Updated at 11:23 a.m., Friday, February 16, 2007
No illnesses locally from contaminated peanut butter
Advertiser Staff
State health officials today said there were no reported illnesses in Hawai'i from peanut butter linked to a nationwide outbreak of salmonella.The Department of Health said yesterday some jars of Peter Pan brand peanut butter with a product code beginning with "2111" on the lid had been discovered on store shelves in Hawai'i. The "2111" code number indicates the peanut butter came from the ConAgra Foods Inc. plant in Sylvester, Ga., were the contaminated product was produced, federal investigators said.
Retailers are being asked to pull jars from shelves and discard them, said Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo.
Nearly 300 people in 39 states have fallen ill since August, according to federal officials. Health officials were not aware of any local cases of illness linked to the peanut butter.
"At this point there are no confirmed cases of illness," Okubo said.
Consumers who have purchased affected jars can receive a full refund by sending the lid, their name and mailing address to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 3768, Omaha, NE 68103.
