Peanut butter put on health alert

Star: KUALA LUMPUR: The Government has placed all peanut butter from the United States on Level 5 alert following several salmonella-linked deaths there, said Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai.
Under Level 5, stringent tests would be carried out first to determine if the product are safe for consumption.
US authorities on Friday said seven people had died from a nationwide outbreak of salmonella associated with tainted peanut butter and paste sourced to the Peanut Corporation of America’s (PCA) plant in Blakely, Georgia.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified the bacterial strain as Salmonella Typhimurium.
The CDC said there had been 492 cases in 43 states and one Canadian province of people sickened with the strain as of Thursday, US media reports.
Patients ranged in age from one to 98 and 22% of people afflicted with the bacteria have been hospitalised.
Another 10 US firms Friday recalled products which use PCA peanut butter or paste -- bringing to roughly 360 the number of products affected -- as it emerged that the plant at the centre of the probe laid off most of its roughly 50 workers, US papers said.
The recalled products range from snack bars to crackers and pre-packaged meals and even pet food. But products containing peanuts not sourced from the PCA plant are deemed safe.
The Food and Drug Administration, which is investigating, has said it has no evidence to suggest the contamination originated with any other major manufacturing facility other than the PCA plant.