628 Ill From February Peanut Butter Recall

Jun 01, 05:19 AM

Current Headlines: By Joe Ruff, Omaha World-Herald, Neb.

Jun. 1--Peanut butter made at a ConAgra Foods plant in Georgia sickened 628 people in 47 states during a salmonella outbreak that prompted a recall in February, the latest report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

The report covered Aug. 1, 2006, to May 22. Earlier reports spanning August to mid-February said 425 people had become ill in 44 states.

Twenty percent of patients were hospitalized, and no deaths were attributed to salmonella infection, the CDC said in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

New cases of illness decreased substantially after the Feb. 14 recall, but some people may still be eating peanut butter that has been recalled, the report said. All remaining jars of Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter made for Wal-Mart with a product code beginning 2111 should be discarded, the agency said.

A final report on the outbreak is several months away, an agency spokeswoman said.

The plant in Sylvester, Ga., is being renovated. Peter Pan peanut butter will be back on store shelves by mid-July, ConAgra officials have said.

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