Salmonella outbreak sickens people in nine states

A salmonella outbreak that has sickened people in nine states may be linked to nut butter spreads.

The U.S. health agency said Thursday that the nut butters had been recalled after people fell ill in California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey and Oregon.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asks that anyone who has purchased a spread from JEM Raw Chocolate, LLC should discard the product and it has advised restaurants to do the same.

"Any remaining nut butter spread should be thrown away," the CDC’s statement said. "Even if some of the nut butter spread has been eaten and no one has gotten sick, the rest of it should be thrown away."

NJ.com noted that so far no deaths from the outbreak have been reported, but many of those sickened were hospitalized.

The signs and symptoms of salmonella can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, fever, chills, headache and in some cases bloody stool.