UK FSA issues alert over peanut butter products imported from US

The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued an alert, urging consumers not to eat certain peanut butter products imported from the US as they may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Peanut butter produced by US-based food company Sunland has been linked to an outbreak of a strain of Salmonella known as Salmonella Bredeney.

In order to control the outbreak, Sunland is recalling a range of peanut butter and peanut-based products as well as other products containing nuts and seeds.

FSA noted that the initial recall in the US that began in September did not affect the UK since the products were not distributed in Europe.

However, after the recall was expanded, the US authorities contacted the European Commission to check if the affected products had been distributed in member states.

While it is believed that the products are not available in UK supermarkets, they might have been bought on the internet or at specialist shops that import American food products.

Nick Martin, Senior Vice President at Trace One, a product recall technology company, said that delays in product recalls have the potential to cause irrevocable damage: not only to public health through products remaining on supermarket shelves, as with last year’s E Coli outbreak in Europe from affected beansprouts, but also to the reputation of the food industry.

"As in the Sudan 1 in Worcester sauce scare a few years ago, an affected product like peanut putter can find its way into a massive variety of different products. Without full knowledge of where the product has gone it could be weeks before the full extent of the situation is known, which can too easily increase the risks to consumers," Martin said.

"This has been exacerbated as the current economic situation forces food manufacturers to work with many different retailers in order to boost margins, meaning ingredients can more easily be used across multiple products and multiple customers."

The FSA has requested the US authorities to provide distribution information and, in the interim, it has urged local authorities to identify the businesses in their areas that may have imported or sold the affected products, and withdraw any remaining products from sale.

The UK Health Protection Agency (HPA) has not received any reports of illnesses due to the consumption of the affected products.

Consumption of food contaminated with Salmonella can lead to Salmonellosis, a common bacterial foodborne illness, and its symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and fever.