Recalled

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Consumers who have questions should contact Hain Celestial Group at 1-800-434-4246.

Meanwhile, scientists went through ConAgra's peanut butter plant in Sylvester, Ga., Friday, to determine howSalmonellaTennessee got into batches of the spread that were made at that plant.

The company still has not determined how many jars are affected by a recall. The plant, shut down since Wednesday, is the sole maker of the Peter Pan brand and one of the producers of the Wal-Mart Great Value house brand, and the recall covers all peanut butter made at the plant since May 2006.

Consumers should toss out jars with a product code on the lid beginning with "2111."

The FDA is recommending that all affected jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter purchased since May 2006 be discarded.

And supermarkets across the country have already pulled Peter Pan off their shelves.

Howsalmonella-- which typically comes from animal feces -- got into the processed peanut butter remains a mystery.

According to anAPreport, rodents and birds sometimes make their way into peanut storage bins at the Sylvester plant, but anysalmonellawould be killed during the peanut roasting process, when temperatures exceed the 165 degrees needed to destroy the bacteria.

The outbreak appears to have started in August 2006, according to the FDA, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting the highest numbers of cases in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri. About 20 percent of those sickened were hospitalized, and there have been no deaths.

According to CDC epidemiologist Dr. Mike Lynch, 85 percent of those who fell ill withSalmonellaTennessee said they had eaten peanut butter, and about a quarter said they ate it daily.

ConAgra announced that it has added extra capacity to its toll-free Consumer Affairs hotline (866-344-6970), which is set up to respond to consumer questions and concerns. Callers can also apply for refunds for products covered by the recall.

Symptoms ofsalmonellapoisoning include fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps.Salmonellacan cause life-threatening infections in people in poor health or who have weakened immune systems.

Any such illnesses should be reported to state or local health authorities, the FDA said.

According to the CDC, there are an estimated 76 million cases of food-borne illness each year in the United States, the vast majority of which are mild and cause symptoms that last a day or two. Some cases are more serious, leading to 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths annually. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, and those with weakened immune systems.

More information

For more information onsalmonella, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCES: Feb. 16, 2007, FDA press release; Feb. 15, 2007, FDA press release; ConAgra press release;Associated Press