A press release posted on March 2 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a recall of select peanuts, peanut products and self-serve grind peanut butters from Whole Foods Market in Bellevue because of potential salmonella contamination.
No known illnesses have been reported in connection with the recently recalled products by Whole Foods Market, but the company has taken precautions by recalling a number of peanut-based products.
The Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), a peanut processing company and maker of peanut butter for bulk distribution to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies, announced a voluntary recall of peanut butter produced in it’s Blakely, Georgia processing facility because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella back in January of 2009.
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Those infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
During the months of January and February, the PCA continued to make additional recalls of products produced from the plant that had been distributed across the country.
According to Whole Foods Market team member Paige Brady, the March 2 recall of the peanut butter products at Whole Foods Market was initiated after it was determined that the peanut product received was manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America in Plainview, Tex., which tested positive for the same strain of salmonella as their Georgia facility.
The PCA Texas facility principally blanched, split, granulated and roasted peanuts for distribution to various businesses including the production and distribution of peanut meal, a byproduct of the peanut granulation process used to make peanut butter and peanut paste. The Texas DSHS is currently notifying all first-level customers of PCA Texas products from January 1, 2007 forward that all products are subject to recall. The FDA will audit 100 percent of those PCA customers to facilitate the removal of product from the marketplace.
The peanut products and peanut butter made by the Peanut Corporation of America were distributed throughout Washington and Oregon through Whole Foods Market stores in the bulk foods section from Jan 1 2007 to Feb 13 2009.
Whole Foods Market has taken the appropriate steps to inform the FDA of its actions and is fully cooperating with the Agency according to the FDA press release.
In January, Whole Foods Market pulled products from its shelves that were affected by the initial recalls related to the PCA Blakely, GA facility. On February 12, in a precautionary action, the market removed peanut and peanut-containing products from the bulk departments that came directly from or were identifiable as coming from any of the three PCA facilities.
On the company blog, Whole Foods Market states that they will continue to work with vendors to alert customers of any product recalls if and when they become aware of them.
The following items have been recalled from Whole Foods Market in Bellevue:
Glory Bee Foods Conventional Dry Roasted (no salt) Peanut Splits >BULK BIN 6330
Glory Bee Foods Honey Roasted Peanut Splits >BULK BIN 8855
Peanut Butter made from Glory Bee Foods Honey Roasted Peanut Splits> BULK BIN 8855
Glory Bee Foods Organic Dry Roasted (no salt) Peanut Splits >BULK BIN 6360
Glory Bee Foods Whole Honey Peanuts >BULK BIN 8313
Glory Bee Foods Mt. Hood Trail Mix 12/8oz bags upc 3004285040
Glory Bee Foods Mt. Hood Trail Mix >BULK BIN 8825
Glory Bee Foods Aunt Patty’s Cascade Trail Mix >BULK BIN 5671
Self grind peanut butter made from above peanuts
Products were sold between Jan 1 2007 and Feb 13 2009.
People who have purchased any of these products from Whole Foods Market can return them for a full refund. Consumers with questions concerning the recall should contact Glory Bee Foods at 1-800-456-7923. Consumers can read more information about products affected by the peanut butter recall on the Whole Foods Market blog at http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/.
