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Some of the sugar-free peanut butter fudge recalled by Kilwins is contained in this older-style packaging (Courtesy photo / October 9, 2012) |
PETOSKEY -- A Petoskey-based candy company is recalling packages of its sugar-free peanut butter fudge, noting that peanut butter used to produce it has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella.
Kilwins Quality Confections recently announced the recall for all 7-ounce packages of its sugar-free peanut butter fudge that bears bar code number 000648 and lot numbers 67936, 67105, 66959, 66413, 66248, 65123, 63124, 62693, 62612, 61658, 61621, and was sold in Kilwins retail stores between Oct. 1, 2011 and Oct. 5, 2012. The company noted that peanut butter used in the fudge was produced by New Mexico-based Sunland Inc., which has voluntarily recalled all products manufactured at its peanut butter plant as far back as March 1, 2010, because of concerns about potential salmonella contamination.
"This is a (Food and Drug Administration-mandated) recall and we're fully compliant," Kilwins spokeswoman Jean Hammond said Monday after the announcement concerning the fudge.
Kilwins noted that no illnesses had been reported in connection with the fudge. But on Friday, USA Today reported that samples taken at the Sunland plant tested positive for salmonella, and that peanut butter produced there had been linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak. That outbreak had sickened 35 people in 19 states since mid-June, nearly two-thirds of them children younger than 10. The salmonella cases led to eight people being hospitalized, but no deaths has been reported.
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (infected aneurysms), endocarditis, or arthritis.
The recalled sugar free peanut butter fudge packages were sold in Kilwins stores located in the following states: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The product comes in either a light beige box with a small window area, or a black and white box with a small window area and a yellow sicker across the top corner that states "Sugar-Free". The lot code can be found on the box label, just to the left of the bar code.
Kilwins has obtained Sunland's peanut butter directly from that company as well as from a third-party distributor, Hammond said, and plans to seek out a new source of peanut butter for use in its fudge.
Consumers who have purchased this product within the affected dates are urged to return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions can contact Jean Hammond at Kilwins (231) 758-3903, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Kilwins Quality Confections recently announced the recall for all 7-ounce packages of its sugar-free peanut butter fudge that bears bar code number 000648 and lot numbers 67936, 67105, 66959, 66413, 66248, 65123, 63124, 62693, 62612, 61658, 61621, and was sold in Kilwins retail stores between Oct. 1, 2011 and Oct. 5, 2012. The company noted that peanut butter used in the fudge was produced by New Mexico-based Sunland Inc., which has voluntarily recalled all products manufactured at its peanut butter plant as far back as March 1, 2010, because of concerns about potential salmonella contamination.
"This is a (Food and Drug Administration-mandated) recall and we're fully compliant," Kilwins spokeswoman Jean Hammond said Monday after the announcement concerning the fudge.
Kilwins noted that no illnesses had been reported in connection with the fudge. But on Friday, USA Today reported that samples taken at the Sunland plant tested positive for salmonella, and that peanut butter produced there had been linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak. That outbreak had sickened 35 people in 19 states since mid-June, nearly two-thirds of them children younger than 10. The salmonella cases led to eight people being hospitalized, but no deaths has been reported.
Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (infected aneurysms), endocarditis, or arthritis.
The recalled sugar free peanut butter fudge packages were sold in Kilwins stores located in the following states: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
The product comes in either a light beige box with a small window area, or a black and white box with a small window area and a yellow sicker across the top corner that states "Sugar-Free". The lot code can be found on the box label, just to the left of the bar code.
Kilwins has obtained Sunland's peanut butter directly from that company as well as from a third-party distributor, Hammond said, and plans to seek out a new source of peanut butter for use in its fudge.
Consumers who have purchased this product within the affected dates are urged to return the product to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions can contact Jean Hammond at Kilwins (231) 758-3903, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
