Federal health authorities on Saturday urged consumers to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream and other foods that contain peanut butter until authorities can learn more about a deadly outbreak of salmonella contamination.

    "We urge consumers to postpone eating any products that may contain peanut butter until additional information becomes available," said Stephen Sundlof, head of the Food and Drug Administration's food safety center.

    But most peanut butter sold in jars at supermarkets appears to be safe, Sundlof said.

    "As of now, there is no indication that the major national name-brand jars of peanut butter sold in retails stores are linked to the recall," Sundlof told reporters in a conference call.

    Officials are focusing on peanut paste, as well as peanut butter, produced at a Blakely, Ga., facility owned by Peanut Corp. of America. Its peanut butter is not sold directly to consumers but distributed to institutions and food companies. But the peanut paste, made from roasted peanuts, is an ingredient in cookies, cakes and other products that people buy in the supermarket.

    “This is an excellent illustration of an ingredient-driven outbreak,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, who oversees foodborne illness investigations for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    So far, more than 470 people have gotten sick in 43 states, and at least 90 had to be hospitalized. At least six deaths are being blamed on the outbreak. Salmonella is a bacteria and the most common source of food poisoning in the U.S., causing diarrhea, cramping and fever.

    Officials said new illnesses are still being reported in the outbreak investigation.

    The Kellogg Co., which listed Peanut Corp. as one of its suppliers, has recalled 16 products. They include Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, and some snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies. Health officials said consumers who have bought any of those products should throw them away.

    Peanut Corp. has recalled all peanut butter produced at the Georgia plant since Aug. 8 and all peanut paste produced since Sept. 26. The plant passed its last state inspection this summer, but recent tests have found salmonella.

    Health officials are focusing on 30 companies out of a total of 85 that received peanut products from the Georgia plant. Sundlof said Peanut Corp. is a relatively small supplier on the national scene.

    The Midwest supermaket chain Hy-Vee Inc. of West Des Moines, Iowa, said Saturday it was voluntarily recalling products made in its bakery departments with peanut butter because they had the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. The recall covered seven states: Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Minnesota.

    The outbreak has triggered a congressional inquiry and renewed calls for reform of food safety laws. For example, the FDA lacks authority to order a recall, and instead must ask companies to voluntarily withdraw products.

    “Given the numerous food-borne illness outbreaks over the past several years, it is becoming painfully clear that the current regulatory structure is antiquated and ill-equipped to handle these extensive investigations,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who chairs a panel that oversees the FDA budget.

    Seattle-area lawyer William Marler, who specializes in food safety cases, said the government shouldn’t wait for the results of more tests to request recalls.

    “At least 30 companies purchased peanut butter or paste from a facility with a documented link to a nationwide salmonella outbreak,” said Marler. “The FDA has the authority actually, the mandate to request recalls if the public health is threatened. Instead, the FDA has asked the companies to test their products and consider voluntary recalls. It is just not enough.”

    Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho has reported one. Four of those five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died, although their exact causes of death have not been determined. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the salmonella may have contributed.

    An elderly North Carolina man died in November from the same strain of salmonella that’s causing the outbreak, officials in that state said Friday.

    The CDC said the bacteria behind the outbreak — typhimurium — is common and not an unusually dangerous strain but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk. 

    聯邦衛生組織于周六強烈建議消費者不要吃餅干，蛋糕，冰淇淋和其它含有花生醬的食物。直到當局能夠了解更多有關致命沙門菌污染的爆發的情況.

    "我們強烈建議消費者停止食用任何含有花生醬的產品,直到新信息變得明朗."Stephen Sundlof,食品和藥物管理局食品安全中心領導這樣說.

    "但是",Sundlof說,大多數的花生醬是以罐裝的形式在超市出售的,表面上看上去是安全的.

    "直到現在,仍沒有跡象表明,在零售店里出售的大多數國產商標命名的花生醬罐頭被連帶回收."Sundolf在一次電話會議中告訴記者.

    官員把重點放在花生糊,也是花生醬的身上,是由美國花生公司擁有的設備,在布雷克.蓋,生產的.它們的花生醬不直接賣給消費者,而是批發給機構和食品公司.但是花生醬是由烘烤的花生制成的,它是人們在超市買的餅干,蛋糕和其它食品的主要成分.

    "這是由成分引發的污染的很好的例證."Robert Tauxe博士說,他監督疾病控制和防御中心食物引發的疾病的調查.

    到目前為止,已有43州超過470人患病.至少有90人住進了醫院.至少有六人的死亡歸咎于這種細菌的爆發.在美國沙門菌是一種菌類,是大多數食物中毒的來源.它引起腹瀉,痙攣和高燒.

    衛生官員說,在突發的調查中將繼續報告新的疾病.

    The Kellogg 公司,榜上有名的花生公司,作為供銷商之一已經召回了16種產品,包括Austin和印有Keebler商標的花生醬三明治脆皮.和一些以零食形式包裝的Fanous Anos 花生醬餅干和Keebler  柔軟的成批的家庭式花生醬餅干,衛生部官員說買了這些產品的消費者應當把它們扔掉.

    花生制造公司從8月8日把生產的花生醬和9月26日生產的花生糊回收了.今年夏天工廠通過了最后的州檢,但是最近的實驗表明已經發現了沙門菌.

    衛生部官員集中檢查從喬治亞州農場獲取的85家公司的30家進行檢驗.Sundlof 說花生制造公司就全國來說是一個相對很小的一個供應商.

    中西部的超市連接著Hy-Vee Inc.西部的第蒙,衣阿華,周六它們自愿召回有花生醬的面包店分部的產品,因為很有可能被沙門菌污染.這次回收覆蓋了7個州,衣阿華,伊利諾州,密蘇里州,堪薩斯州,內布拉斯加州,南達科塔,明尼蘇達州

    這次爆發是由議會質詢和重新修訂食品安全法引起的.例如,FDA沒有權利命令回收,而是必須請求公司自愿回收產品.

    ''在過去的幾年里發生了許多因食物引發的疾病的爆發.有一個事實越來越痛楚的表明,目前的立法結構是陳舊的,設備老化不足以應付大規模的調查研究."Rep.Rosa Delauro.DConn,說.他負責專題討論小組,監督FDA預算開支.

    西雅圖地方律師Willian Marler,專門負責食品安全案例.他說,政府不應該等更多的檢驗結果出來才去要求公司回收產品.

    至少有30家公司購買了花生醬或者花生糊設備,有根據證明和全國爆發的沙門菌有關.Marler說"如果公共安全受到威脅,FDA實際上有權下達命令回收產品,但是FDA卻要求公司檢驗他們的產品,考慮自愿回收,這是不夠的
明尼蘇達州和弗吉尼亞的衛生局已經把兩例死亡的一例和沙門菌的爆發聯系起來.愛達荷州報告了一例.5個是老年人,他們死時都有沙門菌.盡管死亡的確切原因還沒有定論.但是疾病和控制防御中心說沙門菌難逃干系.

    一位上了年紀的北卡羅來納州人在9月份死于同一種沙門菌.然后疾病就爆發了.周五這個州的官員如是說.

    CDC說,疾病暴發背后的細菌--typhimurium--是平常的并不是有非常的危險,但是對于那些上了年紀的,免疫系統低下的人來說是根相當危險的.