Self Service Health Care Unveiled in Georgia

/24-7/ -- Rural Georgians are less healthy than those living in urban areas. They are more likely to be under-insured or uninsured and they are more likely to suffer from heart disease, obesity, diabetes and cancer.

In a pioneering attempt to improve these statistics, free, user-friendly health information technology is being unveiled today in Blakely, Georgia (Early County).

The National Health Museum (NHM) of Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) and SoloHealth are unveiling Georgia's first Personal Health Advisor (PHA). The digital system is a new way for residents to learn about their health by the simple touch of a computer screen.

The PHA unit is a free-standing kiosk device that is being piloted and evaluated at the Primary Care of Southwest Georgia (PCSG) community clinic, 360 College Street in Blakely, Georgia. In addition to no-charge use of the kiosk, activities for Early County residents will include free health screenings and a health fair organized by DCH. After its initial stay in Early County, NHM plans to collaborate with DCH to make the PHA available for statewide use.

The PHA developed by SoloHealth and the NHM is the newest health information delivery platform. It allows users to assess their risk for overweight and obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes. PHA users can also access interactive information about STDs and vaccines.

"We're pleased to be collaborating with DCH to develop innovative ways to improve the health of Georgians," said Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., the Museum's chairman. "We look forward to expanding this concept throughout the state of Georgia and beyond. In Blakely and Early County, where my brother Walter and I grew up, being healthy is not only beneficial for individuals and families, but also is fundamental for economic development and quality of life."

"The PHA is a great example of how the National Health Museum is using new technology to create educational tools that help people change their behavior and live healthier lifestyles," said David Roland, NHM's president and CEO. "This is just the beginning of a series of new health and life science activities that we will be announcing during the coming year."

The PHA is designed to be user-friendly for people of all ages and education levels, and for those with limited technology experience. The kiosk's touch screen features two "physician tour guides" to help patients answer questions about their health and health knowledge. Users enter non-identifiable demographic data and answer health status questions, and within minutes they are provided with a custom risk assessment printout, along with action-oriented tips for healthy living, and local and national health resources. To protect user privacy, no personal information is collected.

"We are proud to be partnering with the NHM and the Georgia DCH. We have a shared mission to increase access to health care while reducing health care costs. This new technology empowers consumers to learn about their own health and encourages them to take action," said Bart Foster, SoloHealth's Founder and CEO.Early County was identified as an ideal location to launch the program because of the community's significant health care needs coupled with a shortage of health resources. The PHA system will remain in Blakely for testing over the next few months.

The project was jointly funded by DCH and a matching grant from The Charles and Catherine B. Rice Foundation of Atlanta, in association with Early County 2055, Inc.

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FBI to Assist FDA in Ongoing Investigation of the Peanut Corporation of America‏

Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Gregory Jones, FBI Atlanta, announces the FBI’s assistance to the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA/OCI), in the ongoing investigation of the Peanut Corporation of America.

The FBI was asked to assist FDA/OCI in this matter, due to its ability to bring to bear a considerable amount of investigative resources. Although the FBI is fully involved in this investigation, FDA/OCI remains the lead federal investigative agency. As such, the FBI will defer to FDA/OCI for all public commentary regarding the details of this ongoing investigation.

For the time being, the FBI will make no further public comment on this matter.

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Recall Adds to Peanut Stockpile

In connection with a salmonella investigation, the Food and Drug Administration has warned consumers against eating processed foods made with peanut butter. The country already had a large surplus of peanuts. With any decline in consumption now, that stockpile will grow, says a University of Georgia peanut expert.

“It’s never a good time to have anything like this, especially when there is consumer concern for health. But it comes at a particularly bad time considering the rather large surplus of peanuts last season’s bumper crop produced,” said Nathan Smith, an economist with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

U.S. peanut farmers produced 2.58 million tons of peanuts in 2008, a record crop, Smith said. This helped create what is now growing to be an 800,000-ton surplus. Because of the way the crop is bought and sold before becoming food, the industry likes to keep 300,000 tons to 400,000 tons in the pipeline as a buffer against a major crop loss.

In recent years, peanut consumption has increased annually. In fact, consumption was on track to be 6 percent more than in 2007, or around 2.24 million tons. Average annual peanut consumption in the U.S. is 6.5 pounds per person.

Before the FDA warning, the peanut industry was adjusting to the surplus. Because of it, farmers are expected to plant fewer peanuts this year and produce less than the U.S. consumes in a year, eating into that surplus, Smith said. That would be in a typical year, one without a decline in consumer consumption.

“It’s too early to tell how the FDA warning will impact consumption this year,” Smith said. “We were probably on our way to correcting the supply and demand gap we have with this year’s crop, but now it may take another year to do that.”

The peanut stockpile has already affected farmers’ prices.

Last year at this time, farmers could contract peanuts for $500 a ton, some as high as $600 a ton. There are no contracts being offered right now for the ’09 crop. A farmer that sees a contract above $400 per ton this year should think hard about taking it, Smith said. Prices may not get much higher for a while.

As part of the warning, the FDA now lists more than 125 products containing peanut paste, which has been linked to a Peanut Corp. of America plant in south Georgia.

Consumers can find a list of the suspect products at the FDA’s Web site www.fda.gov. Jarred peanut butter is considered safe and not part of the safety alert.

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Investigation into Salmonella Contamination Continues; GDA Makes Sure Recalled Products are Removed from Sale

“We are continuing to work with our state and federal counterparts to determine the cause of the contamination of peanut butter from the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) processing facility in Blakely,” said Georgia Department of Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture has run 173 individual tests on peanut butter from the plant and ingredients sent to the plant as well as peanut butter and peanut products from other sources. “These tests have been negative for Salmonella with the exception of the sample we announced last week and for one more sample collected from the plant for which we are awaiting results,” said Commissioner Irvin.

The Georgia Department of Agriculture is conducting a recall verification to make sure that all recalled products are removed from store shelves and food warehouses. “We have been informing grocery stores, convenience stores, food warehouses and food processors of all the products that have been recalled and our inspectors are checking to make sure all the recalled products have been removed from sale and from food distribution channels,” said Commissioner Irvin.

Visit the Food and Drug Administration web site: http://www.fda.gov/oc/firmrecalls for more information on the recall and a complete list of the recalled products.

“Jars of peanut butter sold in retail stores are not implicated in this recall. The recalled peanut butter and peanut paste were sent to food processors and institutions,” said Irvin.

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Peanut Corporation of America Announces Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Peanut Butter

Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), a peanut processing company and maker of peanut butter for bulk distribution to institutions, food service industries, and private label food companies, today announced a voluntary recall of peanut butter produced in its Blakely, Georgia processing facility because it has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella.

All product affected was produced on or after July 1, 2008, specific to the lot numbers and descriptions listed below.

The peanut butter being recalled is sold by PCA in bulk packaging to distributors for institutional and food service industry use. It is also sold under the brand name Parnell’s Pride to those same industries. Additionally, it is sold by the King Nut Company under the label King Nut. PCA customers who received the recalled product are being notified by telephone and in writing.

None of the peanut butter being recalled is sold directly to consumers through retail stores.

“We deeply regret that this has happened,” said Stewart Parnell, owner and president of PCA. “Out of an abundance of caution, we are voluntarily withdrawing this product and contacting our customers. We are taking these actions with the safety of our consumers as our first priority.”

PCA initiated this recall after an open container of King Nut brand peanut butter in a long-term care facility in Minnesota was found to contain a strain of salmonella. King Nut brand peanut butter is produced by PCA.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health and Minnesota Department of Agriculture, the Minnesota laboratory analyses on the contamination in the already-opened container of peanut butter have the same genetic fingerprint as the cases in the national outbreak that has sickened almost 400 people in 42 states.

The voluntary recall of 21 lots of its peanut butter, in containers ranging from five to 50 pounds, is being taken immediately. PCA is notifying its institutional customers and has set up a toll-free hotline number 1-877-564-7080 to answer questions.

PCA is continuing to work closely and cooperating with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as state officials as part of this ongoing investigation.

According to a CDC update issued on their website today (January 13, 2009), preliminary analysis of an epidemiologic study conducted by CDC and public health officials has suggested peanut butter as a likely source. The CDC and other public health officials are continuing to conduct surveillance for cases of infection with the outbreak strains, and to gather and analyze data or exposures that may be associated with illness. To date, no association has been found with common brand names of peanut butter sold in grocery stores.

Customers are asked to take all peanut butter manufactured with the lot numbers listed below out of distribution immediately. Customers can call the following toll-free 24-hour number 1-877-564-7080 for further instructions on what to do with the product or visit the company website at www.peanutcorp.com for additional information.

Eating food contaminated with Salmonella can result in abdominal cramping, diarrhea, and fever. Most people infected with Salmonella develop the symptoms 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most people recover without treatment. However, in some persons, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses. For more information on the salmonella bacteria, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Website at http://www.cdc.gov.

Lot Numbers Affected:

8193, 8194, 8197, 8233, 8234, 8235, 8241, 8255, 8256, 8275, 8276, 8282, 8283, 8284, 8296, 8316, 8330, 8331, 8336, 8345, 8354

Stock Numbers Descriptions Pack Size Affected

551000 Creamy Stabilized Peanut Butter 6 ct / 5 lb

551006 Crunchy Stabilized Peanut Butter 6 ct / 5 lb

551020 Creamy Stabilized Peanut Butter 35 lb

551022 Natural Course Peanut Paste 35 lb

551025 Old Fashioned Creamy Peanut Butter with 1% Salt 35 lb

551035 Crunchy Natural Peanut Butter 35 lb

551040 Creamy Natural Peanut Butter 35 lb

551050 Creamy Stabilized Peanut Butter 50 lb

551050-D Dark Creamy Stabilized Peanut Butter 50 lb

551051 Creamy Stabilized Peanut Butter with Monodiglyceride 50 lb

551053 Crunchy Stabilized Peanut Butter 50 lb

551072 Peanut Butter Variegate 45 lb

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