 A recalled jar of peanut butter is shown with the '2111' product. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that a ConAgra Foods Inc. processing plant in Georgia state likely was the source of salmonella found in peanut butter, media Friday reported. David Acheson, chief medical officer for the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said the same strain of salmonella was found in the plant as in the brands of contaminated peanut butter. The FDA said the ConAgra plant sent bulk peanut butter, which was recalled Feb. 16, to a Humboldt, Tennessee facility and was later used to make dessert toppings for Sonic Corp. and Carvel ice cream. "The most probable explanation based on the facts we've got at this point is that it was an environmental contamination in the facility," Acheson said. The agency hasn't found contamination in the raw ingredients used to make peanut butter in the Georgia plant, he said. Chris Kircher, a ConAgra spokesman, said the company is "focused on completing our work with the FDA as an initial step toward resolving this matter." The outbreak of salmonella sickened as many as 370 people in 42 states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. On Feb. 14, FDA advised consumers against eating Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter, starting with the product code "2111." Nebraska-based ConAgra Foods Inc is the third-largest U.S. food company. 2007-03-02
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