Basically any Clif product that has peanut butter as an ingredient that was manufactured within a certain timeframe may be part of the recall. The peanut butter came from a single source that may be contaminated with Salmonella.

Here’s the press release in its entirety:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — BERKELEY, Calif., Jan 19, 2009 — Clif Bar & Company today announced a voluntary recall of CLIF(R) and LUNA(R) branded bars that contain peanut butter because the products have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The recalled products contain peanut butter manufactured by Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). PCA is the focus of an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning a recent Salmonella outbreak thought to be caused by tainted peanut butter.

The following Clif Bar & Company products with “Best By/Sell By” dates ranging as shown below, in all sizes and packages, are included in the recall:

Clif Bar Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch
BEST BY/SELL BY: 21JUN09 to 01OCT09, and 03NOV09 to 28NOV09

Clif Bar Crunchy Peanut Butter
BEST BY/SELL BY: 21JUN09 to 01OCT09, and 03NOV09 to 28NOV09

Clif Bar Peanut Toffee Buzz
BEST BY/SELL BY: only 13SEP09

ZBaR Peanut Butter
BEST BY/SELL BY: 07JUL09 to 05SEP09, and 12NOV09

Clif Builders Peanut Butter
BEST BY/SELL BY: 19JUL09 to 30SEP09, and 05NOV09 to 18NOV09

Luna Nutz over Chocolate
BEST BY/SELL BY: 29JUL09 to 03OCT09, 11NOV09 to 14NOV09

Luna Peanut Butter Cookie
BEST BY/SELL BY: 02OCT09 to 03OCT09, and 11NOV09 to 14NOV09

All Clif Mojo Bars
BEST BY/SELL BY: 30APR09 to 21JUN09

These products were sold in grocery, warehouse and other retail stores throughout the United States.

No other CLIF or LUNA products or flavors are included 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 Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/ or call 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).

Consumers who have purchased the recalled products are urged to destroy them but retain the “Best By/Sell By” code found on the back of the package. Consumers with questions or who would like a refund may contact Clif Bar & Company at 1-800-CLIFBAR (1-800-254-3227). Details also can be found at www.clifbar.com.

“With an abundance of caution and given the FDA’s ongoing investigation of PCA, we’re doing all we can to ensure consumer safety and trust,” said Gary Erickson, owner and founder of Clif Bar & Company.

If your Clif products are included in the recall, you can request a refund online here.

Products other than Clif are also affected and a full list can be found on the Whole Foods blog.

(via @jennfields and @FamilyDoctorMag on Twitter)

The post Clif Bar Announces Recall Due to Contaminated Peanut Butter first appeared on All Climbing.

Clif. The name is synonymous with climbing (perhaps it’s the logo?). If you’re like me, then you’ve always enjoyed Clif Bars, but rarely buy them because frankly, you’re a cheapskate. Nutritious? Yep. All natural? Absolutely. Tasty? You betcha! In fact, it’s amazing that anyone can successfully sell any product to a bunch of jobless, dirtbag climbers like ourselves, right? We’d rather just eat the dust of last weeks trail mix!

In recent years, Clif has been on a tear to diversify and expand their product line, releasing 9 new food products since 2004. However, since I’m rather oblivious to that sort of thing, and haven’t spent much time in climbing gyms recently (traditional Clif strongholds), I failed to notice…well…ALL of them. A recent sample of Clif Shot Bloks at an ultimate frisbee tournament piqued my curiosity, inspiring a flurry of research (read: tasting).

Today, we discuss: Clif Kid Organic ZBar.

My first thought? Clif has a line of kids products? Well, they do now, having released a second item, Clif Kid Twisted Fruit, last year.

I eat local, organic, non-processed food almost exclusively, so I’m always a bit skeptical of anything in a package, and generally that means foods with as few ingredients as possible (especially those ingredients that sound like they came from a laboratory: monogluxysodiobenzoate?). However, it’s hard to argue with the ingredients of the Peanut Butter ZBar:

Organic Peanut Butter (Organic Peanuts, Salt), Organic Evaporated Cane Juice Syrup, Organic Rolled Oats, Organic Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Tapioca Syrup, Organic Fig Paste, Organic Peanuts, Organic Oat Flour, Organic Milled Flaxseed, Organic Oat Fiber, Natural Flavors, Organic Chocolate (Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Organic Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin), Salt, Baking Soda.

Let’s just call it: a bunch of whole food ingredients pressed together.

What do they taste like? Basically ZBars are smaller, less dense (more bread-like) versions of Clif Bars, with a little drizzle of frosting on top. And tasty! Yes, I’m an adult, but there is nothing wrong with enjoying food aimed at children. Right?

My thoughts on the 6 different flavors, listed in order of preference:

• Peanut Butter – My favorite! I don’t like peanut butter cookies, but love any peanut butter & chocolate combo. This tastes more like the latter.
• Chocolate Chip – Reminiscent of Quaker Oats Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars. Or even the S’more flavor. That’s a good thing! Think about the joy you could bring with cookies for valentine’s day delivery if you’re in the mood to share a delightful treat.
• Blueberry – Tastes like a dense, chewy blueberry muffin.
• Apple Cinnamon – Surprisingly good considering I generally don’t enjoy this flavor.
• Chocolate Brownie – Still decent, basically a chocolate-chocolate chip taste. Though somehow less chocolaty than the Chocolate Chip?
• Honey Graham – My least favorite, and the “least strong” in terms of flavoring. It also happens to have the least amount of sugar.

Again, I try to eat local, organic food whenever possible and usually make my own goodies from scratch, but I realize that isn’t always possible. Clif has similar beliefs, expressed right there on the packaging: “In raising our family, we always wish to find organic snacks to nourish our kids as they compete in sports, study or just play with friends. We prefer to make them food from scratch, but life gets busy, so it’s not always possible. That’s why we created Clif Kid Organic ZBar – a baked energy bar made with whole oats..”. You get the picture. They do a great job with consistent, healthy, authentic products.

(Photo missing. Next time I’ll remember to take a picture BEFORE eating!)

Although I was a little saddened that the bars are frosted (just a snaking drizzle across the top), they still serve as a huge step up from most food products aimed at children in terms of healthfulness (no high fructose corn syrup!), organicness, and environmental responsible…ness. The real selling point is that they retail for roughly half the cost of a Clif Bar. So grab one for yourself…er, I mean your kid.

Thanks to Ryan for the guest post. If you enjoyed this, please check out his other posts at The Reluctant Eater, where he writes about eating local, organic food, and promoting a healthier relationship with food. Ryan also has a best of The Reluctant Eater collection.

The post Climbing Food Review: Clif ZBars first appeared on All Climbing.