Peanut butter recalled throughout state

Indiana has 13 confirmed cases of a salmonella outbreak associated with certain batches of Peter Pan-brand peanut butter and Wal-Mart’s Great Value house brand, state health officials said.\nState epidemiologists did not specify which counties have confirmed cases, “but they are spread across the state,” said Eric Deckers, spokesman for the Indiana State Department of Health .\nAs of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had reported 288 cases in 39 states of the strain, called salmonella Tennessee.\nMuncie resident Marianne Carter said she and her husband had become sick but didn’t suspect salmonella until checking their peanut butter jar and finding the 2111 product code specified by ConAgra Foods.\n“We thought we had the flu,” Carter said.\nSymptoms of salmonella infection include vomiting, diarrhea, fever, cramps, nausea and gas, appearing 18 to 36 hours after exposure. The symptoms can last 48 to 72 hours. People in poor health or with weakened immune systems could face life-threatening complications, but most cases do not require medical care or antibiotics.\nConAgra Foods issued the recall for its jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter with product codes beginning with “2111” on Thursday.\nAt a Fort Wayne Wal-Mart, Todd Devens stood in line waiting to return a jar of Peter Pan. He said his family go through two or three jars a month, but no one had gotten sick.\n“It can happen with any company,” he said.\nTo get refunds, consumers should discard the peanut butter and mail the lids to ConAgra Foods, P.O. Box 3768, Omaha, Neb., 68103.\nAt Kroger stores across Central Indiana, employees pulled all Peter Pan products from the shelves, regardless of their batch number. Spokeswoman Coco Bill said she didn’t know when the supermarket chain would start carrying the brand again.\nFor more information, call (866) 344-6970 or visit ConAgra’s Web site at www.conagrafoods.com.