According to an official statement made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a recent salmonella outbreak may be linked to a nut butter spread.
In July to October of this year, 11 patients became sick from salmonella. The patients ranged in age from one to 79 years. The outbreaks occurred in nine states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Oregon.
The nut butter spread, made by a company called JEM Raw, was suspected to be the source of the outbreak after interviewing patients and discovering that many of them had consumed nut butter spread made by the company. JEM Raw Chocolate, LLC, has issued a voluntary recall, although none of the products tested positive for salmonella, according to a spokesperson.
The CDC and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are continuing to investigate the salmonella outbreak and work to confirm its source.
The symptoms of salmonella are fever, diarrhea, and cramping. These symptoms surface anywhere from 12 to 72 hours after a patient comes into contact with salmonella bacteria. The symptoms run their course in four to seven days.
Fortunately, none of the patients affected by the outbreak from July to October were hospitalized, and no deaths were reported.