Smucker Recalls Thousands of Jars of Chunky Peanut Butter

Check that jar of peanut butter in your pantries or refrigerators. If you have Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter Chunky, you just might want to toss it out.  

J.M. Smucker is recalling thousands of 16-ounce jars of that peanut butter because of possible salmonella contamination.

A limited recall was issued Nov. 16 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and posted on Smucker’s Facebook page.

Jars that could be contaminated will have "Best if Used By" dates of Aug. 3, 2012, and Aug. 4, 2012, plus the production codes 1307004 and 1308004. According to USA Today, the company says the jars covered in the recall would have been purchased in the last week or so. Approximately 3,000 are being recalled from the stores and another 16,000 had never left the warehouses, according to the newspaper.

The product was distributed to 24 states, including Illinois, and the District of Columbia, according to the FDA.

Salmonella is bacteria resulting in fever, cramps and diarrhea that lasts for several days and can require hospitalization.

Smucker says no illnesses have been reported.

All institutions and stores in Oak Park that prepare, serve or sell food were notified by fax Friday morning about the recall, said Mike Charley, Oak Park’s environmental health supervisor. That includes schools, hospitals, nursing homes, food stores and day care centers, he added.