There really is something to that! Peanuts are notorius for getting moldy. If you've got peanuts in your cupboard that haven't been eaten for months, throw them out! Throw them to the birds. That includes raw peanuts in a jar and peanut butter. Best to get the smallest peanut butter container you can from the store and eat it up right away. Don't get the large economy size. And the mfrs who say you have the natural peanuts with NO preservatives. Don't buy it! Preservatives will keep you alive. Raw peanuts mitout it, will kill you. Maybe.

Good health to all!

Mr. Epp, as a lawyer, you should re-think the use of Jif in your cute headline. It could get you into trouble since it is not Jif that is that the target of this problem.

Anon:

I think you missed my point. Jif is NOT the problem, hence, choosey mothers were correct. The story also clearly notes that some batches of Peter Pan peanut butter are the problem.

Thanks for noting the issue.

Todd

I don't understand what it is with food recalls the past few years, peanut butter; lettuce' celery, etc. I threw away 3/4 of a jar yesterday when the warning came out. When I was a kid on the farm there were a lot of times the eggs sat out in the backporch, especially in the years before we had a refrigerator. We didn't get sick from things that weren't refrigerated. Also with all the good food processing now, a person would think there would be less contamination now then there used to be.

foxyg -- I grew up on a farm, too. Like your folks, I bet you cleaned the eggs thoroughly with soap and water or a vinegar. That kept the shell clean from invading germs.

Relatedly, we had a huge winter storm over Christmas in the 50s. It kept us stranded for a week on the farm. So we dug into the bell jar "canned" food. I thought we'd all die. Some of the stuff had been there for at least five years. But nope. Even with a bit of very suspicious white crud around the sealed lid. Mom opened the jar, which went "SQUISH." That's all we needed to assure ourselves we wouldn't be found dead after the storm.

Bottom line: cleanliness.

Why outbreaks today from food processed in big factories. Duh! Look at the workers! Let's face it folks. Some workers come from places where they don't routinely practice good hygiene.

And I am not afraid to name names of a certain fast food place where I got colitis TWICE from their poor hygiene. It was a BURGER KING! I now regularly eat at several McDonalds in the large city where I live. I have never got sick. I will swear by all Mac&Don's for great cleanliness. I watch the workers gather food from their mini-ovens with white surgical gloves. In one particular McD's here, there have a staffer designated to clean the grills several times during the day. And I mean with bleach, from top to bottom. No, I don't work for McD's! I just think they deserve an award for cleanliness above and beyond the call of duty.