It’s time to head to the pantry and check your jars of almond and peanut butters. Products sold under the brands of Arrowhead Farms and Maranatha, and private-label products sold in Kroger, Safeway, Trader Joe’s, and Whole Foods stores may be contaminated with salmonella, and consumers should dispose of them and seek a refund or replacement.

We may learn more about this possible contamination later on, but for now what we know is that evidence of Salmonella showed up during routine testing, and the company says that four people so far have reported illnesses that may have been caused by these products.

Check the brands, varieties, and expiration dates of any “natural” nut butters in your house against this list maintained by the Food and Drug Administration. Jars that may be affected were distributed nationwide, as well as exported to Canada, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, and the Dominican Republic.

You can return the product to the store where it was purchased, or simply dispose of it yourself and call nSPIRED Natural Foods, the company that produced the almond and peanut butters, at 1-800-937-7008 for a refund or replacement.

Salmonella can develop into a very serious illness, but in healthy adults usually leads to a few days of vomiting, diarrhea, abominal cramps, fever, chills, and a headache. Sometimes, people have no symptoms at all, but infection can also be fatal.

Salmonella contamination also caused The Great Peanut Butter Recall of 2012, which ended with the bankruptcy of the peanut processor behind the products and the tragic waste of 25 tons of un-contaminated peanut butter.

nSPIRED Natural Foods, Inc. Voluntarily Recalls Certain Retail Lots Of Arrowhead Mills® Peanut Butters, Maranatha® Almond Butters And Peanut Butters And Specific Private Label Nut Butters Because Of Possible Health Risk [FDA] (Thanks, Blaine!)

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