Peanuts' Wide Use Complicates Recall

'We're lucky,' but drug-resistant bacteria lie in wait, experts warn

(NEWSER) - The ongoing salmonella outbreak has sickened hundreds of people and played a part in eight deaths, and that's the good news, experts tell MSNBC. The strain in question responds to the standard treatment, but other varieties of the salmonella bacteria have become increasingly resistant to antibiotics in recent decades."This is kind of an alert," says one doctor. "We're lucky this time." More»

9 killed in outbreak; Peanut Corp cited in all 'clusters of infections'

(NEWSER) - Peanut-linked salmonella has sickened 666 people and counting, despite a massive food recall, Reuters reports. The illness has killed nine. “To date, 19 clusters of infections in five states have been reported in schools and other institutions,” said a health official. “King Nut brand peanut butter was present in all facilities.” King Nut and all tainted peanut butter has been traced to now-bankrupt Peanut Corporation of America. More»

(NEWSER) - A third of US states do not require testing of the salmonella bacteria involved in reported illnesses, possibly hampering national efforts to identify outbreaks, MSNBC reports. If testing were mandatory, proponents say, a strain’s widespread dissemination could be more quickly identified and the source more easily pinpointed. But states without mandatory testing say their methods are just as effective and more economical. More»

(NEWSER) - The latest victim of the nationwide salmonella outbreak is the Peanut Corporation of America, which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today, the Lynchburg News & Advance reports. “Given the events of the past month, including the broad-based recalls, the company has no alternative but to cease operations,” a lawyer for the scandal-plagued firm said. More»

(AP) - Texas has ordered a recall of all products ever shipped from a Peanut Corp. of America plant in Plainview amid a nationwide salmonella outbreak. The order came from the Department of State Health Services, which says "dead rodents, rodent excrement, and bird feathers" were discovered yesterday in a crawl space above a production area. Inspectors say the unit's air handling system was pulling debris from the infested crawl space into production areas. More»