Peanut Product Recall Takes $1 Billion Bite

WASHINGTONThe recent Salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter products is the largest U.S. recall of its kind and set to take a $1 billion bite out of peanut producers' pockets, according to the Associated Press.

AP reported that Don Koehler, head of the Georgia Peanut Commission, will tell a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Small Businesses that the recalls have severely hurt the nation's peanut producers, weakening pricing and limiting their ability to sell their products.

"The losses for restaurants, grocers, candy and ice cream manufacturers and other small businesses have yet to be tallied, to say nothing of the horrific human tragedy," Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Pa., the subcommittee chairwoman, said in a statement.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the Salmonella outbreak that has sparked a national food-safety concern and federal investigation has sickened 683 people in 46 states and been linked to nine deaths. The outbreak is linked to the now-bankrupt Peanut Corporation of America of Blakely, Ga. The outbreak has forced the recall of 3,235 products.