Peanut butter salmonella outbreak reaches 43 states

The recent salmonella outbreak as a result from infected peanut butter containers has spread to 43 states as of last evening, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. The CDC said that the outbreak had widened to 329 people in 41 states so far.

The FDA last week indicated that all Peter Pan peanut butter bought since May 2006, and all of Wal-Mart's "Great Value" peanut butter with the batch code 2111 should be discarded. That's over a half of a year of peanut butter, which makes one think -- "wow, we're just now finding out?"

ConAgra, which makes the Peter Pan brand along with many store brands like the "Great Value" brand at Wal-Mart, said that tests by some states found the salmonella bacteria in peanut butter produced at its Sylvester, Georgia, plant.