HUDS Eliminates Peanuts from Menu Due to Salmonella Risk

Students digging into the shrimp and peanut pad thai served by Harvard University Dining Services on Monday night may have noticed the lack of a central ingredient—diced peanuts. HUDS decided to eliminate peanut-based menu items due to the current peanut-borne salmonella outbreak that may have claimed nine lives and caused over 600 illnesses.

In consultation with the University’s Environmental Health and Safety Department (EHS), which monitors food recall information, HUDS elected to remove certain foods in residential and retail operations as a precautionary measure.

EHS Public Health Manager Valerie Nelson said that in light of the quickly growing recall list, the elimination of nearly all peanut-containing products is meant to protect students from foods that “may be thought to be safe one day, but which conceivably could be involved in the recall the next.”

Although none of the ingredients have been formally implicated, HUDS spokeswoman Crista Martin said that HUDS is attempting to “stay ahead of the recalls.”

Dishes affected by the policy include peanut butter cookies—which are temporarily suspended—as well as the aforementioned pad thai.

But the peanut butter served in dining halls will not be affected by the new policy. According to Nelson, the safety of the various peanut butters HUDS serves—Teddie Peanut Butter, the bulk residential dining peanut butter; Once Again Nut Butter, the organic peanut butter; and Smucker’s Peanut Butter personal packs, offered in retail locations and catering, was confirmed at the onset of the outbreak.

The policy will be in place until EHS—which receives information daily from the Massachusetts Health and Homelands Alert Network and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration—advises HUDS that it is safe to return the items to its menu.

Nelson said that decisions to reintroduce peanut-containing foods will be made on a case-by-case basis after the magnitude of the salmonella outbreak subsides, and the manufacturers used by HUDS can establish that their products are not linked with the tainted peanut butter produced by the Peanut Corporation of America.

Students acknowledged that HUDS’ decision was reasonable from the perspective of safety.

“If the threat is great enough, then HUDS should try to protect our health,” said Linda Zhang ’12.

Others were more indifferent regarding the removal.

“I won’t miss the peanut butter cookies,” said Madelaine D. Boyd ’12. “I’d rather have coconut congo bars.”

—Staff writer Liyun Jin can be reached at ljin@fas.harvard.edu.