After hearing arguments from all sides, I look down into the pit of crunchy goodness and decide that since I have already consumed half the jar, sickness-free, I will continue on my path and play a little Russian roulette.

I was cruising the Internet on a particularly slow day, when I came upon an article about peanut butter believed to be tainted with salmonella.

The reason this article caught my eye is because, in an effort to cut costs, I keep a jar of peanut butter in my desk. To keep myself amused I pulled out my jar and kept reading.

The jars that are recalled are Peter Pan and Great Value; I look at my jar “ it smiles back with a big Great Value. I am definitely invested at this point. I read on: â?¦with the batch number beginning with 2111. I look at the lid of my jar. It begins with 2111.

I officially have recalled peanut butter.

As I begin to share my predicament with my co-workers, a discussion begins surrounding what action I should take. Some say I should toss it out immediately and mail in my lid for an eventual refund. Others say I should keep eating it, and then sue the company when I get sick. Still others say I should send in the cap, and keep eating the peanut butter.

After hearing arguments from all sides, I look down into the pit of crunchy goodness and decide that since I have already consumed half the jar, sickness-free, I will continue on my path and play a little Russian roulette.

For those of you out of the peanut butter news loop, let me digress.

On Monday, Feb. 15, ConAgra announced that it was recalling certain jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter believed to be linked to a salmonella outbreak that has sickened nearly 300 people across the country. Jars with product codes beginning with 2111 can be returned to the manufacturer for a refund.

Since August, 280 people in 29 states have become ill, and federal health officials linked the outbreak to peanut butter produced at ConAgras Sylvester, Ga., plant.

Officials from the CDC said that this was the first salmonella outbreak to be linked to peanut butter. ConAgra officials disagreed with CDC findings. They tested their peanut butter and their plant and found no traces of salmonella.

Wisconsin is one of the states where cases have been reported.

Over 40,000 people become infected with salmonella each year. Various salmonella species kill over 600 people annually. Symptoms of salmonella infection include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever and dehydration.

It has been over two weeks since I found out that I may be feeding myself tainted peanut butter, and Im still kicking. There may be danger in every spread of my knife, but thats not going to keep me from making another Great Value peanut butter sandwich tomorrow.

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