You better think twice next time you bite into what appears to be a nutritious Luna bar. The Los Angeles Times recently had an article stating that Clif Bar and Co. announced a recall of Clif and Luna brand bars that contain peanut butter. The decision was based on the FDA's announcement that traces of Salmonella Typhimurium contamination have been found in a plant owned by Peanut Corp. of America. The plant which manufactures peanut butter and peanut paste supplies companies nationwide. To find out what other food products have been affected, you can view an online list put together by the FDA.
While food shopping yesterday, I noticed a shelf full of Luna bars. I can't help but to feel mildly skeptical of the FDA. Just how seriously should we take this Salmonella scare? After doing some online research yesterday, I found out that there are approximately 40,000 cases of Salmonella infection reported every year in the U.S. In the summer of 2008, there was a Salmonella outbreak that seemed to have been caused by fresh jalapeño and serrano peppers from Mexico, raw tomatoes, and fresh cilantro. The highest amount of cases occured in Texas and New Mexico.
Originally, I thought that Salmonella was only present in raw meat, in particular poultry. In turns out that any foods that have been in contact with raw meat could also contain the bacteria. I'm just perplexed as to how it could have ended up in this peanut butter plant. Does it say something about the sanitary conditions of the plant or could it have happened anywhere?
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