The Fate of Peanut Butter

The recall list is still growing and all things peanut are taking a hit.

Peanut growers are anticipating $1 billion in losses, according to the Georgia Peanut Commission. And jarred peanut butter sales continue to drop, despite the fact that no peanut butter sold directly to consumers was ever part of the recall. A Harvard study last month confirmed that a majority of Americans mistakenly believe major brands of peanut butter are affected.

Meanwhile, Peanut Corporation of America, the source of the salmonella contamination, has filed for bankruptcy, and it looks like it may be difficult for the smaller companies PCA has wronged to receive any compensation.

Serendipitously, the National Peanut Board had a big promotional celebration in New York last week, giving peanut growers and producers the chance to correct consumer misconceptions. The event was in the works even before the peanut scandal started, but organizers said it wound up being a great opportunity to respond to the crisis.

Whether the event had much effect remains to be seen. Earlier, Smucker ran an ad campaign to let consumers know its peanut butter was perfectly safe, yet Jif sales are still weak.

Peanut butter will no doubt recover eventually, but it could take awhile. Customers stayed away from spinach for a long time after the 2006 E. coli outbreak, and that recall was much smaller and shorter than this one.