--- title: "Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak" date: 2012-09-21T23:01:00-07:00 author: Bill Marler canonical_url: "https://marlerclark.com/news_events/trader-joes-peanut-butter-salmonella-outbreak" section: News --- [All News](/news_events) / [Outbreaks](https://marlerclark.com/news_events/outbreaks) / # Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak On September 21, 2012, multiple state departments of health announced that Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter made with sea salt was the source of a *Salmonella* outbreak. Forty-two *Salmonella* Bredeney cases nationwide had been traced to the consumption of peanut butter and other nut butter products produced by Sunland, Inc. by November 30, 2012, when the CDC issued its final *Salmonella* outbreak report. Cases were reported in the following states: Arizona (1), California (7), Connecticut (3), Illinois (1), Louisiana (1), Massachusetts (3), Maryland (1), Michigan (1), Minnesota (1), Missouri (2), New Jersey (2), New Mexico (1), New York (2), Nevada (1), North Carolina (3), Pennsylvania (2), Rhode Island (1), Texas (5), Virginia (2), West Virginia (2). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28% of victims were hospitalized as a result of their *Salmonella* infections. Nearly two-thirds of victims are under the age of 10. **Trader Joe's removed its Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter from stores and issued a recall after being notified of the outbreak on September 22, 2012.** Two days later, Sunland, Inc., producer of Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Salted Peanut Butter, recalled its peanut butter and other products containing nuts and seeds for potential *Salmonella* contamination. Anyone experiencing symptoms of *Salmonella* infection--fever, diarrhea, and abdominal cramping--from 6 to 72 hours after consuming Trader Joe's peanut butter was urged to contact a healthcare provider and the health department to report their illness. **Q: What should I do if I think I’m part of the Trader Joe's peanut butter *Salmonella* outbreak?** A: Contact your local health department to report your illness. If you believe you need medical assistance for your *Salmonella* infection, contact your healthcare provider. **Q: How will I know if I’m part of the Trader Joe's peanut butter *Salmonella* outbreak?** A: *Salmonella* bacteria can be detected in stool. A fecal sample provided to a healthcare provider or health department is placed in nutrient broth or on agar and incubated for 2-3 days. After that time, a trained microbiologist can identify *Salmonella* bacteria, if present, and confirm its identity by looking at biochemical reactions. Treatment with antibiotics before collecting a specimen for testing can affect bacterial growth in culture, and lead to a negative test result even when *Salmonella* causes the infection. If *Salmonella* is isolated from an ill person’s stool, a bacterial isolate can be compared to isolates from other ill individuals – and possibly from food samples. Bacterial isolates that have matching “DNA Fingerprints” indicate a potential common source of *Salmonella* infection. 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