Health Officials Pinpoint Search for Cause of Salmonella Outbreak

While investigators continue to test products, Officials with Ohio Department of Health says the state's analysis points to packaged Austin and Keebler peanut butter crackers as the source of salmonella infections. The peanut butter was produced at a plant in Georgia for the Peanut Corporation of America. As a precaution, the company began recalling its products two weeks ago. A total of forty products have been recalled in Ohio. There is one reported salmonella case in Franklin County. Cuyahoga County has the most with 17. A doctor who is working on the study, Forrest Smith, says researchers trying to figure out why there are so many cases in the Cleveland area. "We're working with CDC to better understand the distribution of potentially contaminated products to better understand why Northeast Ohio might be infected in this current outbreak," Smith said. Officials said 20 cases resulted in hospitalization since the outbreak began in October. There has been one Ohio death associated with the outbreak. An elderly Summit County woman died earlier this month.