The University has pulled all peanut butter products from campus vending machines, the GW Bookstore and Sodexo venues in response to a national salmonella outbreak.

Nancy Haaga, managing director of campus and support services, said the University and Sodexo follow a “zero-tolerance” policy in food recalls. A national recall, which has been traced to a Georgia peanut processing plant, was announced after more than 500 people have gotten sick and at least eight have died from salmonella poisoning.

“In the case of the peanut butter contamination, Sodexo was alerted to the concern before the information was released to the public,” Haaga wrote in an e-mail. “GW was given instruction to pull all peanut butter from service and hold it until it was determined which supplier(s) were distributing the contaminated product.”

Haaga said peanut butter products will not be restocked until they are deemed safe by Sodexo’s food safety team.

She added, “We are taking every effort to ensure the safety of food service at the University.”