The title of the this post does sound rather strange.  You see, back in the 80s, barely a tween, I went to the allergist and took an allergy test.  I had a positive reaction to peanut butter, and since that day, I did my best to avoid peanut butter and other products that contained it.

There were times when I unknowingly ingested the product, as in, eating a cracker and not knowing it contained peanut butter, but there was no allergic reaction after consumption.  No hives, no closing of the throat, nothing.  Still, I didn’t want to leave it to chance and I eventually avoided it all together.  I made sure to read product labels, and asked if a certain food contained peanut butter if it was offered to me.

Fifteen years later, that was all about to change.  I was tired of reading ingredient labels and missing out on the nutritional benefits of peanut butter.  It was time to take another allergy test.   I heard that allergies come and go, so I wanted to see if I was still allergic to peanut butter.  Last year, I took an allergy test that included 40 common food allergens.

Peanut butter wasn’t listed as one of the allergens I was testing for, but peanuts were on the list, so I figured that it was close enough.  After going through a set of prick tests, the area of my arm with the peanut allergen didn’t show any reaction, not even a hint of redness or a small bump.  Could this be true?  Did my allergy to peanut butter go away?  Were the results of my first allergy test full of false positives?  I will never know.

I took the allergy test in October, and four months would pass until I walked down the peanut butter and jelly aisle of the supermarket.  I picked up the first jar and looked at the ingredients label.  No, I wasn’t looking for peanut-free peanut butter.  I was looking for high fructose corn syrup.  If it was listed, I would continue to look for a brand of peanut butter that didn’t contain it.

At last, I found a jar of all-natural peanut butter, made out of 100% peanuts, no sugar, no salt, or any other type of ingredients.

Peanut butter my friend, we have a lot of catching up to do.

The Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Georgia, was sealed off by federal authorities Monday morning, WALB reported.

The company is accused of knowingly shipping tainted products now linked to nearly 600 illnesses, including eight deaths, in 43 states. The recent outbreak has led to one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history, encompassing more than 1,000 products.

The Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations launched a probe of the company on January 30.

Previously, the Peanut Corporation of America had said said it shipped products only after subsequent tests came back negative for salmonella.

Representatives from the company have not returned repeated calls from CNN.

It seems like the recall of peanut butter products are never ending.

Turkey Hill has voluntarily recalled six ice cream and frozen yogurt products.  Target recalled sixteen products that are sold under the Archer Farm and Market Pantry brands.  Kashi is also recalling some of its granola bars and cookies.

Head on over to the FDA website for a comprehensive list of all products that have been recalled.

Ah, the plot thickens.  Seems like the nationwide salmonella outbreak was something that was bound to happen.  The peanut butter plant in Georgia responsible for the outbreak has a history of cleanliness standard violations.  The plant is no longer in operation.

From New York Times.com

The plant in Georgia that produced peanut butter tainted by salmonella has a history of sanitation lapses and was cited repeatedly in 2006 and 2007 for having dirty surfaces and grease residue and dirt buildup throughout the plant, according to health inspection reports. Inspection reports from 2008 found the plant repeatedly in violation of cleanliness standards.

Inspections of the plant in Blakely, Ga., by the State Agriculture Department found areas of rust that could flake into food, gaps in warehouse doors large enough for rodents to get through, unmarked spray bottles and containers and numerous violations of other practices designed to prevent food contamination.

Here are some of the findings from the State Agriculture Department’s inspection report:

• “The food-contact surfaces of re-work kettle in the butter room department were not properly cleaned and sanitized.”
• “The food-contact surfaces of the bulk oil roast transfer belt” in a particular room “were not properly cleaned and sanitized. The food-contact surfaces of pan without wheels in the blanching department were not properly cleaned and sanitized.”
• “clean peanut butter buckets stored uncovered,”
• “wiping cloth” to “cover crack on surge bin”

Read

More companies have joined the peanut butter recall list in the attempt to mitigate salmonella exposure to the public.  General Mills Inc., Kroger Co., Safeway Inc., and Meijer Inc. are the recent addtions to the list.  The source of the outbreak has been traced back to Peanut Corporation of America’s peanut butter and peanut paste plant in Georgia.

Head on over to the FDA’s website for a complete list of recalled products.

Full article here

The source of the salmonella outbreak that has spread to 43 states has been traced back to a peanut butter supplier. The peanut butter was sold to food service providers by King Nut Companies, so those off-the-shelf brands like Skippy and Jif look to be quite alright. The outbreak has sickened over 400 people and is also linked to three possible deaths. About two years ago, a similar salmonella outbreak came from Peter Pan brand peanut butter and was linked to at least 625 cases.

Read the full article here

~ Kin

We might be down in this recession, but we’re not out.  Consumers are cutting back on spending and are struggling to make ends meet.  Manufacturers too are feeling the crunch.  Less consumer spending, higher transportation costs, and higher cost of ingredients means smaller bottom lines, and that means, unhappy stakeholders.  To offset the effects of the recession, many companies have devised tactics on maximizing profitability by deception.  There’s no formal term for it, but I guess we can label it downsizing.

You might not know it, but while that jar of Skippy peanut butter looks like it hasn’t changed, it actually contains less.  The new jars have an inward dimple at the bottom that reduces the contents by two ounces.  Even 1,000-count sheet Scott toilet paper has reduced each sheet from 4 inches to 3.7 inches.  Don’t they know about the importance of tp surface area?  A couple of months ago, I noticed two adjacent boxes of the same cereal priced the same, yet one box was thinner in depth.  I didn’t think much of it at the time.  But it all makes sense now.

Source

If you’re one of those peanut butter snobs who demands top quality peanut butter, well, you can have it all with your very own peanut butter maker.  As for me, I’m allergic to peanuts, so I’ll live vicariously through you peanut butter lovers.

Just throw in your nuts (peanuts, cashews, macadamia, and others) and let the machine do it’s work.  You can have your nut butter either chunky or smooth. There’s a joke in there…somewhere.

Available at the end of the month.  All yours for $49.98.

lighterside via dvice