According to an update from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), since Jan. 1, 2014, four people from four states are reported to be infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Braenderup linked to recalled peanut and almond butter products. The bacteria were found during inspections of the manufacturing facility in Ashland, OR. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Connecticut (1), Iowa (1), Tennessee (1) and Texas (1). One ill person has been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Illness onset dates range from Jan. 22, 2014, to May 16, 2014. Ill persons range in age from 3 years to 83 years, with a median age of 36 years. Seventy-five percent of ill persons are female. To date, three of the four ill persons were interviewed and answered questions about foods eaten and other exposures during the week before becoming ill. All three of them reported eating peanut or almond butter, and all three reported eating a brand of peanut or almond butter produced by nSpired Natural Foods Inc. Collaborative investigation efforts by state, local, and federal public health and regulatory agencies indicate that almond and peanut butter manufactured by nSpired Natural Foods Inc. in Ashland, OR, is the likely source of this outbreak. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) isolated the same strain of Salmonella Braenderup from environmental samples collected from the nSpired Natural Foods facility during routine inspections in January and July 2014. The products were recalled on Aug. 19. A list of all the recalled peanut and almond butter products, including Safeway, Arrowhead Mills, Kroger, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods and MaraNatha brands, can be found here. CDC recommends that consumers do not eat any of the recalled almond and peanut butter products and discard any remaining products. These products have a long shelf life and may still be in people’s homes. Nut butters are popular as an inexpensive and convenient protein source, so they are often distributed through food banks, which are now having to dispose of large quantities of the nut butters involved in this recall. Salmonella infections can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. After exposure to the bacteria, it take take several days to develop symptoms, and the illness usually runs its course within a few days. According to CDC, Salmonella bacteria are usually transmitted to humans by eating foods contaminated with animal feces. Contaminated foods usually look and smell normal. Contaminated foods are often of animal origin, such as beef, poultry, milk, or eggs, but any food, including vegetables, may become contaminated. Thorough cooking kills Salmonella. Food may also become contaminated by the hands of an infected food handler who did not wash his or her hands with soap after using the bathroom.