How Can I Get My Peanuts Tested for Salmonella?

Food scares have caused many to question the safety of the food supply. Tainted pet food, spinach adulterated with E. coli, and tomatoes carrying salmonella are just a few cases that have worried consumers. When peanut butter was recalled in 2007 after more than 500 people became ill, the FDA required even more-stringent food testing.

But you don't have to wait for the FDA to test your food. Whether you grow your own peanuts or just purchased some at a store, there are various methods available to test for salmonella.

Is Salmonella a Concern?

• Salmonella bacteria live in the intestines of animals and birds, and they are expelled in their feces. If the feces come into contact with foods--such as fruits and vegetables--that food becomes contaminated. Feces can also come into contact with a water supply, which then carries the bacteria to food sources. Salmonella causes abdominal cramping, diarrhea and fever, usually within three days of ingestion. If the peanuts have been exposed to animal feces, then salmonella is a possibility, and the peanuts should be tested.

Home Testing Kits

• Salmonella and E. coli home-testing kits are available from companies such as Magna Medical Services or RapidChek. Home kits measure the amount of bacterial colony-forming units, called CFU's, using test strips to detect certain enzymes when bacteria are present. These can be purchased online through various retailers, and they vary in price.

Labs

• If you grow peanuts commercially, go online to The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota (see Resources section) to find a lab that specializes in food testing. The center's website lists laboratories that can test for various bacteria and food-borne illnesses. If a lab discovers salmonella in peanut samples, it must then contact the city, county or state public health laboratories with samples. These samples are compared with other types of salmonella so the strain can be identified and any outbreak contained.

Food and Drug Administration

• The Food and Drug Administration is a branch of the federal government under Health and Human Services. Part of its job is ensuring that food is safe. If salmonella is discovered in food, the FDA notifies the public of products being recalled, and it runs tests to make sure the outbreak is contained and that the salmonella strain is destroyed.

  You are welcome to contact the FDA directly with questions about salmonella or food testing at www.FDA.gov; at toll-free [phone]; or at Food and Drug Administration,10903 New Hampshire Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002.