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"We are very sorry this happened," Martin Kanan, president and chief executive officer of King Nut Cos., said in the statement, adding, "We are taking immediate and voluntary action because the health and safety of those who use our products is always our highest priority."

On Sunday, Kanan told the Associated Press that the recall involved 1,000 cases of peanut butter.

Peanut Corp. of America issued its own statement on its Web site late Saturday, confirming the salmonella finding. The statement added, however, that the finding "leaves open the possibility of cross-contamination from another source. PCA is working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies to determine whether the current illness outbreak could be at all related to products made in the PCA facility."

Reports of people sickened have occurred between Sept. 3 and Dec. 31, 2008, with most illnesses starting after Oct. 1. About 18 percent of those who fell ill were hospitalized.

The strain of salmonella has been identified as Salmonella Typhimurium, the most common of the more than 2,500 types of salmonella bacteria in the United States. It's often found in uncooked eggs and meats, said officials with the CDC.

The recall and the potential link to the multi-state outbreak come two years after ConAgra recalled its Peter Pan brand peanut butter, which had been linked to at least 625 salmonella cases in 47 states.

More information

To learn more about salmonella, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCE: Jan. 12, 2009, news release, Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agricul
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