Healthify your supermarket choices.
10 Peanut Butter Facts
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You’ve probably heard about the most recent Salmonella outbreak. The culprit this time seems to be a batch of infected peanut butter, of all things. In his blog, Bill Marler deduces that the most probable cause is rodent or bird poop finding it’s way into a mix at the manufacturing facility.
While this is an unfortunate incident, don’t let it deter you from enjoying the many health benefits of peanuts and peanut butter.
Now for some interesting peanut facts, nutrition and buying tips.
What you need to know:
1. Americans consume 700 million pounds of peanut butter annually, about three pounds per person!
2. Peanuts are technically legumes (like beans), not nuts.
3. One acre of peanuts will make 30,000 peanut butter sandwiches.
4. Peanuts are a new world food, probably originating in Brazil and working their way up to Mexico. The Aztecs mashed them into a paste as early as 500 years ago.
5. 75% of homes in the US have a peanut butter jar.
6. 60% of the peanuts in the US are grown in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Half are used for peanut butter.
7. Peanuts are rich in monounsaturated fats, which help reduce the risk of heart disease.
8. Peanut butter is a good source of protein. Just 2 tablespoon’s worth provide more than 10% of the daily recommended value. Those same 2 Tablepoons also provide 200 calories.
9. Peanut butter is also a good source of vitamins B3 and E, magnesium, folate, and dietary fiber.
10. Animals like it too. Peanut butter is considered an effective bait for mouse traps. (hmmn … maybe this explains the salmonella?)
What to do at the supermarket:
Look for peanut butter with no hydrogenated oils (code for trans fat). Sugar should not be an ingredient either. You’ll get enough sweet from the jelly in your sandwich instead. The ideal ingredient list includes just one item – peanuts.
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People get Salmonella Typhimurium from eating Peanut Butter, Minnesota points the finger at King Nut, who points the finger at Peanut Corporation of America, so what is next?
Minnesota Department of Health announces late Friday that the have linked thirty illnesses ( and a death) to the consumption of King Nut Peanut Butter (and Parnell’s Pride?). There is nothing on the CDC website or other State Health Department sites naming names – yet. On Saturday King Nut and the FDA jointly release a recall notification, but King Nut blames the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) for its problem. PCA’s lawyers write a press release that tries to deny as much as possible.
So, what is next? Here are a few ideas (not in any particular order) that the companies involved and the government should do Monday morning:
1. Make sure ALL product is promptly recalled;
2. Do not destroy any documents;
3. The companies should pay the medical bills and all related expenses of the innocent victims and their families;
4. The companies should pay the cost of all related Health Department, CDC and FDA investigations;
5. Provide all bacterial and viral testing of all recalled product and any other tested product (before and after recall);
6. Release all inspection reports on the plants by any Governmental Entity or Third-party Auditor;
7. Release all Salmonella safety precautions taken by either King Nut or Peanut Corporation of America – especially after the 2007 Salmonella Peanut Butter Outbreak;
8. Provide the public with the Epidemiological investigation (with names redacted), so it is clear who knew what and when about the likely source of the outbreak; and,
9. Show the public what is being done to prevent the next outbreak.
Taking these steps will go a long way in convincing us that food safety and consumer confidence is of primary importance both to the companies and the government.