University takes precautions with peanut butter recall

01/29/09 - In response to the peanut butter salmonella outbreak, the University of Rhode Island's Dining Services and food retailers have taken extra precautions.Mike McCullough, associate administrator of retail and dining halls, said URI recieved indications that products containing peanut butter manufactured by Core-Mark may have been contaminated around Friday, Jan. 16.

Products containing peanut butter at URI have been determined to be predominately from Core-Mark, an uninfected food plant based in Massachusetts.

"By the time the weekend was through, we knew exactly what needed to be pulled and what was fine," he said.

That day, the route driver for Little Debbie products came to remove peanut butter crackers from campus retail shops, Neil Ulricksen said. Ulricksen is responsible for overseeing most of the Snack Shack, operated by the URI Bookstore.

"[Workers] came [into the Snack Shack on] Jan. 20, and removed things like Keebler and Ritz," Ulricksen said.

Salmonella poisoning is caused by salmonella typhimurium, a bacterium found in the intestines of animals. Foods that are contaminated with this organism have been in contact with mammalian feces. This bacterium is responsible for gastric problems, known as bacterial gastroenteritis, resulting in bloody stools, diarrhea and occasionally death in severe cases.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said approximately 40,000 cases of salmonellosis are reported each year in the United States.

On Friday, Jan. 8, CNN reported that the CDC was actively looking into a 42-state outbreak of salmonella. The source was later determined to be from the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), a food processing plant in Blakely, Ga.

Students do not need to worry about the safety of consuming peanut butter or foods containing peanut butter at URI, McCullough said.

"When there is a recall I receive an e-mail from the [Food and Drug Administration]," McCullough said. "This is how we know about the recall. I look everyday to make sure that none of our foods end up on the recall list. We're in tune to all the modern means of communication to address the safety of our dining halls. We monitor all the sites."

Freshman Catherine Boyer said she trusts URI is taking the recall seriously.

"It's a college university, if they let things slip there will be serious consequences," the psychology major said. "I feel safe enough that [URI Dining Services] are taking precautions."

Although several brand names of peanut butter products were pulled from shelves in URI food shops, Dining Services will be receiving reimbursements to compensate for the loss. "We will be credited for everything, so there will be no loss for us," Ulricksen said.

Brands such as Jif, Teddie and Peter Pan have been deemed safe to consume and may be found in the dining areas. Representatives at the Massachusetts-based Core-Mark factory informed Ulricksen the candy and nutrition bars sold on campus that contain peanut butter are not affected by the outbreak.

In regards to the peanut butter cookies, "We're using a cookie that is also produced in Massachusetts, the company [we purchase them from] is not linked to the outbreak," McCullough reassured.

"I didn't know much about it, just that it was mostly crackers," URI freshman Joe Lieneck, a turf grass management major said.

For freshman Curtis Yaeger, the issue "is not a big deal."

"[Dining Services] have taken care of it," he said.

Currently on the FDA's recall list are peanut butter products made by the companies: Grande Gourmet, King Nut, Poco Pac, Parnell's Pride, PCA and Boca Grande Foods, Inc.

A complete listing of all recalled foods containing peanut butter can be found on the FDA Web site.