Lexington,KY-As more products are added to the national peanut butter recall list related to the recent salmonella outbreak, The J.M. Smucker Company is scrambling to reassure consumers that all of its Jif and Smucker's brand products are safe for consumption.
On Monday, the company, which owns Lexington's Jif manufacturing plant, fielded an all-time-high number of inquiries through its consumer communications center, said Maribeth Badertscher, director of corporate communications. The company does not use any peanuts or other ingredients from the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), the company whose peanut butter and paste have been linked to the salmonella contamination. In addition, Badertscher said, Jif's manufacturing process includes a variety of product safety and quality assurance testing, including testing for the presence of salmonella.
"Obviously this issue has created some confusion with our consumers," Badertscher said. "We are really focusing our efforts, first of all, on continuing to produce our quality products, and secondly, on reassuring our consumers that our products are not included in this recall."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that the outbreak strain of salmonella typhimurium, which has been traced to a PCA plant in Georgia, has infected 485 people in 43 states and Canada, including three cases in Kentucky, and may have contributed to six deaths.
As for the potential effect of consumers' concerns about salmonella on Jif sales, Badertscher said it is still too early to tell. The Lexington Jif plant employs more than 200 workers.