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FDA Gives Guidance to Industry on Salmonella

By PritzkerLaw

In response to the ongoing, peanut-derived Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that has killed nine people and sickened 683 others, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has published food industry guidance for reducing the bacteria in products containing peanut butter and other peanut-derived ingredients.

One of the primary suggestions is for food companies to buy peanut butter and other peanut products from suppliers who have "validated processes in place to adequately reduce the presence of Salmonella.'' Salmonella bacteria ordinarily are killed by heat and high acidity. But Salmonella in peanut butter and other peanut-derived food is highly resistant to heat because they provide a protective environment of low-moisture and high fat, the FDA said.

The FDA said in its guidance memo that certain processes work depending on the specific food product involved. It said "considerable expertise'' is required in food microbiology and heat transfer to determine the correct processes to reduce the presence of Salmonella.

In the national outbreak,  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 19 clusters of infections in five states have been reported in schools and other institutions, including long-term care facilities and hospitals. At least three of the nine people who died in the outbreak lived in nursing homes -- two in Minnesota and one in Ohio.

Families of those three victims are represented by PritzkerOlsen Attorneys, a national food safety law firm that has been involved in virtually all major food poisoning outbreaks in the U.S. If you or someone you know has been infected by Salmonella in the current outbreak, call a peanut butter Salmonella attorney at PritzkerOlsen at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or complete a free case consultation form.

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on March 11, 2009 (boomark / email).