Moisture Spread Salmonella into Peanut Butter

April 2007

ConAgra Foods, the company responsible for Salmonella-tainted Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter, announced that the source of the bacterium has been identified. Moisture leakage caused the Salmonella bacterium to contaminate factory surfaces and spread into their nationally distributed products. The Georgia production plant had three episodes, including a leaky roof and sprinkler malfunctions, which caused the Salmonella to grow.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) traced the Salmonella outbreak that sickened about 425 people in 44 states to ConAgra’s facility in February of 2007. Later, in March, the presence of the rare strain, Salmonella Tennessee, was confirmed at the production plant.

The Salmonella outbreak affected a variety of products ranging from all Peter Pan peanut butter to some Great Value peanut butter, as well as commercial peanut butter products sold through food retail outlets such as Carvel, Sonic, and more. ConAgra has shifted production of Peter Pan to a different facility and plans to reintroduce the product in July.