Smucker recalls some peanut butter on possible Salmonella

A jar of recalled Smucker's Natural Chunky Peanut Butter is seen in an undated handout photo.

(Reuters) - J.M. Smucker Co has recalled about 300 cases of its Natural Chunky Peanut Butter because of possible Salmonella contamination though there have been no reports of illnesses, the company said on Thursday.

Smucker said it found the possible contamination in routine sampling of the 16-ounce jars, was confident it had an isolated issue, and had retrieved the majority of the peanut butter.

The recalled peanut butter was distributed in 24 states and the District of Columbia. The peanut butter would have been bought from November 8 to Thursday with best-if-used-by dates of August 3, 2012, and August 4, 2012, Smucker said.

Salmonella typically causes diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps in most people, who typically recover without treatment within a week, according to the Centers For Disease Control.

The elderly, infants and people with compromised immune systems are susceptible to more severe cases, which could lead to death if the infection spreads to the blood stream.

The recalled peanut butter was distributed in Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin.

(Reporting by David Bailey and Mihir Dalal; Editing by Jerry Norton)