Tops pulls recalled ‘Peter Pan’ peanut butter

by Karen Keefe
Grand Island Dispatch, February 16, 2007

A label on a shelf at Tops supermarket indicates the peanut butter recall. (photo by Fred Claus)

Tops Store Manager Patty Bianco and Grocery Manager Paul Arrington were busy Thursday morning removing all Peter Pan peanut butter from the shelves of their Grand Island supermarket after an overnight recall.

The Food and Drug Administration issued a recall of the product under that brand name because of fears that it is linked to a salmonella outbreak that has grown to nearly 300 cases in 39 states since August.

The recall is for jars of Peter Pan peanut butter with a product code on the lid that begins with the number “2111.” “Everything we had had that code,” Bianco said, so all of the product was removed and destroyed.

The affected jars were made by ConAgra from Sylvester, Ga., under the Peter Pan and Great Value labels. Tops does not carry the Great Value brand, and the Tops store brand is not made by Con Agra, Bianco said. The FDA has advised consumers not to eat peanut butter made under those two labels and bearing that product code number.

Pulled from shelves

Bianco said she found out about the recall first thing this morning in an overnight e-mail from Tops’ corporate offices. “We were told to destroy it,” she said. Arrington had all the product off the shelves in no time flat.

“It’s not in the building – there’s no chance of it getting back on the shelves,” Bianco assured. “We don’t reorder it until we’re told it’s safe,” she said. “We don’t like to take any chances.”

This is believed to be the first salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter in U.S. history, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said 288 people have been infected with salmonella so far, and 85 percent of those infected said they ate peanut butter. About 20 percent of the infected people have been hospitalized. The largest number of salmonella cases have been reported in New York and Pennsylvania.

Bianco said Tops in Grand Island had four customer inquiries about the product as of 10 a.m. Thursday. One of the customers was returning a jar he had purchased with the “2111” code on it.

Laurie Williams was one of Tops’ customers who discovered she had the item in question. She was watching the morning news on TV, saw the segment on the recall, and checked her cupboard. “Sure enough, I did have the Peter Pan reduced fat peanut butter with the 2111 code.”

She said she called Tops and found out they were getting rid of the product. “We did use it. There’s about two or three tablespoons gone.” She said the family used it on their toast. “I served it to my husband, and he’s still kicking,” she quipped.

Williams said she hopes word gets to all the day-care centers. “Kids use so much peanut butter.”

This has been an unusual time in the grocery business, with the peanut butter recall preceded by recalls of fresh spinach and certain kinds of lettuce in the fall of 2006 for possible E. coli bacterial contamination.

“It’s kind of scary … it’s been crazy,” Bianco said of the recalls. She has been with Tops for 26 years.

As Arrington wheeled out the cart with the recalled product, Bianco stressed that the risk to customers has been removed. “I don’t order it ’til I know it’s safe.”

Grocery Manager Paul Arrington of the Grand Island Tops supermarket removes all Peter Pan peanut butter from the shelves after a recall due to possible contamination with the salmonella bacteria. (photo by Fred Claus)