Tainted peanut butter not in RP market

MANILA, Philippines—Contaminated peanut butter products that sickened close to 400 people and killed at least six in the United States have not been found so far in the Philippine market, the Bureau of Food and Drugs said.

But BFAD Director Leticia Gutierrez still urged the public Tuesday to be cautious in consuming the sandwich spread amid fears they have salmonella bacteria.

She said there was no need for BFAD to conduct tests similar to those done by the Philippine regulatory agency during the China milk scandal.

"There is no need for us to conduct tests because the US already pronounced they are contaminated," Gutierrez said in a phone interview.

The BFAD had inspected major supermarkets and none of the recalled US peanut butter products were found, she said.

"Our inspectors have gone around over 10 major supermarkets and none of these (contaminated products) were found," said Gutierrez.

But government inspectors were still checking if those food products made their way into the flea markets and in the provinces, she said.

US cereal-maker Kellogg Co. has recalled its peanut butter products produced on or after July 1, 2008 after the US Food and Drug Administration warned against consuming peanut butter products, following an outbreak of salmonella food poisoning.

In its January 19 advisory, BFAD listed the following recalled Kellogg products:

• Austin Quality Foods Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter -- all sizes
• Austin Quality Foods Cheese & Peanut ButterSandwich Crackers -- all sizes
• Austin Quality Foods Mega Stuffed Cheese Crackers with Peanut Butter -- all sizes
• Austin Quality Foods PB & J Cracker Sandwiches -- all sizes
• Austin Quality FoodsSuper Snack Pack Sandwich Crackers
• Austin Quality Foods Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers -- all sizes
• Austin Quality Foods Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter -- all sizes
• Austin Quality Foods Reduced Fat Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
• Austin Quality Foods Reduced Fat Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
• Austin Quality FoodsCookie/Cracker Pack
• Austin Quality FoodsVariety Pack
• Keebler Cheese & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers -- all sizes
• Keebler Toast & PB'n J Flavored Sandwich Crackers -- all sizes
• Keebler Toast & Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers -- all sizes
• Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies (2- and 3-ounce)
• Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies (2.5-ounce).

Salmonella is an organism which can cause infections, fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

The salmonella bacterium is spread most often by the consumption of food contaminated by animal fecal matter, according to health experts.

The microbe usually flourishes within the intestinal tracts of fowl and mammals.

An estimated 1.4 million human salmonella infections occur each year, causing about 15,000 hospitalizations and 400 deaths, according to the CDC. With Agence France-Presse