Boston (SmartAboutHealth) - The country’s largest makers of peanut butter are telling consumers that their products are safe, but it seems that the Americans aren’t buying the idea.

Retail trackers say that peanut butter brands such as Skippy, Jif and Peter Pan all saw sales fall as much as 24% since the salmonella outbreak.

In hopes to to offset sales, the companies behind these brands have stepped up marketing efforts by running ads to reassure the public that their products are safe and did not include peanuts from Peanut Corp. of America.

With the ongoing recession, millions of consumers have been forced to cut back on “a la carte” meals and instead, lug lunches to school or work. We can simply assume that peanut butter sandwiches are not on their menus these days.