Food served in Harvard’s school cafeterias does not contain the peanut products that are being recalled due to a nationwide salmonella outbreak, Chef Paul Correnty said in an interview Tuesday. He said he is careful of what he orders for school lunches because of nut allergies, so he does not order peanut butter or peanut paste to use as an ingredient in other food. Federal and state investigators have traced the salmonella contamination to a Georgia plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America. Officials say the contamination has sickened hundreds and killed six.
The elementary school uses Smucker’s peanut butter for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but Correnty said he contacted the Smucker company, which assured him that its products are not involved in the recall. Smucker’s has posted a notice on its website that states, “Our Smucker’s peanut butter brand and peanut butter products, such as Smucker’s Uncrustables, are safe for consumption and are not part of any recall. The J. M. Smucker Company does not purchase peanuts or any ingredients from Peanut Corporation of America. We are confident that our comprehensive product safety and quality assurance policies and procedures, including testing for the presence of salmonella, ensure the safety of all of our products.”
The school vending machines carry only one nut bar, Correnty said, a NuGo nutrition bar that he reordered Tuesday after verifying that the product was unaffected by the recall. On its website, the bar’s manufacturer, NuGo Nutrition, states that it “does not purchase peanut butter, peanuts, or peanut products from Peanut Corporation of America.”
On Friday, Jan. 15, the state administrator of the Office of Nutrition, Health, and Safety notified schools that USDA commodities, which are used by many schools, are not involved in the recall, but urged schools to check with other suppliers of peanut-containing products.
In a press release Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated that “the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state partners have traced sources of salmonella contamination to a plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), which manufactures peanut butter and peanut paste—a concentrated product consisting of ground, roasted peanuts—that are both distributed to food manufacturers to be used as an ingredient in many commercially produced products including cakes, cookies, crackers, candies, cereal, and ice cream.” In addition, said the FDA, “PCA peanut butter is distributed to and institutionally served in such settings as long-term care facilities and cafeterias.” More information on the salmonella outbreak can be found on the FDA’s website at www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html, and an updated list of recalled products can be found at www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall.
