The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Friday that it is conducting an investigation into a multistate salmonella outbreak linked to Jif peanut butter products.
The FDA has partnered with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and various state and local agencies to investigate foods produced at a J.M. Smucker Company facility in Lexington, Ky.
The facility is “likely” the origin point of the Salmonella Senftenberg infections that broke out among five people, all of whom said they ingested peanut butter prior to falling ill, the FDA said, citing the CDC.
Four of the five people specifically said they ingested Jif brand peanut butter before they fell ill, according to the agency.
“FDA conducted Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) analysis on an environmental sample collected at the Lexington, KY, J.M. Smucker Company facility in 2010. The analysis shows that this 2010 environmental sample matches the strain causing illnesses in this current outbreak,” said the FDA in a statement.
The J.M. Smucker Company voluntarily recalled a number of Jif peanut butter products that have been distributed around the U.S. Friday, warning consumers that “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.”
The company announced Saturday that it would also voluntarily recall several of its products sold in Canada due to potential contamination.
