August 20, 2007
Linda Moore didn't pay much attention to recalls. She worked nights as a licensed practical nurse, hands-on work that doesn't leave much time for catching up on the news.
When ConAgra asked consumers to throw away jars of Peter Pan peanut butter on Feb. 14, Moore didn't notice. Her jar stayed on the bedside table where it always sat, in case she needed a quick boost to her blood sugar.
Moore, 59, and lives in Dalton, has diabetes. She can feel when her blood sugar is dropping to dangerous levels, and knows to eat a little protein and sugar right away.
One of those moments came in early March, a few weeks after the peanut butter recall. Moore ate a spoonful of Peter Pan on bread, drank juice and got ready for work.
"It's a comfort food," she said. "You don't think about something being wrong with peanut butter. I would never have thought it. Never."
She started to feel sick while driving, made it to her daughter's house and succumbed to massive vomiting and diarrhea. Moore was hospitalized for three days and is suing ConAgra.
Her son told her about the recall after she told doctors that she'd eaten peanut butter.
"I was just devastated," she said. "I thought, 'Not Peter Pan peanut butter' when they said salmonella."
Moore bought the brand for many years. Now she can't stand to think about eating any peanut butter.
"When I'm in the grocery store, I just look and keep moving. I can't do it," she said. "I don't know if I'll ever eat it again. It scared the daylights out of me."