Complain about a product or service

Third Death Blamed on Peanut Butter

West Virginia Woman Died After 18-Day Illness

By James R. Hood
ConsumerAffairs.com

March 2, 2007

• Judge Nixes Peanut Butter Class Action • FDA Failed to Follow Up on 2004 Peanut Butter Contamination • Peter Pan Returning To Store Shelves • Consumers Still Getting Sick From Tainted Peanut Butter • Fourth Peanut Butter Death Reported • Peanut Butter Recall Extended to Products Made as Early as 2004 • Peanut Butter Scare Stirs Congress • Consumers Left Holding the Peanut Butter Jar • Earlier Peanut Butter Contamination Kept Quiet • Peanut Butter Developed as a Health Food • Third Death Blamed on Peanut Butter • Peanut Butter Recalls Spread to Ice Cream & Desserts • FDA Says Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak Is "Ongoing" • Salmonella Confirmed in Peanut Butter • Second Death Linked To Tainted Peanut Butter • Death Linked To Tainted Peanut Butter • ConAgra Recalls Tainted Peanut Butter as Complaints Mount • FDA Widens Peanut Butter Warning • Reports of Peanut Butter-Borne Illness Increase • FDA Warns of Salmonella in Peanut Butter --- • Consumer Complaints about Peanut Butter --- • Salmonella: What It Is • More about Food Safety ...

The death of a West Virginia woman may be linked to Salmonella-infested Peter Pan peanut butter, bringing to three the unofficial death toll from one of the nation's largest outbreaks of food poisoning.

Mary Halstead, 85, of Weston, WV, died Jan. 10 after becoming ill on December 23, 2006, according to her son, Larry Halstead.

Salmonella is especially toxic to children, the elderly, pregnant women and individuals with chronic illnesses and compromised immune systems.

"Her doctors didn't ever test her for Salmonella because nobody had heard anything about any of this at the time," Halstead told ConsumerAffairs.com. "Her doctor said he couldn't figure out why the antibiotics they gave her weren't working."

Halstead said his mother became ill after eating a peanut butter sandwich, one of her favorite foods. During her hospitalization at Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital in Weston, she repeatedly asked the staff to serve her a peanut butter sandwich but they refused, saying peanut butter was not on their standard menu.

"So, dumb old me, I made her a peanut butter sandwich at home and brought it to her at the hospital, because it was just about the only thing she wanted to eat," Larry Halstead said. "In no time, she got just 100% worse." Halstead said his mother then became semi-comatose and died.

After his mother's death, Halstead heard the news of the Salmonella infestation and looked at the jar of peanut butter he had used to make his mother's sandwich. It was Peter Pan peanut butter with the "2111" serial number.

"The death certificate says she died of congestive heart failure due to complications of pneumonia but she died of eating peanut butter," Halstead said. "She was in good health for her age until this all started."

Halstead said his mother "suffered something awful" during her last days and said he is considering taking legal action.

Other Deaths

Two other deaths have been unofficially attributed to the tainted peanut butter.

An elderly Chicago area man, George Baldwin, was said to be in relatively good health just before his recent death from complications of food poisoning, shortly after he ate a peanut butter sandwich.

"He puts the peanut butter on toast, eats the toast, in six hours he develops fever, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting -- all of which are signs of salmonella poisoning," Baldwin family attorney Don McGarrah said.

A 76-year old Pennsylvania woman, Roberta Barkay of Philadelphia, died in January from complications of food poisoning, and family members contend she too ate peanut butter shortly before her death. The family has hired an attorney who has filed suit against the manufacturer, ConAgra.

Colombian Complaint

Today brought the first indications that contaminated food from the Georgia plant may have been exported to other countries.

A Colombian man said he bought a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter on Feb. 10 because his five-year-old daughter was fond of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She became ill with diarrhea and other symptoms last week and the family stopped feeding her peanut butter.

"To my suprise i was watching CNN news in English when I heard that the FDA was warning consumers about the salmonella in Peter Pan peanut butter," said the girl's father, Juan Sebastian OrdoAtez. "And to add to this surprise the lid of the jar I still have has the number 21111."

Sebastian OrdoAtez said he contacted the store where he bought the peanut butter and was put in touch with the importer, which told him that any laboratory tests would be at his own expense.

"I think these people are not really interested in our health," he said in his complaint to ConsumerAffairs.com.

China is recalling U.S. peanut butter, according to state-run media. China imported three batches of the two peanut butter brands in September and December of 2006 and January of 2007, totaling 742 cases, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

At least 156 cases have already been sold in Beijing, it said. Xinhua did not say if there had been any reports of people getting sick from the peanut butter.

Investigation Widens

The Food and Drug Administration reports that its inspectors have found salmonella samples at ConAgra's Georgia plant and, as the investigation of salmonella-tainted peanut butter widens, the recall has spread to ice cream manufacturers and a wholesale retailer of a peanut butter dessert topping.

Inspectors found salmonella samples at ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia, plant, where the recalled Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter was made, FDA said. At the same time, the agency said peanut butter from the contaminated plant was spread to at least one other plant, located in Tennessee.

It was at the Humboldt, Tenn., plant that peanut butter was processed for ice cream and dessert toppings.

The FDA says the fact that its inspectors found Salmonella in the plant environment further suggests that the contamination likely took place prior to the product reaching consumers.

Last week, tests by several states identified Salmonella in many open jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recovered from consumers. In these instances, the Salmonella found in the plant and in the open jars matched the outbreak strain recovered from consumers who became ill.

The following products were used by the affected businesses until Feb. 16, 2007 when the products were recalled:

• Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10.5 oz cans.
• Carvel Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans.

The following Carvel products, purchased before Feb. 16, 2007 can be returned to a Carvel outlet for a refund:
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Peanut Butter Treasure
• Peanut Butter & Jelly
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae Dasher
• Any other customized products containing the Peanut Butter Topping, including peanut butter flavored ice cream in ice cream cakes
• J. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans. The topping is used by retail outlets and restaurants nationwide but is not available for direct purchase by the public, the FDA said.

Carvel's Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae Dasher is not being recalled because of the peanut butter found in the Reese's Cups, but rather, because of the peanut butter topping applied to the sundae, Carvel spokeswoman Karen Gailey said.

ConsumerAffairs.com has not received any related complaints on the above products.

What To Do

Persons who think they may have become ill from eating peanut butter should consult a physician if they do not get better in a few days. If the illness affects small children, the elderly, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems, a doctor should be consulted promptly.

The FDA and other agencies have been advising consumers who have Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111 to discard the jar and keep the lid.

However, attorneys advise that, if consumers were seriously harmed by their illness, they should seal the jar in a plastic bag and store it out of the reach of children or others in the household, so that it is available as evidence.

Although a few lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed, one experienced consumer attorney who asked not to be identified expressed doubt such actions would be successful.

"The vast majority of suits will be individual actions. A class suit would be difficult to certify," he said.

ConAgra has publicly offered to repay the money consumers spent on the peanut butter and any attempt to recover medical costs and wages lost to illness would require the filing of an individual personal injury suit. Such suits are usually not economically feasible unless consumers have suffered serious injury or death.

Consumers could also file in Small Claims Court if they have well-documented expenses and a firm diagnosis. Consumers should note that they cannot claim punitive damages for pain and suffering in most small claims cases.

Symptoms

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.