Can Americans Continue To Love One Of Our Favorite Historical Foods After Salmonella Outbreak?

A spoonful straight from the jar has gotten many a student through a
long study session. A peanut butter sandwich is one of the most delicious snacks a little kid can make, and it is the rare baker
who doesnt have a peanut butter cookie in repertory.

A Salmonella scare could not have touched a more iconic American flavor. Almost 900 products were recalled after salmonella tied to hundreds of illnesses was traced last month to a Georgia peanut producer.While peanut butters popularity has made this scare especially troubling, it may also help its reputation survive intact.

More than 80 percent of U.S. households have a jar or two in the cupboard, with smooth far and away the preferred texture. Tens of millions of people regularly buy cereal, cookies, ice cream and candy made with it. The business of selling peanut butter in America is worth nearly $900 million a year. There are times you just have to have some, said Jess Denaro, a New York University student from Brooklyn.

And peanut butter has the recession going for it. When the economy goes south, its one of the
inexpensive but nutritional foods that
shoppers buy more of. There will be some specific categories that are going to do quite well, said Lynn
Dornblaser, new-product analyst for Mintel, a consumer research company. We firmly believe peanut butter is one of them. Thats not to say there wont be a short fear-induced drop in sales, she said, although its too soon for any reliable figures, especially because the company that processed the contaminated peanut butter has increased its recall to include any foods made with its products since January 2007.

The facts of the tainting are sobering. Officials have said that more than 500 people have become ill and 8 have passed away after consuming peanut butter and peanut products from a badly maintained plant in
Blakely, Ga., run by the Peanut Corporation of America. The peanut butter was shipped to nursing homes, schools and other institutions, and peanut products were used in hundreds of processed foods.

The recall doesnt include branded peanut butters on supermarket shelves but still involves a wider array of
products than any other food recall in American history.
The items range from stuffed celery, frozen pad Thai, vegan cookies and trail mix to nut-topped ice cream novelties and candy. But while some well-known companies like Clif Bar, Kelloggs and Hain Celestial are on the recall list, most of the products are store brands or sold under lesser-known labels. Even dog biscuits are implicated.