DeLauro Presses FDA to Recall All Peanut Butter Products
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) issued the following statement on the on-going salmonella outbreak that the Food and Drug Administration recently tied to peanut butter and peanut paste from a Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Georgia. While the facility does not sell directly to consumers, it does supply peanut butter to institutions, such as schools, hospitals universities and health care facilities, as well as supplies peanut paste to companies, and other manufacturers for a variety of products, including cookies, crackers, and ice cream. As a result, a host of companies continue to announce potentially tainted products.
"This Salmonella outbreak in peanut butter products is a stark reminder that this critical issue needs urgent attention.
"In order to prevent additional illnesses and death from this outbreak, the FDA needs to act swiftly to recall all peanut butter products from store shelves and other facilities until it can determine that these products are safe. It is especially urgent that these products be removed immediately given the immense popularity of peanut butter and peanut butter products, plus many of these products have an extended shelf life. By keeping these peanut butter products on store shelves, we run the risk of causing additional illnesses for an even longer period of time.
"Given this recent outbreak, and the Salmonella outbreak in 2006, it is clear that peanut butter has become a high-risk product in need of additional testing. The FDA should direct all peanut butter manufacturers to do a thorough testing of their manufacturing process to ensure that there is no contamination in their facilities. The FDA also should conduct its own testing and require the state agencies it contracts with to conduct microbiological testing of peanut butter manufacturing facilities.
"It is worthy to note that this salmonella outbreak has killed more people that the infamous E.coli outbreak in 1993 involving Jack in the Box hamburgers. That outbreak resulted in reforms in the way USDA tests meat products. Hopefully, we can apply the lessons learned from the Salmonella outbreaks of the past two years to enact reforms at the FDA that will better protect consumers from unsafe foods."