Obama Disturbed by FDA's Failures On Salmonella Peanut Products

President Barack Obama is ordering a “complete review” of the Food and Drug Administration after it failed to detect shipments of salmonella-contaminated peanut products that have sickened more than 500 people and may be linked to as many as eight deaths, he told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer.

In an interview that aired Monday, Obama said the agency’s failure to recognize and intercept the products was only the latest of numerous "instances over the last several years” in which “the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to catch."

The Peanut Butter recall was the dominant health news topic in U.S. Media.

CDC's latest report shows that multistate outbreak of Salmonella Infections is associated with Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter--Containing Products - United States, 2008--2009.

On January 9, PCA voluntarily stopped production of peanut butter and peanut paste at the Blakely, Georgia, facility. On January 10, King Nut Company issued a voluntary recall of specific lot numbers of peanut butter manufactured by PCA and distributed under King Nut and Parnell's Pride labels. On January 16, PCA announced a voluntary recall of all peanut butter and peanut paste produced in its Blakely facility since July 1, 2008. On January 28, the PCA recall was expanded to include all peanuts and peanut products processed at this plant since January 1, 2007. In addition to peanut butter and peanut paste, the expanded recall includes dry- and oil-roasted peanuts, granulated peanuts, and peanut meal. On January 28, 2009, the facility reported that production of all peanut products had stopped. The latest information on the PCA recall can be found on the FDA website.**

To date, FDA inspectors have traced the shipments of these products to approximately 2,100 accounts and sub-accounts. FDA is working to identify additional products that might be affected and to track the ingredient supply chain of those products to remove them from the marketplace. On January 14, the Kellogg Company announced a precautionary hold on Austin and Keebler brands of peanut butter crackers, and on January 16, voluntarily recalled these products produced after July 1, 2008. As of January 28, at least 431 peanut butter--containing products had been recalled by 54 companies that had used ingredients produced by the PCA facility after July 1, 2008.

Based on CDC and Today reports.