The Kellogg Company has placed a precautionary hold on its Austin and Keebler brands of peanut butter sandwich crackers, and is asking consumers to not eat these products until the investigation surrounding the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) peanut butter recall has been completed.
PCA is one of several suppliers of peanut butter paste used in the fillings of these sandwich crackers.
Kellogg has put an inventory hold on the products, and has instructed that they be removed from store shelves. The company has not issued a recall notice, but is using the "product hold" mechanism as a safety precaution while it determines whether any of the following Austin or Keebler products contain recalled peanut butter:
- Toasted Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
- Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Crackers
- Cheese and Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
- Peanut Butter-Chocolate Sandwich Crackers
Kellogg Co. asked stores to stop selling its peanut butter sandwich crackers until the food maker can figure out if the peanut paste is contaminated.The national salmonella outbreak has sickened more than 430 people in 43 states and may have contributed to five deaths.
Kellogg, based in Battle Creek, Mich., said it hasn't found problems or received complaints about those products.
"We are taking these voluntary actions out of an abundance of caution," Kellogg CEO David Mackay said in a news release.
"We deeply regret that this has happened," Stewart Parnell, owner and president of Peanut Corp. of America, said in a news release. "Out of an abundance of caution, we are voluntarily withdrawing this produce and contacting our customers."
Customers were notified by phone and in writing, the company said.
Kellogg said it gets peanut paste from several suppliers.
Kellogg has not received reports of any illnesses associated with these products. And, while the company has not initiated a recall, any consumer who wishes to return one of the sandwich cracker products for a refund can call the Kellogg Consumer Response Center at 1-888-314-2060.
The CDC said it appears most people became ill between Sept. 3 and Dec. 31 but mainly after Oct. 1.
King Nut recalled the peanut butter over the weekend in the seven states where it distributed it. King Nut president Martin Kanan had said he didn't want to wait for Peanut Corp. to act. He did not immediately return a message Wednesday seeking comment on the wider recall.
Besides the Georgia plant, Peanut Corp. of America has plants in Suffolk, Va., and Plainview, Texas.
Georgia agriculture officials have one to three inspectors at the Blakely plant and more people working on the case at the department’s Atlanta headquarters, Schronce said. He said peanut butter plants in the state are inspected once or twice a year and more frequently if problems are found.
