In the face of the US nationwide recall of peanut butter products, Tasty Baking Co. and Mars Snackfood have followed Hershey’s lead in declaring their products safe.
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Various peanut butter products and foods containing peanut butter manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) have been recalled after the company was linked to a salmonella scare last week.
To date, there have been 474 reported cases of salmonella across 43 states. Six deaths have been linked to the outbreak.
In a conference call with US media on Saturday (17 January), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reportedly urged consumers to avoid eating products that contain peanut butter until authorities have concluded their investigation into the salmonella outbreak.
Following the call, US confectioner Hershey issued a statement emphasising that its products– including iconic chocolate brand Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – have not been affected by the recall.
“All of our products are safe to consume. This includes all items sold to other food companies and used as ingredients in other products,” the company said.
Both Tasty Baking and Mars were quick to follow suit.
“All Tastykake products, including the iconic Peanut Butter Kandy Kake, are safe for consumption and not included in the national recall program,” Tasty Baking said Sunday night in a statement. “Tasty Baking Company does not have a supplier relationship with Peanut Corporation of America.”
“Mars Snackfood US remains confident in the safety and quality of our products that contain peanut butter, all of which are safe to enjoy,” Mars echoed late Sunday.
“Mars does not receive or process any peanuts or peanut butter from Peanut Corporation of America or King Nut, the companies that, according to FDA’s most recent update on its investigation, appear to be the source of contaminated product. In addition, we have not been asked by the FDA to recall any products in relation to the current investigation into salmonella.”
