RSS | 
Twitter
| 
Be a fan!
National food recall has little effect here
Staff writer
ttjohnso@observer-reporter.com
The national recall of peanut butter products that may be connected to a recent salmonella outbreak appears to have had little impact in Washington or Greene counties.
Rate This Story:
1 the lowest - 5 the highest
Current rating:
At Vallina's Market in Langeloth, employee Bobbi Jo Richard said she pulled some of the Little Debbie snack products from the shelves after seeing news reports.
"I started grabbing them the first thing in the morning when I got here," Richard said Friday. The company that makes Little Debbie products announced a voluntary recall of its peanut butter crackers Jan. 18.
Other than Richard removing the snack products, she said none of the store's customers have asked about the recall.
Greg Szallar, manager of the Shop 'n Save in Washington, said no customers have asked about the peanut butter recall.
"We've pulled the cheese crackers. We had a list sent by our supplier of the mandatory recall," Szallar said. "If we do have any questions, we usually answer them, but we've never had an issue with this."
A Thursday posting on the Food and Drug Administration's Web site lists recalls for cracker products from Austin Quality Food, Little Debbie, Keebler, Meijer and Weis Quality.
At Guyton's Food Warehouse along Route 136 outside of Washington, owner Phillip Guyton said the store has not been notified of a recall on any of the products carried in the warehouse.
The recall refers to products ranging from cookies and snack bars to ice cream and dog food.
The cafeteria snack racks in Jefferson-Morgan School District used to offer Austin peanut butter crackers, one of the products included in the recall. Sherry Kottke, food service director, reported to the school board this week that those crackers were destroyed when the recall was announced.
Central Greene School District in Waynesburg went a step further. Kim Haskakis, food service director, said the cafeterias will not serve any food item that contains peanut butter until it is certain the outbreak has ended.
Nutrition Inc. manages the district's food service program, and Haskakis said the practice is a companywide policy, "just to be safe."
As of last week, the CDC reported that salmonella has sickened more than 400 people in 43 states, with the highest number of cases in California and Ohio. Most of the reported cases occurred after Oct. 1. The outbreak has been linked to three deaths, none in Pennsylvania.
Dave Zazac, a spokesman for the Allegheny County Health Department, said no cases linked to the peanut butter have been reported in Allegheny County. Washington and Greene counties do not have health departments.
Salmonella is not that uncommon, Zazac said. In January, Allegheny County had 11 reported cases, none of which was linked to the recent peanut butter outbreak, he said.
"It's out there, no doubt about it," Zazac said of salmonella. He recommends throwing away any of the recalled products or returning them to the store where purchased.
Allegheny County averages about 100 cases a year, including 119 in 2008, 90 in 2007 and 123 in 2006.
"So 11 during the first month is really on target in terms of incidents," Zazac said.
Symptoms of salmonella are diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. Most recover without treatment in four to seven days, but severe infection may occur when the bacteria spread from the intestines to the bloodstream.
Salmonella germs, known to cause illness for more than 100 years, were discovered by an American scientist named Salmon, hence the name salmonella.
Carl Sabatasse of Sabatasse's Market in Burgettstown said none of his customers has expressed concern.
"I handle Jif (brand peanut butter) and a couple of crackers, but they're not affected," Sabatasse said. "I don't have the off-brands. I like peanut butter, but I only use Jif."
A Web site for Jif brands said none of the suspected peanut butter is used in its products.
A list of recalled products can be found on the FDA site at www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm/.
