Salmonella Scare Leads To Recall Of Nut Butter Sold At Whole Foods, Trader Joe's

A food processing company is recalling some retail lots of nut butter sold at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Safeway and other major grocery outlets due to possible salmonella contamination, the Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday. Food producer nSpired Natural Foods Inc., a subsidiary of the Hain Celestial Group, voluntarily recalled certain peanut butter and almond butter products after routine FDA testing spotlighted their potential risk for salmonella contamination. So far, four cases of illness that have been reported to nSpired Natural Foods may be linked to these products.

Some production lots of peanut butter and almond butter under Arrowhead Mills and MaraNatha brands, and private label nut butters from Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, Safeway and Kroger, are affected in the recall. The FDA press release contains a full list of the nut butters being recalled. The products have already been delivered to Canada, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Dominican Republic and across the United States.

The FDA said it was working with retail outlets and customers to throw away containers of peanut butter that may be at risk for contamination.

Salmonella poisoning, caused by bacteria, typically results in nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. While salmonella contamination has often been linked with eggs and poultry, outbreaks have been tied to peanut butter in the past. Most recently, in 2012, peanut butter processor Sunland Inc. recalled peanut butter and almond butter sold at Trader Joe’s over an outbreak that spread across 20 U.S. states.

Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that Trader Joe's peanut butters were affected in the recall. The recall only affects Trader Joe's raw almond butters.