Salmonella threat prompts recall

An Ohio distributor says it has recalled two brands of its peanut butter after an open container tested positive for salmonella bacteria.

Federal health officials said the company’s peanut butter had not been conclusively linked to a national salmonella outbreak.

King Nut Companies said in a statement that it asked customers to stop distributing all peanut butter under its King Nut and Parnell’s Pride brands with a lot code that begins with the numeral 8.

The peanut butter was distributed through food service providers in Ohio, Michigan, North Dakota, Minnesota, Arizona, Idaho, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Florida. It was not sold directly to consumers.

Preliminary laboratory testing found salmonella bacteria in a 5-pound container of King Nut brand creamy peanut butter, the Minnesota Department of Health said Friday.

The Minnesota tests had not linked it to the type of salmonella in the outbreak that has sickened almost 400 people in 42 states, but the department said additional results are expected early next week.

King Nut’s president, Martin Kanan, said Sunday that the recall involved approximately 1,000 cases of peanut butter. He said he did not know the names of the company’s customers, but he planned to release more details today.

Trenton, N.J.

Dolphins head to sea, back to river

The survivors of a group of dolphins living in a New Jersey river have returned after briefly heading toward the sea.

Three of the five dolphins returned to the Shrewsbury River after they were spotted Saturday in Sandy Hook Bay, authorities said. They were apparently frightened by construction noise near the bay, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center said.

Four dolphins tried to cross again Sunday but turned back, although it wasn’t clear why, the center said.

Three dolphins had been confirmed dead out of the original group of 16 that spent the summer and fall in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. Authorities don’t know what happened to the others.

Chicago

Boy, 4, dies after dog mauls him

A 4-year-old boy in Chicago has died after he was mauled by his family’s Rottweiler.

Chicago Fire Department spokeswoman Eve Rodriguez said the boy was found Sunday afternoon in the backyard of his home in the city’s Southwest Side. He was taken to Holy Cross Hospital, but had died from his wounds by the time he arrived.

Rodriguez said the boy’s family has more than one dog and that the Rottweiler has been taken away by the Chicago Department of Animal Care and Control.