Recalled Peanut Butter Sold In Highlands County
By MANDY SHEETS

SEBRING — Wal-Mart pulled much of its peanut butter off the shelves Wednesday after ConAgra Foods Inc. recalled certain jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter that was linked to a salmonella outbreak.

Lids of jars with a product code beginning “2111” can be returned to ConAgra for a refund, the company said.

Craig Vought, a spokesman for the Sebring Wal-Mart, said the product was pulled from the shelves, and customers who purchased the merchandise at Wal-Mart can return it to the store for a full refund.

Teri Welsh, of Sebring, heard about the recall on the radio and was surprised to find two jars of it in her pantry. Many of her family members in the area also have found it on their shelves.

“We’ve been calling and warning each other about it,” Welsh said.

The salmonella outbreak, which federal health officials said Wednesday has sickened 288 people in 39 states since August, was linked to tainted peanut butter produced by ConAgra at a plant in Sylvester, Ga. No cases of salmonella infection have been reported in Florida.

How salmonella got into peanut butter is still under investigation, said Mike Lynch, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Salmonella infection is known each year to sicken about 40,000 people in the United States, according to the CDC. Salmonellosis, as the infection is known, kills about 600 people annually.

Symptoms can include diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting.

CDC officials believe the salmonella outbreak to be the nation’s first stemming from peanut butter. The most cases were reported in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee and Missouri.

About 20 percent of all the ill were hospitalized, and there were no deaths, Lynch said. About 85 percent of the infected people said they ate peanut butter, CDC officials said.

ConAgra officials haven’t said how much peanut butter is covered in the recall. The Peter Pan brand is sold in 10 varieties, according to ConAgra’s Web site. The Great Value brand, which is also made by other companies, is a Wal-Mart brand.

The recall does not affect Great Value peanut butter made by other manufacturers, the FDA said.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.