Texas A&M University-Commerce Student Health Services has confirmed five cases of salmonella from peanut butter contimination.
The number may be more according to Courtney Manskey, Student Health Services physicans assistant.
“Even before the news was released, there were people coming in with stomach aches and other similar problems,” Manskey said. “These patients basically had abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.”
Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter with product codes beginning with 2111 has been pulled from shelves at Brookshires stores and all peanut butter has been pulled at Commerce Wal-Mart, as of press time.
Action was prompted after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday, Feb. 14, warned consumers not to eat certain jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter because of the risk of salmonella contamination.
The affected jars have a product code on the lid that begins with the number 2111 and were made in a single facility in Sylvester, Ga., the FDA said.
Scott Davenport, catering manager of Sodexho, said Classic Sysco is used throughout campus dining and the University is not involved in the recall.
Students who have code-2111 peanut butter are urged to throw it away. They can keep the lid and ask for a refund at www.conagrafoods.com or return it to the store it was purchased.
It is believed to be the first salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter in U.S. history, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
Salmonella infection is known each year to sicken about 40,000 people in the United States, according to the CDC. Salmonellosis, as the infection is known, kills about 600 people annually.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.