Peanut butter plant in Georgia helping federal investigators

Federal investigators have conclusively linked salmonella bacteria that sickened 410 people in 43 states — including five Georgians — to a peanut butter manufacturer with a plant in Blakely in southwest Georgia.

Stewart Parnell, the president of the Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America, said Monday in a statement the company was working with federal authorities. It’s not known whether the contamination occurred in the Blakely facility.

The peanut butter was distributed to care facilities, hospitals, schools, universities and restaurants.

On Monday the Centers for Disease Control said the salmonella poisonings may have contributed to three deaths. The CDC didn’t detail the deaths or where they occurred, and spokesman Dave Daigle told The Associated Press the agency would have no other details Monday.