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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Banquet pot pie, salmonella link feared


Banquet pot pies may be linked to cases of salmonella, and ConAgra Foods is offering refunds. Associated Press
 (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
Josh Funk Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. – ConAgra Foods Inc. voluntarily stopped production Tuesday at the Missouri plant that makes its Banquet pot pies after health officials said the pies may be linked to 139 cases of salmonella in 30 states.

ConAgra officials believe the company’s pies are safe if they’re cooked properly, but the Omaha-based company told consumers Tuesday not to eat its chicken or turkey pot pies until the government and company investigations are complete.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also issued a health alert Tuesday to warn consumers about the link between the company’s product and the salmonella cases.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been tracking reports of the salmonella cases since last Wednesday. A CDC spokeswoman said the largest numbers of salmonella cases had been reported in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Missouri.

A Spokane County boy is among at least three people in Washington and eight in Idaho who may have been sickened by salmonella poisoning after eating Banquet or other frozen pot pies.

The Spokane boy became ill in May and has since recovered, said Donn Moyer, a Washington state health department spokesman. Other confirmed victims include a girl from Snohomish County and a woman in her 30s from Yakima County. None was hospitalized. Washington state health officials are awaiting test results for several other salmonella cases potentially linked to the entrees manufactured by ConAgra.

The eight Idaho infections were limited to the southern part of the state, said Tom Shanahan, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Two of the Idaho victims were hospitalized, but have since recovered.

Salmonella sickens about 40,000 people a year in the U.S. and kills about 600. Most of the deaths are among people with weaker immune systems such as the elderly or very young. Salmonella poisoning can cause diarrhea, fever, dehydration, abdominal pain and vomiting. Most cases are caused by undercooked eggs and chicken.

So far no deaths have been linked to the pot pies.

The USDA said the Marshall, Mo., plant made Banquet and generic store-brand pot pies. All of the pot pies made at the plant in question have “P-9” printed on the side of the box as part of a code above the use-by date.

Federal officials said consumers shouldn’t throw away or eat the chicken or turkey pot pies until the Food Safety and Inspection Service can determine the source of the salmonella contamination and verify proper cooking instructions.

ConAgra is offering consumers refunds, but no recall of pot pies was being planned Tuesday.

ConAgra spokeswoman Stephanie Childs said ConAgra is confident in the safety of its chicken and turkey pot pies when all the cooking instructions on the package are followed. It is especially important to follow the directions when the pies are cooked in a microwave.

Pot pies need to be cooked longer in microwaves that have less power, Childs said. A good sign that the pot pie is done is when steam rises out of it.

The company is planning to revise the cooking directions on its pot pie packages to clarify how long the pies should be cooked in different microwaves.

Currently, the Banquet pot pie package advises consumers to cook the product for 4 minutes in a medium or high wattage microwave or for 6 minutes in a low wattage microwave. But the package doesn’t say how to determine what defines a low, medium or high wattage microwave.