SANDPOINT - The Lake Pend Oreille School District is pulling all peanut butter products from school menus in reaction to a sweeping outbreak of salmonella poisoning that has reached at least 42 states.

While none of the district's peanut butter suppliers have been linked to the outbreak, officials from the Idaho Department of Education requested all peanut butter items be removed from school menus until the U.S. Department of Agriculture completes a full investigation.

Until their safety can be assured, items such as granola bars and cereal made with peanut butter will be removed from LPOSD schools, as will some products that shared a production plant with peanut butter products, said Bobbie Hass, the district's director of child nutrition.

"Student safety is our number one concern and until we are certain these products are safe, they will not be distributed," Hass said.

A Georgia-based company called Peanut Corporation of America was found to be the culprit of the outbreak. Before learning of the contamination, the company distributed potentially-contaminated peanut butter to more than 70 consignee firms for use as an ingredient in hundreds of different products, such as cookies, crackers, cereal, candy and ice cream, according to the U.S Food and Drug Administration.

Hass estimates the investigation should be complete within the next several weeks, and when it is certain that its products are safe the district will lift the quarantine.

The district is also asking parents to be aware of and vigilant about store-bought items that might contain peanut butter. As of Friday, 42 states have confirmed cases of contaminated peanut butter in a variety of foods, as well as certain pet foods.

This is not the first time the district has pulled a product from its menu as a precautionary measure. Just last year recalls on ground beef and peanut butter triggered the district to remove those items from its menu.

For more information on recalled foods, visit the FDA online at www.fda.gov or call Hass at 265-1569.