The Sunland peanut butter recall has reached Europe. Months after the recall due to Salmonella contamination was announced in the US, European health officials are warning residents about the dangers associated with products containing Sunland peanut butter. Although the initial recall was said not to include products distributed in Europe, US authorities now say it’s possible that some recalled products were distributed to a number of European countries including the UK.
The recalled products were likely not sold in supermarkets, but rather available for purchase over the Internet or from specialty shops that import American foods. The UK’s Food Standards Agency, which has requested, but not yet received, distribution information from the US authorities, has asked local authorities to check businesses for the affected products and remove them.
“Investigations are ongoing, but as we get more information from the US and local authorities in the UK we will be able to narrow down the list products to just those we know have been sold in the UK,” said Liz McNulty, of the FSA’s incidents team. Consumers in the UK should check the batch code of any Sunland product they have purchased against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) list available here. So far, more than 250 products containing the recalled peanuts o peanut butter have been recalled in the US.
No illnesses in the UK have been reported in association with the peanut butter, according to the Health Protection Agency. In the US, at least 41 people are part of a 20-state Salmonella outbreak linked to the tainted peanut butter. Most of them are children.
