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15 Oct 2011 00:33

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Biz: Peanut butter cups run dry? Prices increase on the nutty stuff

  • $450 the price per ton of runner peanuts, the kind of peanuts generally used to make peanut butter, last year
  • $1,200 the price per ton of runner peanuts this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture source
  • » Raise prices? That’s nuts! The result of a fairly weak peanut harvest? You might have to reach for another product next time you want to make a sandwich. Kraft plans to raise prices of its Planters peanut butter by 40 percent next month; Peter Pan, the peanut butter that never grows up, will fly to a 20 percent higher price, and damn skippy, the makers of Skippy are watching the situation closely. The spread on this one is that it’s pretty likely your cookies are going to be less awesome next time around. Bummer. We kinda like your cookies.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 14:03

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Biz: Damn Skippy: Beware the high price of tainted foodstuffs

  • 2 Skippy peanut butter styles recalled for potential Salmonella poisoning source
  • » Step away from the jar: The hazardous brands being recalled are “Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter,” and “Skippy Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter,” as distributed in 16.3 ounce jars across the following sixteen states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin. Though no illnesses have yet been tied to this recall, you can never be too careful when Salmonella is involved. This is the latest in a recent string of high profile food recalls, which helped generate momentum for last year’s Food Safety Modernization Act. The FSMA introduced a host of regulatory updates to a system that had, to that point, been largely unchanged for generations.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Dec 2010 13:01

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Offbeat: Too rich: Peanut butter, chocolate & bacon’s unholy union

  • Etsy was designed to combine these three things. Oh, and to convince people that their homespun hobbies deserve financial backing. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

24 Dec 2009 10:51

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Offbeat: Marijuana cookie tragedy: A pro-pot advocate’s huge mistake

  • This story ends tragically, FYI. 🙁 A week after making pot-laced cookies for her 3-year-old grandson (at which point he had to go to the hospital), Erin Marcove committed suicide. Marcove, 44, was a huge advocate for medical marijuana in the Denver area. She made a cookie for the boy, who has since recovered, using “cannabis butter” – peanut butter mixed with marijuana – as the main ingredient. Awful. And awfully sad. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Feb 2009 20:01

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Biz, U.S.: How nuts has the peanut salmonella crisis been?

Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2009 15:46

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Biz, U.S.: Bankruptcy? That’s nuts.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Feb 2009 07:36

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U.S.: Hooray! Another peanut butter plant shut down!

  • Peanut Corp. of America nixes its Texas plant, too. The company, in the midst of a world of pain due to a major salmonella outbreak involving its Georgia plant, had to close its Plainview, Texas, plant due to finding filth and debris near a production area. All of the products ever made at the plant were recalled too, going all the way back to 2005. Which means your favorite nutty product is going off the shelf. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

06 Feb 2009 20:10

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U.S.: Jesus. That company knew it was shipping tainted peanut butter.

  • *Forehead slap* According to the FDA, the Georgia peanut plant at the center of the goober salmonella outbreak knew as far back as 2007 that the peanuts it was shipping tested positive for the bacteria. Even so, it kept shipping them until a second test confirmed the first test’s suspicions, and even after THAT, allowed the tainted product to get sold. source
  • *Forehead slap* According to the FDA, the Georgia peanut plant at the center of the goober salmonella outbreak knew as far back as 2007 that the peanuts it was shipping tested positive for the bacteria. Even so, it kept shipping them until a second test confirmed the first test’s suspicions, and even after THAT, allowed the tainted product to get sold.
  • And yeah. People got sick. Peanut Corp. of America made a lot of people sick due to its actions. On top of the 575 illnesses in 43 states, eight people have died from eating tainted peanut butter. On top of that dramarama, over 1,550 products were recalled. Oh, and they caused a national scare that made me afraid of eating my favorite food. *grumble* source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Feb 2009 07:41

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U.S.: Obama: Delays in food recalls like peanut butter could hurt my family

  • That’s what Sasha eats for lunch probably three times a week. And, you know, I don’t want to have to worry about whether she’s going to get sick as a consequence to having her lunch.
  • President Barack Obama • on peanut butter and the level of oversight that the Food and Drug Administration has regarding recalls. During the recent peanut butter scare, the FDA had to get the company’s approval on the language for the recall, which caused delays. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

30 Jan 2009 08:23

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U.S.: Did the FDA have advance notice of the peanut butter outbreak?

  • There was an early warning sign. Back in September, a shipment of peanuts from the same Georgia processing plant was returned to the U.S. from Canada after it was found to be contaminated with salmonella. The Food and Drug Administration logged this but never tested or followed up on it, according to the Associated Press. *forehead slap* source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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