# Your peanut butter: Now with nutritious rat excrement! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 13, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627 "2009-02-13T01:29:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/21 "2009-02-13T05:32:20Z")
It was too foul for the _Texas_ Health Services? Oh, my. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/22 "2009-02-13T07:29:53Z")
Too lazy to find an updated reference, but here’s from a 2001 FDA page: [http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dalbook.html](http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dalbook.html) from the peanuts section: SIGNIFICANCE: Aesthetic, Potential health hazard - may contain mycotoxin producing fungi :eek: …maybe I want to take ‘catsup’ off my grocery list as well. this is also why I have a hard and fast rule about _not_ eating seafood. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/23 "2009-02-13T09:41:15Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > But they can’t do that! Sales would plummet! Fuck their sales! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/24 "2009-02-13T11:06:08Z")
Rat shit and salmonella in the peanut butter, huh? Shorter PCA: Eat shit and die! ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/25 "2009-02-13T11:07:46Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > That should read: > > RAT SHIT[sup][sup]\*[/sup][/sup] > > - May contain peanuts. To the tune of “I feel pretty”: _I smell rat shit, oh yes rat shit, it’s not cat shit, it’s rat shit for sure, It’s not bat shit, and it certainly isn’t horse manure._ ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/26 "2009-02-13T13:49:46Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > Fuck their sales! [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Dy6uLfermPU/hqdefault.jpg "Monty Python - Crunchy Frog") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy6uLfermPU) ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/27 "2009-02-13T14:05:44Z")
I think rat shit is listed as part of the fiber content. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/28 "2009-02-13T14:38:51Z")
> [@Patch](#): > > Reminds me of the Robert Klein bit on the FDA. > > From memory, > > “The FDA has an acceptable number of rodent hairs that can be found in peanut butter. I’m a funny kind of guy. For me, there is no acceptable number of rodent hairs in peanut butter. One is too many. Other people, twenty, a hundred, they don’t care.” From what I understand – and I may well be wrong – there’s just no way to reduce contaminants to zero. Food manufacture attracts pests, period. It’s been true ever since Og opened his first frozen mammoth bars factory back in 50,000BC. And the occasional rat fang or termite butt won’t kill you – our species wouldn’t have survived this long if that were the case. So the FDA sets a maximum tolerance for contaminants, and it has worked out pretty well for us so far. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/29 "2009-02-13T15:33:48Z")
I’m suddenly glad I don’t eat peanut butter. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/30 "2009-02-13T15:37:37Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > So far, Stewart Parnell, the rat bastard in question, is declining to answer questions, “on advice of counsel”. IOW, he’s guilty and knows he’s guilty. During the questioning, he was asked to eat some of his own peanut butter. He refused. It’s just a shame peanut butter is too thick to push through an IV tube. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/31 "2009-02-13T15:56:44Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > From what I understand – and I may well be wrong – there’s just no way to reduce contaminants to zero. Food manufacture attracts pests, period. It’s been true ever since Og opened his first frozen mammoth bars factory back in 50,000BC. And the occasional rat fang or termite butt won’t kill you – our species wouldn’t have survived this long if that were the case. So the FDA sets a maximum tolerance for contaminants, and it has worked out pretty well for us so far. If you play your cards right, you can get people to pay extra for the finest termite butts. (“Termite butt” is now the phrase of the day. Thank you for your fine contribution to my amusement today.) ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/32 "2009-02-13T16:00:27Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > It’s just a shame peanut butter is too thick to push through an IV tube. I’ll bet it would push just fine through a [DEL]2"[/DEL] 6" pipe shoved into an appropriate orifice. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/33 "2009-02-13T16:04:42Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > As if the salmonella contamination wasn’t enough, we now learn that Peanut Corporation of America’s Texas plant has been adding a [heaping helping of shit, crap, and crud](http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/12/peanut.butter.recall/index.html) to all the products it’s been churning out. Untrue. It _was_ a heaping helping before downsizing, but now the packages are smaller and you get less shit, crap and crud for your money. ☹ Get perspective, people. Read _The Jungle_. At least PCA doesn’t have employees falling into the vats and going out into the world as jars of Extra Crunchy People Butter. That we know about. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/34 "2009-02-13T16:05:32Z")
“I’ll take the rat tart, if there’s not too much rat in it.” ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/35 "2009-02-13T16:19:48Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Untrue. It _was_ a heaping helping before downsizing, but now the packages are smaller and you get less shit, crap and crud for your money. ☹ > > Get perspective, people. Read _The Jungle_. At least PCA doesn’t have employees falling into the vats and going out into the world as jars of Extra Crunchy People Butter. > > That we know about. Maybe that’s why Parnell wouldn’t partake in his own goodies… You know, there’s a theory that \*that \*kind of “recycling” is a unique solution to overpopulation and the rising cost of food. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/36 "2009-02-13T16:24:18Z")
> [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](#): > > Maybe that’s why Parnell wouldn’t partake in his own goodies… > > You know, there’s a theory that \*that \*kind of “recycling” is a unique solution to overpopulation and the rising cost of food. Not very unique…you had at least one London piemaker get the idea way back in the 19th Century… ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/37 "2009-02-13T16:41:07Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > In Libertarian land, this is what we’d have to look forward to. Inspections and licenses are just unwanted government intrusion, right? > Let the market sort it out! If the product is that bad, and it sickens or kills you, then just don’t buy it! Dumb fucking idiot. Not only are you completely wronjg about libertarian theory, but you’re treating reality as though it were a hypothetical. You grumble about what could possibly happen in Libertarian land while you’re looking at the ACTUAL FUCKING EVENT in America land. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/38 "2009-02-13T17:04:43Z")
On the plus side, I bet Soylent Green tastes great with peanut butter! ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/39 "2009-02-13T17:08:44Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > It’s just a shame peanut butter is too thick to push through an IV tube. Not if you heat it up to boiling first. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627/40 "2009-02-13T17:09:54Z")
Found a peanut, found a peanut, found a peanut just now… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-peanut-butter-now-with-nutritious-rat-excrement/485627.md?page=3)