The SoyNut Butter Company has voluntarily recalled some of its “‘I.M. Healthy Original Creamy SoyNut Butter,” a nut-free peanut butter substitute, after a dozen people got sick from E. coli that likely came from the spread.
The Food and Drug Administration alerted the company to “a possible link” between the creamy peanut butter-like spread and 12 cases E. coli, SoyNut Butter said in a statement.
“While we are taking the necessary investigative steps in getting the product in question and the supply chain tested, we decided to issue the recall for the sake of food safety,” the company said.
Six of the 12 people who got E. coli had to be hospitalized, and all but one of the individuals was under 18, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday.
Don’t eat I.M. Healthy brand SoyNut Butter due to possible E. coli contamination. 12 sick, 6 hosp. in outbreak. https://t.co/Yy4yAKPFqD pic.twitter.com/w445Zo541c
— CDC (@CDCgov) March 3, 2017
Any jar of the product with a best-by date of Aug. 30 or Aug. 31, 2018, could be at risk of E. coli. The product has a two-year shelf life, so it’s likely that the outbreak will grow as more people eat the product.
The 12 cases of E. coli were reported between Jan. 6 and Feb. 15 of this year, so any incidents of the sickness occurring after eating SoyNut butter have not been recorded by the CDC.
The CDC also warned that SoyNut Butter’s granola coated with the SoyNut spread could also be infected with E. coli, but the company has not issued a voluntary recall on those products.
Follow Thomas Phippen on Twitter
Send tips to thomas@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.