Recall Analysis

February 17, 2026·7 min read

Is Peanut Butter on the FDA Food Traceability List? What the Ventura Foods Recall Means for FSMA 204

Ventura Foods just recalled over 22,000 cases of peanut butter products across 40 states after plastic fragments were found in a production filter. The FDA classified it as Class II — but the more important question for the food industry is this: every one of those recalled products is on the FDA Food Traceability List. Under FSMA 204, companies handling nut butters will need to produce traceability records within 24 hours of an FDA request.

The Ventura Foods Recall: What Happened

On April 30, 2025, Ventura Foods, LLC — a Brea, California-based food manufacturer — initiated a voluntary recall of single-serve peanut butter products after pieces of blue plastic were found in a production filter at their manufacturing facility. The contamination affected multiple brands distributed to foodservice and institutional channels across 40 states.

Detail	Information
Company	Ventura Foods, LLC (Brea, CA)
FDA Classification	Class II (February 12, 2026)
Cases Recalled	22,000+ cases
States Affected	40 states
Reason	Foreign material — blue plastic fragments from production filter
Recall Initiated	April 30, 2025
Injuries Reported	None

The affected products include single-serve peanut butter packets, cups, and combo packs sold under multiple brand names:

Flavor Fresh Peanut Butter (0.75 oz and 0.5 oz packs)
Sysco House Recipe Creamy Peanut Butter
Katy's Kitchen Smooth Peanut Butter
DYMA Brands peanut butter
Gordon Food Service peanut butter
Poco Pac twin-packs (peanut butter + strawberry jam or grape jelly)

These are foodservice products — the kind distributed to schools, hospitals, airlines, and institutional food operations. They are not retail jars sold directly to consumers, which makes the traceability challenge even more complex: the supply chain between manufacturer and end consumer runs through distributors, group purchasing organizations, and foodservice management companies.

Yes, Peanut Butter Is on the Food Traceability List

The FDA's Food Traceability List (FTL), published as part of the FSMA 204 final rule (21 CFR Part 1, Subpart S), explicitly includes nut butters as one of its 21 high-risk food categories. This covers all types of tree nut and peanut butters in all forms — shelf-stable, refrigerated, and frozen.

Nut Butters Covered by the FTL

Peanut butterAlmond butterCashew butterHazelnut butterWalnut butterPistachio butterCoconut butterChestnut butterPeanut paste

Not covered: Soy butters, seed butters (sunflower, tahini), and raw or roasted whole nuts are not on the FTL.

The inclusion of nut butters on the FTL is driven by the persistent Salmonella risk associated with nut processing environments. Nut processing facilities operate at low moisture levels, which can allow Salmonella to survive for extended periods in crevices, equipment joints, and on processing surfaces. Major outbreaks linked to peanut butter — including the 2008-2009 Peanut Corporation of America outbreak that killed 9 people and sickened over 700 — were a direct factor in the FDA's decision to include nut butters on the FTL.

Check it yourself

Use the free FTL Lookup Tool to verify whether any food product appears on the FDA Food Traceability List. Enter "peanut butter" and see the classification, applicable CTEs, and required KDEs returned instantly.

Check if Your Product Is on the FTL

The 10-Month Timeline Gap

One of the most striking aspects of this recall is the timeline. Ventura Foods initiated the voluntary recall on April 30, 2025. The FDA did not classify the recall as Class II until February 12, 2026 — nearly 10 months later.

This gap is not unusual. FDA recall classification is a separate process from the recall itself, and it routinely takes months for the agency to complete its evaluation and assign a classification. But it highlights a fundamental problem: during those 10 months, how quickly could the affected products be traced through the supply chain?

Consider the scope: 22,000+ cases of single-serve peanut butter packets distributed across 40 states to foodservice accounts. Each case went through a distributor. Each distributor shipped to institutional customers. Many of those institutions served the products directly to consumers — students, patients, airline passengers — who have no way of knowing months later whether they consumed an affected product.

This is exactly the problem FSMA 204 was designed to solve.

Under FSMA 204, every entity in this supply chain — the manufacturer, every distributor, every receiving institution — will need to maintain electronic traceability records for nut butter products. When the FDA asks for records during a recall investigation, companies must produce them within 24 hours.

What FSMA 204 Changes for Nut Butter Companies

When FSMA 204 enforcement begins on July 20, 2028, every company that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds nut butter products will need to maintain enhanced traceability records. Here is what the rule requires for nut butters specifically:

Critical Tracking Events (CTEs)

You must record data for each of these supply chain events:

Receiving — when you take physical possession of nut butter from a supplier
Transforming — when you change the form of the product (e.g., processing raw peanuts into peanut butter, repackaging, blending)
Creating — when you produce a new food product that contains nut butter as an ingredient
Shipping — when you transfer physical possession to the next entity in the supply chain

Key Data Elements (KDEs)

For each CTE, you must capture and retain:

Traceability Lot Code (TLC)
Quantity and unit of measure
Product description
Location identifiers (where the event occurred)
Date of the event
Reference document number (PO, BOL, invoice)
Name and contact of the immediate previous source and immediate subsequent recipient

Records must be maintained electronically, in a searchable format, for a minimum of two years. When the FDA requests traceability records during an outbreak or recall investigation, you must produce them within 24 hours.

Who Is Affected

The Ventura Foods recall illustrates how many entities are touched by a single nut butter recall. Under FSMA 204, all of the following will have traceability obligations:

Nut butter manufacturers

Companies like Ventura Foods that produce peanut butter, almond butter, or other nut butter products. They must record transforming and shipping CTEs.

Distributors and foodservice companies

Sysco, Gordon Food Service, and similar distributors that receive, warehouse, and reship nut butter products. They must record receiving and shipping CTEs.

Food manufacturers using nut butter as an ingredient

Any company that incorporates peanut butter into a finished product — protein bars, baked goods, sauces, meal kits — must record the creating CTE with the TLC of the nut butter used.

Retailers and institutions

Schools, hospitals, airlines, hotels, and retail locations that receive nut butter products must record receiving CTEs and maintain supplier traceability information.

What to Do Now

FSMA 204 enforcement begins July 20, 2028. That sounds distant, but for companies managing complex product catalogs across multiple facilities, the compliance preparation timeline is measured in years, not months. Here are the steps to take now:

Classify your product catalog against the FTL. Determine which of your products — and which ingredients in your products — appear on the Food Traceability List. Nut butters are just one of 21 categories.
Map your traceability data gaps. For each FTL-covered product, identify where in your current systems you capture (or fail to capture) the required CTEs and KDEs.
Evaluate your systems. Can your ERP, WMS, or traceability platform generate the required electronic records in a searchable format? Can it produce them within 24 hours?
Run a mock trace. Pick a nut butter lot and attempt to trace it from your receiving dock through to the customer who received it. Time the exercise. If it takes days instead of hours, you have work to do.
Engage your suppliers. FSMA 204 requires traceability data to flow between supply chain partners. Your suppliers will need to provide TLCs and associated KDEs for every shipment of FTL-covered products.

Classify Your Product Catalog Programmatically

Manually checking each SKU against the FTL is impractical for companies with hundreds or thousands of products. The FoodChainAPI provides programmatic access to FTL classification — check any food product description and receive the FTL category, applicable CTEs, and required KDEs in milliseconds.

GET /v1/ftl/check?q=peanut+butter&raw=true

{
  "query": "peanut butter",
  "found": true,
  "category": "Nut Butters",
  "matchedFood": "Peanut butter",
  "confidence": 1.0,
  "excluded": false,
  "ctes": ["Receiving", "Transforming", "Creating", "Shipping"],
  "kdes": [
    "Traceability Lot Code",
    "Quantity and Unit of Measure",
    "Product Description",
    "Location identifier",
    "Date of event",
    "Reference Document Number"
  ]
}

Try the FTL Lookup Tool — Free See API Pricing

Continue Reading

FSMA 204 & the Food Traceability List: The Complete Guide — deep dive into all 21 FTL categories
How to Check if Your Product Is on the FTL — step-by-step guide with the free lookup tool
Are Oysters on the Food Traceability List? The Stellar Bay Norovirus Recall — another FTL recall happening this week
FSMA Compliance Checklist — step-by-step readiness plan for July 2028

Get FSMA 204 Compliance Updates

FDA guidance on FSMA 204 is still evolving. Get notified when the FoodChainAPI launches, along with updates on FTL changes, FDA guidance documents, and compliance deadlines.

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