Ohio prison system removes peanut butter in salmonella scare

No illnesses have been reported.

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Ohio prisons system has removed hundreds of cases of products containing peanut butter included in a national recall after a salmonella outbreak.

Officials started looking for products after the recall was announced earlier this month, said Andrea Carson, Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections spokeswoman.

Carson said prison workers found more than 300 cases of peanut butter crackers, peanut butter cookies and packages of peanut butter on the recall list in 13 institutions.

The prisons include the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, a maximum security prison, and the Ohio State Penitentiary in Youngstown, home to the state’s death row.

No illnesses were reported, the department said.

A prison work-release center in Arkansas also has responded to the threat by removing items. The Texarkana Regional Correction Center removed from its snack-shop shelves Austin brand peanut butter crackers, which were recalled Jan. 16 by Kellogg Co. The items were removed nearly two weeks ago, said prisons spokeswoman Dina Tyler.

There were no salmonella cases reported at the center, she said.

At least 486 people in more than 40 states, including Ohio, have gotten sick since a salmonella outbreak began in the fall. Six have died.