For Immediate Release                                                                      January 22, 2009

Ohio Prisons Handling Peanut Butter Recall

(Columbus) – As a result of the national peanut butter recall, Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s (DRC) Director Terry J. Collins had the DRC Office of Prisons, medical and food service staff check the food supply and inventory at all DRC facilities. There were a number of prisons which found the recalled peanut butter products either in their commissary or food service areas.

These items were identified as packets of peanut butter, peanut butter crackers and some peanut butter cookies. All of the products have been confiscated and isolated. There have been no reported cases of Salmonella in any of our facilities. Medical staff at each prison has received educational materials to assist them in identifying any potential Salmonella cases.

The DRC offender package vendor, Access SecurePak, through the Keefe Group, has also assured the agency that none of the products they sell have been involved in the peanut butter recall. Notifications have been received from the various manufacturers stating their products are not tainted.

The mission of DRC is to provide safe, secure and humane environments for our staff and inmates. “This agency is a complex operation and we are often affected by the same situations and external forces that the community at large has to deal with”, stated Director Terry J. Collins. “Our prison personnel, medical and food service staff have been working collaboratively to ensure that the inmates receive and consume healthy, untainted products while we work our way through this peanut butter recall.”

For more information please contact the DRC Public Information Office at (614)752-1150.