As Many As Six Outbreak Cases May Be Linked To PCA's Plainview Facility
As many as six cases associated with the ongoing Salmonella outbreak may have been traced to products produced at PCA's Plainview, Texas production facility. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, these individuals reported exposure to peanut butter distributed by the Lakewood-based Vitamin Cottage. In turn, an open container of Vitamin Cottage fresh ground peanut butter, made from peanuts distributed from the Texas facility, tested positive for the outbreak strain of Salmonella. Because the container was opened, however, it is not yet known if the peanut butter was potentially contaminated at the Texas facility, or if the product was cross-contaminated with the outbreak strain after distribution (learn how food-borne illnesses and outbreaks are tracked). Vitamin Cottage, in a Recall Notice, announced last week that it was recalling these products.
It is estimated that, since opening in March 2005, PCA's Plainview, Texas facility produced and distributed about one-third of the volume of products that were distributed from the company's Blakely, Georgia plant. Although Salmonella has not yet been isolated from any non-opened products distributed from the Plainview facility, it has been reported that truck loads of raw peanuts from PCA's Georgia facility were previously sent to the Texas plant. Currently, the FDA is still waiting on lab confirmation from numerous product and environmental samples taken from the facility determine the extent, if any, of potential contamination.
In addition to operating plants in Georgia and Texas, PCA also operated a facility in Virginia. The FDA has completed a comprehensive inspection of the Virginia plant, and has reported that all lab results were negative for Salmonella. Although PCA closed this facility following its bankruptcy announcement on February 13, 2009, the FDA has not taken any action against the Virginia plant or any of the products produced there.
