Jif peanut butter recalls now include ice cream, candy, trail mix, and chicken salad

BY KATE GIBSON

Add peanut butter cup ice cream and packaged snacks to a growing list of recalled food made with Jif peanut butter that is linked to an outbreak of salmonella that has sickened 16 people in the U.S.

Americans are being cautioned against eating a range of baked goods, sandwiches, candy, trail mix, and ready-to-eat salad products made with the recalled Jif peanut butter, as snacks are pulled from stores, vending machines, and restaurants nationwide amid a multi-state outbreak of salmonella.

The wave began on May 20 with the J.M. Smucker Co. recall of multiple Jif brand peanut butter types, including creamy, crunchy, natural, and reduced-fat. In the two weeks since at least 17 companies have recalled products containing Jif, and the public is now being cautioned about other food products.

At least 16 people from 12 states have been infected, with two hospitalized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Five out of five people who were sickened reported eating peanut butter and four of the five reported eating Jif before becoming ill, according to the CDC’s review of epidemiological information.

The actual number of sick people and affected states is likely higher, as some individuals recover without being tested, according to the CDC. “This product has a very long shelf life, so be sure to check any Jif peanut butter you have at home to make sure it has not been recalled,” it added.

Salmonella can cause symptoms including fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. It can be serious and sometimes fatal to children, as well as the frail and elderly. Most people who get Salmonella develop symptoms between six hours and six days after being exposed to the bacteria.

The outbreak strain of Salmonella Senftenberg was found in a J.M. Smucker plant in Lexington, Kentucky, according to the Food and Drug Administration. The recall impacts markets outside the U.S. as well, with the peanut butter, also sold in Canada, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, and Thailand, the agency said.

The original recall involved jars of peanut butter distributed nationwide and including products with lot codes 274425-2140425, with “425” at the end of the first seven digits.

Recalls so this week include packaged snacks and peanut butter cup ice cream.

The latest recall has Vineland, New Jersey-based F&S Produce Co. recalling Protein Power Snack sold at Walgreens stores in New Jersey and New York. The product has been pulled from shelves and is past its expiration date of May 28, 2022, the company said on Tuesday.

A recall announced Monday involves peanut butter cup ice cream made by Baltimore, Maryland-based Taharka Brothers Ice Cream and distributed between March 1, 2022, to May 28, 2022, to grocery stores, restaurants, and ice cream shops and direct-to-consumer delivery in the Maryland and DC area, according to a notice posted by the FDA.

The impacted products also include ready-to-eat chicken salad containing the recalled Jif distributed by an Amazon Go retail location in Washington, according to a May 27 public health alert from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service.

The impact of the Jif recalls also reverberated at Disney World, which had to pull peanut butter-laden snacks at its Florida theme park due to shortages of the product.

ALL THE PEANUT BUTTER IN DISNEY WORLD HAS VANISHED AND NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT IT.

— Disney Dan Becker (@DisneyDan) May 31, 2022
“The great peanut butter shortage of 2022 continues,” proclaimed Orlando, Florida-based Walt Disney World’s Gideon’s Bakehouse in a Facebook post.

The eatery in Disney Springs took to Instagram to explain that the recall had slowed bulk stock of peanut butter coming into Florida, leaving it in “a pickle” as it needs hundreds of pounds a day for its peanut butter-based desserts.

That said, the crisis proved short-lived, with Gideon’s taking to social media to pronounce itself “fully recovered” from its peanut butter shortage.

The Magic Kingdom had also pulled its peanut butter sauce from the menu at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor, leaving just hot fudge and caramel toppings on its snack menu, a change noted by The Disney Food Blog and Walt Disney World News Today.

Walt Disney did not respond to a request for comment.

Rich’s chocolate peanut butter cups sold at nearly 200 candy and ice cream shops nationwide between November 11, 2021, and January 23, 2022, are also being recalled.

Giant Eagle recalled multiple bakery goods containing peanut butter and sold at three Pennsylvania supermarkets in Ebensburg, Indiana, and Northern Cambria, the company said in a notice posted by the FDA. The recalled items involved 120 transactions and most people who purchased them had been contacted directly, Giant Eagle stated.

Safeway Fresh Foods is recalling more than 1,200 cases of Quick Chek branded Apple and Peanut Butter Shack trays distributed in New Jersey to Quick Chek retail stores, the Vineland, New Jersey-based company said.

AG Specialty Foods of Happy Valley, Oregon, recalled four perishable products sold in Oregon and Washington because they contain Jif, according to its FDA-posted notice. The potentially tainted items include peanut butter and jam sandwiches and snack packs and boxes with use-by-dates ranging from May 16, 2022, to June 3, 2022.

Wawa is removing two products sold at its stores — Wawa Apple & Peanut Butter Dipper and Jif Creamy Peanut Butter, while Euphoria Chocolate of Eugene, Oregon, is recalling truffles and meltaways containing Jif and sold by retailers and supermarkets throughout the state from Feb. 17, 2022, to May 20, 2022.

Bix Produce of Little Canada, Minnesota, recalled 5-ounce packages of “Egg and Cheese Curds Power Box” and “Egg and Cheese Curds snack box” containing the recalled peanut butter. The snack boxes were sold by retailers in five states: Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Walmart-branded fudge made with Jif peanut butter and sold at stores nationwide is being recalled by Fudgeamentals of Melville, New York, the company said.

Fresh Del Monte is recalling fresh-cut fruit and vegetable products containing ready-to-eat Jif peanut butter sold by retailers including 7-Eleven nationwide, the Florida company stated in a separate notice.

Walnut Creek, Ohio-based Coblentz Chocolate Co. is recalling sweets including chocolate, fudge, caramel corn, and assorted creams containing the recalled Jif peanut butter sold nationwide from November 12, 2021, to May 21, 2022. The company has ceased using Jif peanut butter, Coblentz said.

Indianapolis, Indiana-based Garden Cut recalled products combining apple slices or cut-up celery with peanut butter and distributed in seven states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Mary’s Harvest Fresh Foods of Portland, Oregon, recalled apple and celery slices combined with 1.5-ounce portions of Jif To Go Creamy Peanut Butter distributed to stores in two states — Oregon and Washington.

Spring, Texas-based Country Fresh is recalling an array of fresh-cut fruit snack trays and fruit snack cups containing the recalled Jif peanut butter and sold under brands including Giant, Market32, Snack Fresh, Snack Sensations, and Wegmans.

The products were sold by retailers in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia, Country Fresh said.

Cargill is recalling 795 8-ounce boxes of candy and other snacks made with the recalled peanut butter, it said. That includes milk and dark chocolate-covered peanut butter Ritz crackers, peanut butter meltaways, peanut butter eggs, and fudge sold locally through the Wilbur Chocolate retail store in Lititz, Pennsylvania, and online at Wilburbuds.com.

Taher Inc. of Plymouth, Minnesota, is recalling 6.3-ounce packages of “Fresh Seasons Power Packs” containing the potentially contaminated Jif peanut butter. The packs were sold in retail stores and vending machines in Minnesota and western Wisconsin, according to the company.

Albertsons Companies said it was recalling 11 store-prepared products including mini peanut butter cream pies and sliced apples with peanut butter sold at stores including ACME, Albertsons, Eagle, Jewel-Osco, Safeway Tom Thumb, and Vons (see the full list of products and stores here).

Meantime, Giant Eagle is recalling GetGo branded apple slices with peanut butter sold through May 13 by GetGo stations in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The snacks bear the UPC code: 30034 93770 6 and best-if-used-by dates through May 29, 2022.

The CDC estimates that about 1.3 million Americans are infected with salmonella each year, with 26,500 hospitalized and 420 dying as a result.