HARTFORD, September 24 – In response to Trader Joe’s September 22 voluntary recall of its Creamy Salted Valencia Peanut Butter, Department of Consumer Protection food safety inspectors and State and local health departments are working with Trader Joe’s supermarkets in the state to ensure that the recalled peanut butter has been removed from store shelves.
“We are urging caution in this situation and asking Trader Joe’s customers who have this item to not eat the product and to dispose of it or return it to any Trader Joe’s for a full refund,” Consumer Protection Commissioner William M. Rubenstein said.
The peanut butter has been implicated in a nationwide salmonellosis outbreak. Nationally, there have been 29 reported cases of illness, with three illnesses reported in Connecticut.
All Trader Joe’s stores in Connecticut apparently carried the peanut butter, which was sold in a 16 ounce, plastic jar with an expiration date of stamped below the lid. All code dates are included in the recall.
Production and distribution of the item has been suspended while the FDA and the Valencia Peanut Butter supplier continue their investigations.
Trader Joe’s store locations:
· Danbury, 113 Mill Plain Rd
· Darien, 436 Boston Post Rd
· Fairfield, 2258 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield
· Hartford, 1489 New Britain Ave
· Orange, 560 Boston Post Road
· Westport, 400 Post Road
Customers with questions may contact Trader Joe’s Customer Relations at (626) 599-3817.
Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.
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