Peanut butters and almond butters sold by Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and other markets have been recalled out of concern of possible contamination with salmonella, their maker says.
There have been four cases of illnesses reported that may be related to the nut butters, nSpired Natural Foods, Inc., a unit of Hain Celestial Group Inc., said.
In addition to butters sold under the Arrowhead Mills and MaraNatha brand names, the recall also covered store brands sold by Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Safeway and Kroger.
Nut butter in both glass and plastic jars are involved in the recall.
The Food and Drug Administration, in a statement, said it alerted nSpired of the potential contamination risk as a result of routine testing. It said it did not know how many jars were being recalled.
The FDA has put a list of the recalled retail lots online.
A total of 45 affected lots of nut butter types were distributed in the U.S., Canada, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, it said.
Salmonella bacteria can cause infections in children, elderly or frail people that can be serious and sometimes fatal, the agency said. People with weakened or compromised immune systems are also vulnerable to such infections. In otherwise healthy people, a Salmonella infection can result in diarrhea, fever, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain.
Symptoms generally begin within one to three days of exposure to salmonella and may last for as much as a week.
If the organism gets into the bloodstream, it can cause more severe illnesses such as arterial infections, arthritis and endocarditis although such cases are rare, the FDA said.
The FDA has been informed of the decision to order a recall, said nSpired, based in Lake Success, New York.
The company said consumers with affected products do not have to return them to the retail store where they were purchased but should instead simply dispose of them and the container they were purchased in.
Consumers can call nSpired at a toll-free number, 1-800-937-7008, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. CST with any inquiries or to request a refund or replacement, the company said.
Recent years have seen a number of significant outbreaks of salmonella, including one in 2008/2009 involving peanuts that made more than 700 people ill.
In addition, Faster Farms chickens have been lined to a strain of the bacterium that has caused some 500 people to become ill over the last year and a half.
