Trinidad has been named as one of four countries to which a United States-based company shipped peanuts, possibly tainted with a bacteria that has sickened and killed people.

The Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), on Wednesday, issued an alert to recall all its products shipped since January 2007.

According to the statement, the peanuts were ’distributed nationwide to institutions, food service industries, and private-label food companies, as well as in Canada, Haiti, Korea and Trinidad’.

Officials at the Consumer Affairs Division of the Legal Affairs Ministry appeared unaware of the recall last evening.

’We have no knowledge of it. We will have to look to find out if the information is true, and then inform consumers and suppliers,’ said an official.

The ministry’s communications officer, Michael Lewis, said, ’this is something we will certainly look into’.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has already acted and issued a health warning to consumers there, with a list of the affected products.

President of the Association of Public Health Inspectors Mohan Bholasingh said his officers could only act to remove recalled items off the shelves when an official directive was given.

Earlier this month, the company pulled peanut butter and peanut paste made at one of its plants after July 1, 2008.

The recall now includes dry and roasted peanuts, granulated peanuts and peanut meal made at the plant after January 1, 2007.

More than 500 people in 43 US states have been sickened by salmonella, and eight deaths are linked to the outbreak, triggering the Food and Drug Administration to order one of the largest food recalls in history, and asking that consumers throw out every product made by the PCA.

More than 400 products are on the list. It is uncertain whether the peanuts shipped to Trinidad came in the form of paste, or grains.

Salmonella is an organism that can cause serious, sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems.

Symptoms include fever, diarrhoea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

There was a similar scare last year, when the Consumer Affairs Division investigated reports of products containing tainted milk and milk products originating in China.

On the city streets yesterday, nut vendors and small shop owners dismissed the possibility of tainted nuts.

Anthony Calender, a nuts vendor of 20 years, said, ’Some of our peanuts do not only come from the United States, but it also comes from Brazil, China and Africa.’

Grocer Chan Rampersad said none of the packaged nuts on sale carried the country of origin.