Peanut product recall misunderstood even as it expands

All the products ever shipped from a Texas plant owned by the Peanut Corporation of American have been recalled after the state health department there found dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers in a crawl space above a production area. The plant in Plainview operated without a license for four years and had not been inspected until after the recent salmonella outbreak was traced to PCA's plant in Blakely, Georgia.

Tests have shown that the Texas plant likely has salmonella and all production has been shut down, the Associated Press reports. The recall is in addition to the almost 2,000 products already taken off the market because they include PCA-produced peanut products as an ingredient.

The outbreak is one of the largest with nine deaths and 637 reported illnesses in 44 states and has been in the news almost daily since January. Despite that, a study released by the Harvard School of Public Health today said that the recall is misunderstood by one in four people. Of those polled, 25 percent mistakenly thought that national peanut butter brands were involved in the product recalls, but fewer than half were worrying about the items actually being recalled such as snack bars, baked goods, ice cream and dry-roasted peanuts, the Associated Press reported.

Harvard found that the vast majority (93%) of Americans have heard or read about the recall. Among those, about six in ten (61%) say they have taken one or more precautions to reduce their risk of getting sick from contaminated peanut products. Specifically, about one in four say they have checked ingredient lists on foods in the grocery store to make sure they know which products contain peanuts (27%), thrown away foods in their home that they think might be on the recall list (25%), stopped ordering foods containing peanuts in restaurants (22%), and stopped eating those foods they heard were in the recall (28%), while 15% say they have stopped eating all foods containing peanuts.

"There's a striking level of awareness of this recall, and many people have taken action. But they're not aware of the range of products involved in the recall," said Robert Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Consumers are encouraged to check the Food and Drug Administration's searchable database of recalled products frequently as new products are being added every day.