What we know about the Lexington plant at the center of national peanut butter recall

A Lexington plant known for producing most of the Jif brand peanut butter in the world is now at the center of a massive recall and reported salmonella outbreak that spans at least 12 states.

J.M. Smucker Co., the parent company of the popular peanut butter brand, announced Friday it was voluntarily recalling several of its products.

The recall is expansive, with the notice itself listing nearly 50 different universal product codes.

In it’s own notice about the multi-state salmonella outbreak, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration relayed information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, noting at least 14 people had been sickened and two sent to the hospital.

“CDC’s review of epidemiological information indicates that five out of five people reported consuming peanut butter and four of the five people specifically reported consuming different varieties of Jif brand peanut butter prior to becoming ill,” the FDA notice said.

But what do we know about the plant itself?

The Lexington Herald-Leader has made multiple requests to visit the facility over the years, but so far, it’s always been turned away. Herald-Leader reporters haven’t been able to tour the plant in recent years, but did in 1989.

Phone calls placed at the plant were not immediately returned Monday.

Smucker spokesperson Frank Cirillo issued the following statement later Monday: “In partnership with [the FDA] and [the Canadian Food Inspection Agency], we initiated a voluntary recall of select Jif® products sold in the U.S. and Canada due to potential salmonella contamination. We are confident we have properly defined the scope of the recall. This incident was isolated to our Lexington, Ky. manufacturing facility and does not impact our other peanut-butter-producing facilities.

“In addition, there is no impact to Smucker’s Uncrustables, Santa Cruz Organic or any other J.M. Smucker Co. Brand. We will continue to partner with the FDA, our external experts and internal team members to confirm our comprehensive corrective actions taken,” the statement continued. “We will implement any other opportunities for improvement identified. Our number one priority is to deliver safe, quality products to our consumers. If consumers have products matching the description of impacted product in their possession, they should visit www.jif.com/contact-us to coordinate their reimbursement and dispose of the product.”

Here’s what we do know about the Lexington plant, which is about 75 years old.

What do we know about the Jif peanut plant in Lexington?

Jif peanut butter got its start in 1946, then under the name of Big Top peanut butter. It was manufactured by Lexington businessman William T. Young.

Young sold the business to Procter and Gamble in 1955 and worked for two years to build the Jif brand, archived Lexington Herald-Leader reports show.

Over the years, Jif peanut butter got lost among P&G’s once massive catalog of brands.

In 2001, top jelly-maker J.M. Smucker announced it was purchasing Jif peanut butter, along with Crisco cooking oil, from P&G. At the time, the all-stock deal went through at more than $1 billion.

P&G shareholders got one share of new J.M. Smucker stock for every 50 P&G shares – resulting in about 26 million new Smucker shares – according to a Herald-Leader report from the time.

The deal was good for Smucker, too. Its shares shot up 20% to $31.15, while P&G shares rose a little more than 1% to $73.34. No layoffs were announced for the Lexington plant at the time.

“Jif and Crisco are strong U.S. brands, but they’re no longer a strategic fit for P&G as we focus on building our big brands in core categories. At Smucker, they will continue to enjoy a prominent position in another of American’s most-admired companies,” then P&G president and CEO A.G. Lafley said when the deal was announced in 2001.

Lexington Jif peanut plant timeline

Here’s a look at the plant’s history, spanning the 55-year period from 1946 to 2001, compiled by news researcher Linda Niemi:

• 1890: Peanut butter is introduced as a protein substitute for people with poor teeth who can’t chew.

• 1946: Plant is built at 767 East 3rd St. to make Big Top peanut butter for the W.T. Young Food Co., which sells drinking glasses filled with products ranging from peanut butter to beans. Young builds the plant for $75,000. It employs 30 people and its products are distributed in Kentucky and 14 surrounding states.

• 1955: Young sells W.T. Young Food Co. to consumer-products giant Procter & Gamble and spends two years working for P&G.

• 1957: P&G introduces Jif, calling it the choice of “choosy mothers nationwide.”

• 1971: P&G discontinues Big Top and expands production of Jif.

• 1981: P&G announces an expansion of the plant to be completed in 1983. The cost was not disclosed.

• 1990: Americans consume 800 million pounds of peanut butter annually, or about 3.3 pounds each.

• 1993: P&G produces about two-thirds of the Jif peanut butter sold in North America at its plant at 767 Winchester Road.

• 1993: The plant’s annual payroll is estimated at $6 million and it pays taxes and brings goods and services to the Lexington area worth $10 million a year. As the plant automates, its workforce is trimmed to 200.

• 1999: Jif is the world’s largest-selling peanut butter brand.

• 2001: P&G, faced with slowing sales and a need to reduce costs, announces it will reduce its staff worldwide by about 9,600 jobs, or 9% of its workforce. About 40% of the cuts will be in the U.S.

• April 2001: P&G announces it will sell or trade its Jif and Crisco brands so it can focus on its more than 300 other brands that have more global sales potential.

• Oct. 10, 2001: J.M. Smucker announces it will purchase P&G’s Jif and Crisco brands in a $1 billion all-stock deal.

• 2002: The sale goes through.

• 2013: Jif’s parent company announces it will proceed with a major expansion of the Lexington plant on Winchester Road. Smucker announced at the time plans to spend $43.7 million to “increase capacity, support a robust new product pipeline and continue to produce the highest-quality products to meet growing consumer demand.”

What do we know about W.T. Young?

Young died Jan. 12, 2004, at the age of 85, according to his obituary.

Born in Lexington Feb. 15, 1918, he attended local schools and the University of Kentucky, from which he graduated in 1939. That was just in time for World War II, and after U.S. Army service overseas, he returned to Lexington to establish W.T. Young Foods in 1946. Under this company he made Big Top peanut butter, the forerunner of Jif.

Later he founded W. T. Young Storage and Lexington Cartage Co., still operated by his family. He was chairman of Royal Crown Cola Companies of Columbus and Atlanta, Ga., for 20 years, according to his obituary.

Later in life, he founded Overbrook Farm in Lexington. The farm raises and races thoroughbred horses. Several of the farm’s horses went on to success at the racetrack, including 1996 Kentucky Derby winner Grindstone. Tabasco Cat and Timber Country both went on to win the Preakness Stakes, the horse named Editor’s Note won the Belmont Stakes.

Correction: A previous version of this story stated the Lexington plant was the producer of all Jif brand peanut butter. That is incorrect. Jif peanut butter is also manufactured at a separate plant in Memphis, Tenn., though that plant has not been impacted by the recall. The Lexington plant is the primary producer of Jif brand peanut butter, per Smuckers.

Previous reporting from Janet Patton of the Lexington Herald-Leader contributed to this story.

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