Members, We Need Your Contact Information!
added 04/19/09
Did you know a huge benefit to being a Co-op member is that we contact you in case of a food-safety recall? As a result, please be sure to contact us so that we have your current phone number and/or email address in order to successfully include you in any recall notice.
The phones of Co-op members all over the Upper Valley were ringing during late January and early February, when Salmonella contamination became a possibility in certain peanut-containing products.
Salmonella is a bacteria which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.
On January 13, the Peanut Corporation of America, a peanut processing company and maker of peanut butter for bulk distribution to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies, announced a limited recall of peanut butter produced in its Blakely, Georgia, processing plant. Packaged under the labels King Nut and Parnell’s Pride, the peanut butter had been implicated in a Salmonella outbreak involving residents of a long-term care facility in Minnesota. Salmonella was found in an open container of King Nut peanut butter used in the facility.
On January 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that the Salmonella recovered from the peanut butter was a genetic match to Salmonella from cases in a national outbreak involving over 500 people in 43 states. The outbreak, which began on September 8, 2008, had already claimed six lives.
PCA expanded its recall to include 21 lots of peanut butter and peanut paste produced on or after July 1, 2008 and distributed nationwide. Kellogg’s announced an unprecedented “precautionary hold” on Keebler and Famous Amos products, recognizing the possibility of contamination because the company purchased peanut ingredients from PCA.
By Saturday, January 17, large and small manufacturers—including Kellogg’s—began announcing voluntary recalls of candy, cookies, energy bars, packaged peanut butter sandwich crackers, and ice cream products made from PCA peanut butter and peanut paste. Many were private label products produced for large grocery chains. Manufacturers made it clear that no jarred peanut butter sold at retail was affected.
On January 28, PCA issued an expanded recall of all peanuts and peanut products processed in its Blakely, Georgia facility going back to January 1, 2007. The expanded recall included all peanuts (dry and oil roasted), granulated peanuts, peanut meal, peanut butter, and peanut paste. Manufacturers’ recalls expanded to include trail mixes, protein supplements, frozen dinners, ice cream toppings, bulk nuts, and more.
By February 2, over 800 individual products had been recalled from grocers’ shelves nationwide, and new product recalls continued to be announced by the FDA on a daily basis.
Recall at the Co-op
With the first recall of Kellogg’s products, the Co-op’s food safety program went into effect. Recalled items were pulled from the shelves, and signs went up in their place to warn customers who might have already purchased these products. Merchandisers notified the Co-op’s Information Technology (IT) Department of the recalled UPC codes, so they could use our membership database to retrieve the names and phone numbers of Co-op members who had recently purchased the affected products. Two hundred nineteen members had purchased the Keebler crackers, and Co-op service desk staff began making phone calls to warn them not to eat them and to bring them back to the stores for a refund.
As the number of nationwide recalls increased, the Co-op set up a special Food Safety Portal to keep up-to-date recall information available to the general public. Recall Information Centers with take-away lists of affected products were posted in all three Co-op stores. Announcements were put on the radio and included in Co-op ads.
At this writing, over 5,400 Co-op members have received phone calls from our staff. In addition to service desk personnel, staff from merchandising, education, accounting, IT, and the Hanover front end cashiers took to the phones to provide this service to our members.
Everyone across departments is ready to pitch in to help keep our members and their families safe. Please be sure that we have your up-to-date phone number and/or email address so that we can successfully include you in any recall notice.
Please Update Your Contact Information!
- Email us your name, member number, address, phone number, and preferred email address.
- If you want to provide it by phone, the main number is 603-643-2667.
- Snail mail more your style? Our address is PO Box 633, Hanover, NH 03755.
Co-op E-Newsletters
Want to sign up to have regular updates delivered to you from the Co-op by via email? Join our list! In addition to our Food Safety Portal, the Co-op regularly emails interested members and customers with a wide variety of updates, including important food-safety information. If interested, you can sign up for just the information you want to receive.
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