Salmonella prompts recall of peanut butter made in Lynchburg

SOLON, Ohio 

Investigators are trying to determine whether an Ohio distributor's peanut butter is linked to a national salmonella outbreak.

King Nut Companies, based in this Cleveland suburb, has recalled two brands after preliminary lab tests found salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter, Minnesota Department of Health said.

Federal health officials reiterated today that the peanut butter had not been conclusively linked to a national salmonella outbreak that has sickened almost 400 people in 42 states.

Minnesota health officials said testing continued today.

King Nut has asked customers to stop distributing all peanut butter under its King Nut and Parnell's Pride brands with a lot code that begins with the numeral "8."

The peanut butter was produced by Peanut Corporation of America of Lynchburg, Va.

Peanut Corporation of America said the tainted container was found in the kitchen of a nursing facility, leaving it open to the possibility of cross-contamination from another source.

Company president Stewart Parnell said Monday that it was waiting word from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control "to determine if there is actually a problem."

King Nut president Martin Kanan said its peanut butter was distributed only through food service providers in Ohio, Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Arizona, Idaho, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Florida.

Kanan said Sunday the recall involved about 1,000 cases of peanut butter. No additional information was expected to be released today, he said.

King Nut said it has canceled all orders with Peanut Corporation of America.