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Alas, Another Peanut Product Salmonella Recall

By PritzkerLaw

Just when you thought the world was safe from contaminated peanuts, a Michigan candy maker has thrown another log on the peanut product Salmonella recall and outbreak fire that started almost one year ago with the first traces of matching illnesses later linked to Peanut Corporation of America.

Kilwin's Quality Confections Inc. of Petoskey, Michigan, late this week recalled all of its seven-ounce packages of chocolate-covered peanuts and bulk chocolate-covered peanuts sold at Kilwin's retail stores in Michigan, Florida, Illinois, Wisconsin, Colorado, Rhode Island, Georgia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina. No illnesses have been reported.

Kilwin's said the recall applies to chocolate-covered peanuts sold before April 1, 2009, because they were made with nuts sourced from the Texas plant of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) before the company went bankrupt and the plant was shut down early this year. The product comes in a gold foiled plastic package with a clear center section and is labeled "Milk Chocolate Peanuts,'' and "Fresh dry roasted peanuts covered in creamy milk chocolate,'' Kilwin's Quality Confections, Petoskey, MI 49770. The barcode on the package is 001615.

In January and February, when information about the outbreak and recall was at its peak, hundreds of recalls a week were announced by companies that sourced peanuts from PCA. By mid-June, there had been 3,916 such recalls, but the announcements had slowed to nary a trickle by the end of summer.

The Kilwin's recall is a reminder that Salmonella in food ingredients has the potential to put all of America at risk for food poisoning. According to a wrap-up report issued months ago by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 714 people in 46 states had confirmed cases of Salmonellosis linked to contaminated PCA peanuts. Nine individuals lost their lives in the outbreak, including three whose family members are represented in lawsuits against PCA by national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen attorneys.

Our law firm was proud to see client Jeffrey Almer testify before Congress this year at a crucial hearing that eventually led to passage in the House of a food safety reform act backed by the Obama administration. If the Senate passes similar legislation later this year, the tragic death of Jeff's mother, Shirley Mae Almer of north-central Minnesota, from contaminated peanut butter, will have contributed to meaningful change.

For more information or to protect your legal rights against companies that have made you or your loved ones sick from contaminated food, call 1-888-377-8900 (Toll Free.) Or, to receive a free case consultation, complete one of our online contact forms..

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on September 12, 2009 (boomark / email).