Already trapped in economic and military quagmires, Americans must now confront a threat to that most sacrosanct institution: the peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Weather-beaten peanut farmers converged on Wednesday in New York to tell the world their products are safe, despite a devastating salmonella outbreak traced to a processing plant in the southern state of Georgia.

Nine people have died and nearly 700 fallen sick since the scandal erupted late last year, sparking a still-continuing, nationwide peanut products recall.

In the process fragile US self-esteem has taken yet another hit.

"It's upsetting and heart-breaking," Gayle Walker, whose family farms 200 acres in Oklahoma, said at the two-day, morale boosting event in New York's Grand Central Station.

We feed our children on peanut butter

Behind her, a man pranced in a peanut suit, encouraging commuters to check out free samples and a live patch of potted peanut plants.

"We're as concerned as anyone," Walker said. "We feed our children on peanut butter."

Americans have endured unending humiliations over the last year: everything from economic collapse and political corruption to baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez's doping confession.

Peanuts were meant to be different.

It is hard to overstate US attachment to this humble food, which is technically not a nut, but a bean-like legume, and was originally used here to feed livestock.

The first recorded peanut butter sale dates to the 1904 Universal Exposition in Saint Louis. In the following years, George Washington Carver, so-called Father of the Peanut Industry, developed 300 other uses, ranging from chili sauce to axle grease.

Today the country spends almost $800-million a year on peanut butter, enough to make about 10 billion peanut butter and jam sandwiches, according to the National Peanut Board.

The second peanut farmer in the White House

Jimmy Carter grew peanuts before becoming president – the second peanut farmer in the White House after Thomas Jefferson – and astronaut Alan Shepard took one to the Moon.

Even the few Americans who have not eaten the bar room snack or the creamy paste are likely to have read "Peanuts," one of the world's best-known comic strips, albeit nothing to do with peanuts.

The country and its favorite nibble are simply inseparable.

"Apple pie, Chevrolet, and peanut butter," declared Georgia farmer Wes Shannon.

Despite that wholesome image, the salmonella debacle echoes on a smaller scale that same mix of public incompetence and private dishonesty behind Wall Street's implosion.

The culprit, Peanut Corp of America, processed peanuts in plants infested with rodents and animal excrement. Meanwhile, inspectors were either lax, or failed to act on reports, or ignored the situation altogether.

And while Peanut Corp may have been a rare bad apple, its clients included major players like Kellogg and Sarah Lee, creating huge damage. More than 2000 different products have been recalled from grocery shelves.

Farmers at Grand Central said they feel betrayed.

They're already saddled with a plunge in commodity prices, the tightening of bank credit, and a surplus from last year's bumper crop.

"We almost feel like we're victims of this scandal, because we produce a very safe product. This was one company," North Carolina farmer Dan Ward (45) said.

"If you checked the background of every peanut farmer here, they're all good people. If you asked for a dollar they'd give it to you – no strings attached."

AFP