January 23, 2009 – Supreme Protein Inc. is updating its announcement that it is voluntarily recalling the lots identified below of Supreme Protein brand Peanut Butter Crunch Bars and Caramel Nut Bars.
These bars are being recalled out of an abundance of caution because they contain peanut paste which had the potential of being exposed to Salmonella at the Georgia manufacturing facility that makes this ingredient. Although extensive laboratory testing has indicated no Salmonella contamination to date in any Supreme Protein bars (including the lot #’s listed below), we are taking this step as a precautionary measure to ensure the utmost safety of our products. Supreme Protein is voluntarily recalling specific lots of the following products that contain peanut paste manufactured at the Georgia peanut butter plant:

• Supreme Protein brand Peanut Butter Crunch Bars (20, 431 and 86 gram sizes.)
• Supreme Protein brand Caramel Nut Bars (20, 50* and 96 gram sizes)
• Supreme Protein brand Caramel Nut (Energy) Bars

Both the Ohio manufacturing facility and the peanut paste used in these bars have been tested extensively for the presence of Salmonella and to date, all test results have been negative. In addition, Supreme Protein has not received any consumer complaints of symptoms related to Salmonella.
Supreme Protein requests that consumers check the lot numbers of any of the above-listed products they have purchased. The lot number can be found under the fold on the back of the wrapper of the individual bars and on top of each box of bars. If consumers find that they have these products in their possession marked with any of these specific lot numbers, they are asked not to consume the products. Click here to read the affected lot numbers.

Labels: peanut butter salmonella wrongful death, Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit, salmonella peanut butter recall

Shirley Mae Almer, 72, was a temporary resident of a northern Minnesota nursing home who was due to go home to family after recuperating from an illness. But contaminated peanut butter that she consumed during her stay led to a Salmonella infection that proved deadly. On behalf of her heirs, Pritzker Olsen, P.A. of Minneapolis has filed the first wrongful death lawsuit in the country in connection with a 43-state Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 500 people since early September. Below is a copy of the press release issued today by Pritzker Olsen, a national food safety law firm.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The sudden and unexpected death of a Minnesota woman who fell victim to a nationwide Salmonella outbreak has prompted a wrongful death lawsuit against Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) -- a maker of bulk peanut butter and peanut paste.
Fred Pritzker, founder and president of national food safety law firm Pritzker Olsen P.A., filed the complaint Monday in Hennepin County District Court in Minneapolis for the heirs and of Shirley Mae Almer, 72, of Perham, Minn. The suit also names King Nut Companies, an Ohio-based firm that distributed the contaminated peanut butter that came out of PCA's plant in Blakely, Georgia. The product was delivered to a nursing home in Brainerd, Minnesota, where Mrs. Almer was temporarily residing.
Her death on December 21 was a direct result of consuming peanut butter that contained the same genetic strain of Salmonella that has sickened more than 500 other people in 43 states. On January 13, PCA initiated a recall that included the product that had been served to Mrs. Almer.
“This is a very large and significant recall,'' Pritzker said. “It points to a number of vulnerabilities in our food safety system that require legislation and funding to correct. Consumers should feel concerned and demand a significant overhaul.''
The lawsuit alleges carelessness and negligence on behalf of PCA and King Nut for failure to train and properly supervise peanut butter production workers and other employees; failure to safely produce, store and transport its products; failure to maintain sanitary conditions during and after production; failure to prevent cross-contamination and failure to properly test its products, as well as other acts of negligence.
Pritzker said Mrs. Almer was the "canary in a coal mine'' whose death helped lead health investigators to the plant in South Georgia. Now federal officials view the PCA plant as the outbreak's lone, known source.
Mrs. Almer's children were notified January 6 that she died with a Salmonella infection. Days later,the Minnesota departments of health and agriculture traced the problem to a five-pound pail of King Nut creamy peanut butter that had been in use at the nursing home.
Pritzker said grieving family members were angered to learn that the peanut butter served to Mrs. Almer contained the same deadly pathogen associated with hundreds of Salmonella infections since mid-September.
Mrs. Almer, who grew up in New York Mills, Minn.,still owned a bowling alley in Wadena. She had survived two bouts with cancer in recent years and was cancer free when she was sickened with Salmonella. Just before she became ill, family members were planning to take her out of the nursing home. Instead, she became so sick from the bacteria that she was taken to a hospital, where she died.
Weeks later, a second Minnesotan who was living in a nursing home in Brainerd died from the Salmonella outbreak. He was Clifford Tousignant, 78, of Duluth. Since then, a third Minnesota nursing home resident has died after becoming infected with the same strain of Salmonella. State health officials have not released the third victim's name.
Pritzker Olsen has considerable experience and a reputation for success in representing survivors of foodborne illnesses (including E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella and Shigella). The firm is involved in virtually every national outbreak and has collected large sums on behalf of people injured or killed by adulterated food. In addition, the firm is devoted to educating the public about food safety issues and advocating for badly needed food safety legislation and increased funding for the federal, state and local agencies charged with protecting our food and enforcing food safety laws.
Pritzker and members of his firm are frequent guests and commentators about food safety issues and have been interviewed by and profiled in a number of media sources including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and CNN.
For more information, visit http://www.pritzkerlaw.com or contact Fred Pritzker at (612) 338-0202. PritzkerLaw has offices are located at Plaza VII, Suite 2950, 45 South Seventh Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
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Labels: peanut butter product recall, peanut butter salmonella wrongful death, Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit

The following information on Evening Rise Bread Co.'s cookie and bar recall is provided by PritzkerLaw. Our law firm is representing the family of one of the people who died in the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that has sickened nearly 500 people and has been associated with 7 deaths. This case does not involve the products below, which have been recalled but have not been implicated in this outbreak.

Read our press releases: Salmonella wrongful death and Attorney Fred Pritzker Says Salmonella Outbreak Raises Food Safety Questions. Below is part of the recall announcement as provided by the FDA:

January 19, 2009 -- Evening Rise Bread Co. of McCall, Idaho is recalling Peanut Butter Cookies and Peanut Butter Bars, because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The peanut butter cookies and the peanut butter bars were manufactured using peanut butter recalled by Peanut Corporation of America.
Peanut Butter Cookies and Peanut Butter Bars were distributed in retail stores through Evening Rise Bread Co., McCall, Idaho; First Idaho Bank, McCall, Idaho; Roadhouse Java, New Meadows, Idaho; Mountain Java Coffee Shop, McCall, Idaho; Common Ground Coffee Shop, McCall, Idaho; and Moxy Java Coffee Shop, McCall, Idaho.
The Cookies and Bars are individually packaged in clear Cellophane bags. The label is a sticker with the Evening Rise name and no other additional information.
No known illness or injuries have been reported in connection to these cookies and bars.

Labels: peanut butter salmonella outbreak, peanut butter salmonella wrongful death, Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit

The following information on the Abbott Nutrition peanut butter bar recall is provided by PritzkerLaw. Our law firm is representing the family of one of the people who died in the Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak that has sickened over 470 people and has been associated with 6 deaths. This case does not involve the products below, which have been recalled but have not been implicated in this outbreak.

Read our press releases: Salmonella wrongful death and Attorney Fred Pritzker Says Salmonella Outbreak Raises Food Safety Questions. Below is the Abbott Nutrition recall announcement as provided by the FDA:

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Jan. 19, 2009 -- Abbott Nutrition today announced that it is initiating a precautionary, voluntary recall of ZonePerfect® Chocolate Peanut Butter bars, ZonePerfect® Peanut Toffee bars and NutriPals™ Peanut Butter Chocolate bars in response to the widening recall involving peanut butter and peanut paste ingredients manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).

PCA was one of the peanut ingredient suppliers to the company.

The specified Abbott Nutrition items, sold in the U.S. and internationally (Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore) in various packages and quantities, have not been linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak and there have been no reported cases of the salmonella illness associated with ZonePerfect or NutriPals products.

Abbott Nutrition tests every lot of finished ZonePerfect and NutriPals bars for salmonella and no salmonella contamination has been detected. This voluntary recall does not apply to Abbott Nutrition products sold in Canada.

Abbott Nutrition's action to issue a voluntary recall was supported by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's advisement to manufacturers of an ongoing outbreak of salmonella involving peanut butter and peanut paste supplied by PCA. No other Abbott Nutrition products have been impacted by the PCA recall.

Abbott is working with retail partners to remove the specified products from retail store shelves and encouraging customers and consumers to verify if they have the specified products.
Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are urged to destroy the product. U.S. consumers with questions or who would like a refund may contact Abbott Nutrition Consumer Relations at (800) 986-8884.

Products impacted by the voluntary withdrawal are as follows:

• ZonePerfect Chocolate Peanut Butter bars, all sizes and quantities


• ZonePerfect Peanut Toffee bars, all sizes and quantities


• NutriPals Peanut Butter Chocolate nutrition bars, all sizes and quantitie

Labels: King Nut, peanut butter recall, peanut butter salmonella wrongful death, Peanut Corporation of America lawsuit