Last week I cruised over to Costco to fill up my gas tank. I’ve been filling it back up once the gauge hits the halfway mark in an effort to fool myself into believing that gas is not as expensive as it really is.
Yeah, like that
works.
Nevertheless,
it has been my practice in recent months and it’s hard to change.
While there, I
decided I simply had to purchase a 10-pound bag of Buttermilk Pancake mix along
with the requisite gallon jug of maple syrup. You never know when a phalanx of pancake-hungry
breakfast eaters is going to descend upon my little abode expecting a stack of
flapjacks. And I wanted to be prepared.
And, okay, so that’s not really true. Most of the hungry breakfast-eaters I know are going to studiously avoid my place as they know I won’t have the provisions to feed them. And even if I did, the pancakes would either turn out burned or undercooked. Bleh.
Oh well. I’ve
never professed to being a cook. If ever I invite anyone over for a meal,
they’re probably going to be fed a salad. (But, hey, they’re pretty good salads,
if I do say so myself.)
Anyway, as I
walked into the Warehouse, I noticed a long line of folks waiting for Customer
Service. Normally, I mind my own business and try not to be a looky-loo, but I have
to admit I was a little curious. After a quick peek at what these folks were
holding in their arms, I saw an awful lot of jars of peanut butter.
And then I
remembered seeing something about salmonella and a peanut butter recall.
And then
I remembered that I had actually purchased a two-pack of Jif from Costco in
recent months.
And THEN I
remembered having a stomach ache a couple weeks ago, which was memorable only
because I rarely have stomach aches.
I had eaten a
spoonful of peanut butter that I had just opened, so – yeah – the wheels were
turning.
Once I returned home I looked up the lot codes of the jars in question – and, sure enough, the two jars in my pantry were affected. (See photo below for Lot #'s affected.)
Great. I pretty
much automatically toss my receipts once I get home from a store, so I knew I
didn’t have proof of purchase.
Since there are
no toddlers in my home and my small dog doesn’t scarf up a whole lot of peanut
butter, I don’t go through a jar quickly. Consequently, I may buy a jar of
peanut butter once every year or two – so it was a little painful tossing a
large unopened jar and a second jar that had literally one spoonful out of it.
On the other hand, I wasn’t even remotely interested in seeing how badly salmonella would affect me – and I didn’t relish the idea of ending up in the nearest Emergency Room.
So out they
went.
And then later
someone told me that Costco would have allowed me to return them for refund
even without a receipt.
Oh well. Live
and learn.
Meanwhile, I’ve
heard that some of my friends also had salmonella-infused jars of Jif in their
cupboards that had to be tossed. One friend had even made a peanut butter pie
before learning that the peanut butter was bad. Sad.
But I suppose
that’s better than eating a delicious peanut butter pie that makes you sick.
Strangely, over
the past few days I’ve been craving a slice of peanut butter toast. Power of
suggestion, perhaps?
So maybe I’ll
have to make another trip to the grocery store and try again.
But maybe I’ll go
with a jar of Skippy this time…
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