Contact:
Mike Gloekler
mike_gloekler@mckee.com
(423) 238-7111, Ext. 22440
(423) 505-5066 (cell)

MCKEE FOODS CORPORATION ANNOUNCES VOLUNTARY NATIONWIDE RECALL OF LITTLE DEBBIE® PEANUT BUTTER TOASTY AND PEANUT BUTTER CHEESE SANDWICH CRACKERS BECAUSE OF POSSIBLE HEALTH RISK  

COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. – McKee Foods Corporation today announced a voluntary recall of two varieties of peanut butter sandwich crackers because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The two sandwich crackers are:

• Little Debbie^® Peanut Butter Toasty sandwich crackers — all sizes.
• Little Debbie^® Peanut Butter Cheese sandwich crackers — all sizes.

No other Little Debbie^® products are involved in this recall.

Salmonella is an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems. Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis. For more information on Salmonella, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Website at http://www.cdc.gov.

These two sandwich cracker products were manufactured for McKee Foods by Kellogg Company. On January 14, Kellogg Company announced a precautionary hold on several of its peanut butter sandwich crackers while FDA and other authorities investigated Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), one of Kellogg’s peanut paste suppliers for these crackers. McKee Foods followed that action with a voluntary withdrawal of the two Little Debbie^® peanut butter sandwich crackers. PCA has now expanded their earlier recall to include peanut paste and peanut butter, prompting Kellogg to immediately announce a recall of certain cookie and cracker products. Accordingly, McKee Foods is announcing this recall of its two peanut butter sandwich crackers.

McKee Foods has not received any consumer illness complaints about its Peanut Butter Toasty or Peanut Butter Cheese sandwich crackers.

Products impacted by the recall were produced on or after July 1, 2008, and include all sizes, weights and packages.

The Little Debbie^® Cheddar on Cheese sandwich cracker is not affected by this action.

McKee Foods does not purchase peanut paste or peanut butter from PCA, and therefore, no other Little Debbie^® products containing peanut butter are affected by this action.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are urged to discard the crackers but retain the freshness code and contact Consumer Affairs at 1-800-522-4499.