The peanut butter/paste Salmonella Typhimurium outbreak has witnessed another functional food victim with the recall of GNC’s Triflex peanut butter chews products.

The recall is detailed on the FDA website here.   As you may have heard, all of the recent salmonella-tainted products have contained peanut paste or peanut butter made at a Peanut Corp. of America plant in Blakely, Georgia.

GNC’s chews were sold in 60-count containers with the UPC 48107036942, with lot numbers ending 8275 and 8255.  Refunds are available by calling GNC’s customer service at 1-888-462-2548.

Anyone searching for a safe peanut based protein bar might want to try VPX Zero Impact MRB bars in peanut butter and jelly flavor.  I have it on good authority that VPX has confirmed its supply of peanuts is safe.  Tasty too!

Other protein or energy bar recalls include:

• Nature’s Path Peanut Butter Optimum Energy Bars
• TWISTED and TITAN Branded Nutrition Bars
• ZonePerfect Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, ZonePerfect Peanut Toffee Bars and NutriPals Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
• Clif and Luna bars containing peanut butter
• Creative Energy Foods, Inc. bars marketed under brands Can Do Kid, Isagenix IsaLean, Nestle, Zone, Think Thin, Promax 70, Promax, and Shaklee
• Supreme Protein brand Peanut Butter Crunch Bars and Caramel Nut Bars

Updates:

• The Center for Science in the Public Interest criticizes FDA’s response to the salmonella outbreak as inadequate and ineffective.
• The New York Times reports that the plant in Georgia that produced peanut butter tainted by salmonella has a history of sanitation lapses.
• CDC website on the salmonella outbreak.
• FDA searchable database of peanut products recalls.
• The Washington Post reports that Peanut Corporation of America knowingly shipped contaminated peanut butter twelve times in the past two years!