Typical grinding and packaging of roasted peanuts occurs at 48C (Woodroof, 1983) yet inactivation of microorganisms in peanut butter and peanut butter products is minimal at this temperature, found a 6 log CFU/g reduction in Salmonella over 50 min at 85C and Shachar and Yaron (2006) found similar results. These findings indicate thermal processing of peanut butter is not a
practical intervention step. Consequently, to reduce the risk of
food borne illness in such products, prevention of contamination
rather than processing is essential.