A Salmonella outbreak linked to JEM brand nut butters has sickened 11 people in nine states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Illnesses associated with this outbreak, which was announced by the agency today, were reported from June through October. Three of the cases are in Oregon. California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina and New Jersey have each reported one case.
The outbreak strain, Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+), was formerly known as Salmonella Java. Like other Salmonella strains, it causes symptoms including diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps which usually set in six to 72 hours after exposure and last about a week. Salmonella Paratyphi B variant L(+) tartrate(+) does not cause paratyphoid fever, enteric fever, or typhoid fever.
Eight case patients were interviewed by health officials. All of them reported eating nut butter or nut butter spread before becoming ill. Six of them specifically mentioned mentioned JEM brand raw sprouted nut butter spreads.
JEM Raw Chocolate, LLC of Bend, Ore. recalled its entire line of sprouted nut butter on Dec. 2. The recall affects allJEM Raw flavors of nut butter spreads which were sold nationwide in retail stores and through mail order in glass jars in sizes ranging from 1.25 ounces to 16 ounces.
The recalled products include: 1 oz sizes of: Cashew Cardamom – Sprouted Cashew Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97861 7; Cinnamon Red Maca – Sprouted Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97862 4; Hazelnut Raw Cacao – Sprouted Hazelnut Spread with UPC 6 09728 97865 5; Superberry Maqui Camu – Sprouted Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97864 8. Six-oz sizes of Cashew Cardamom – Sprouted Cashew Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97860 0; Cinnamon Red Maca – Sprouted Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97848 8; Hazelnut Raw Cacao -Sprouted Hazelnut Spread with UPC 6 09728 97857 0; and Superberry Maqui Camu – Sprouted Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97858 7. Sixteen oz sizes of Cashew Cardamom – Sprouted Cashew Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97854 9; Cinnamon Red Maca – Sprouted Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97850 1; Hazelnut Raw Cacao – Sprouted Hazelnut Spread with UPC 6 09728 97851 8 and Superberry Maqui Camu – Sprouted Almond Spread with UPC 6 09728 97852 5.
Consumers who have purchased any of these products should not eat them as Salmonella can cause serious illness and death. Throw away the nut butter in a sealed bag to avoid potentially spreading disease. Contact the company about reimbursement or replacement.
Case patients in this outbreak range in age from 1 year to 79, with a median age of 48. Sixty-four percent of them are male.
This is not the first time nut butters have been the source of food poisoning outbreaks. Last year, a five-state Salmonella Braenderup outbreak linked to nut butters made by nSpired Natural Foods sickened 6 people. In 2012, a Salmonella outbreak linked to tainted peanut butter produced by Sunland Inc., then the nation’s largest producer of organic peanut butter, sickened 42 people. And in 2008 and 2009, peanut butter produced Peanut Corporation of America sickened more than 700 people; 116 were hospitalized. Seven people died.
