MINNEAPOLIS — The strain of salmonella bacteria that has sickened more than 400 people in 43 states has been conclusively linked to peanut butter, Minnesota health officials said Monday. Federal officials said the outbreak may have contributed to three deaths.
State health and agriculture officials said last week that they found salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound package of King Nut peanut butter at a nursing facility in Minnesota. Officials tested the bacteria over the weekend and found a genetic match with the bacterial strain that has led to 30 illnesses in Minnesota and more elsewhere.
The peanut butter was distributed only through food service providers and was not sold directly to consumers.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in a release later Monday, said the salmonella poisonings may have contributed to three deaths. It raised the number of confirmed cases to 410, from 399 as of Friday, and Mississippi became the 43rd state to report a case. All the illnesses began between Sept. 15 and Jan. 7, but most of the people became sick after Oct. 1. In Colorado, nine people became ill, the CDC said Friday.
