Kelsey Wittenberger and Erik Dohlman of USDA’s Economic Research Service just published an interesting report on the 2008-2009 Salmonella Peanut Butter Outbreak – Outlook Report No. (OCS-10a-01) 18 pp, February 2010. I was a bit surprised at their conclusion:
The 2009 foodborne illness outbreak linked to Salmonella in peanut products resulted in one of the largest food safety recalls ever in the United States. The source of the outbreak handled a small share of the U.S. peanut supply, but the scope of the recalls was magnified because the peanut products were used as ingredients in more than 3,900 products. Consumer purchases of peanut-containing products initially slowed during the recalls, but retail purchases soon returned to normal and peanut processing held steady. The recalls do not appear to have had a lasting impact on peanut demand and production.
