Recall: Skippy could lead to PB-and-Salmonella sandwiches

How silly of me to be concerned about things like high-fructose corn syrup and buckets of sugar in peanut butter. Apparently, what I really needed to be alarmed about is salmonella in the sandwich spread.

Several kinds of Skippy peanut butter have been recalled after a routine product sampling revealed possible salmonella contamination. Parent company Unilever issued the voluntary recall of Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter Spread and Skippy Reduced Fat Super Chunk Peanut Butter Spread. To date, no other products are are included in the recall. The FDA has not received reports of any resulting illnesses.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause infections, sometimes fatal, and is particularly concerning for children, the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, and other at-risk populations. The FDA recommends throwing away Skippy products that match the UPCs (the series of numbers located under the bar code on the jar) and Best-If-Used-By-Dates noted in the recall. Consumers can also call 1-800-453-3432, 24-hour hotline set up by the company to answer questions and address concerns.

Even though we only eat soy butter or almond butter in our house, you can bet I will be clearing out cabinets looking for any jars of Skippy peanut butter. If I find any, I will be tossing it all, no matter what the dates or codes are on the jar.

This could be over-reactive, but I'm not taking any chances when it comes to a recall.

What about you? Would you throw out any old Skippy peanut butter in your kitchen or would you stick to the details of the recall?