Shuttered NM plant resumes making peanut butter

Shuttered NM plant resumes making peanut butter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The eastern New Mexico peanut butter plant shuttered nine months ago after a salmonella outbreak is making nut butter again.

Sunland Inc. Vice President Katalin Coburn tells the Portales News-Tribune the company’s products could be back on store shelves within a month.

The Food and Drug Administration shut the plant in September after its products were linked to 41 cases in 20 states. Most of those were linked to natural peanut butter the company made for Trader Joe’s.

The shutdown of the country’s largest organic peanut butter processor left many stores scrambling for months to find alternative natural peanut butters.

The company processes Valencia peanuts, a sweet variety of peanut that is unique to the region and preferred for natural butters because it is flavorful without additives.