In one of the largest food recalls in history, the Food and Drug Administration asked retailers, manufacturers and consumers yesterday to throw out every product made in the past two years from peanuts processed by a Georgia plant at the heart of a deadly nationwide outbreak of salmonella illness.
The action came after federal officials discovered this month that the company, Peanut Corporation of America, knowingly shipped products contaminated with salmonella 12 times in 2007 and 2008, prompting a congresswoman to call yesterday for a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
Michael Rogers of the FDA said the company violated good manufacturing practices by selling peanut products that had tested positive for salmonella bacteria in inspections commissioned by the firm. He said it turned over records of its inspections only after the FDA invoked special authority given to it by Congress in 2002 under laws to prevent bioterrorism.
But Rogers would not say whether the company would face sanctions. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on whether the agency is evaluating the matter.
A spokesman for Peanut Corporation of America, based in Lynchburg, Va., has said that the company complied with all requests by regulators from "Day One" of their investigation.
The company's plant in Blakely, Ga., produces peanut butter, paste, meal and granules that are used in products including ice cream, snack crackers and dog biscuits. Since early this month, when federal investigators traced the salmonella contamination to the plant, more than 400 products made with peanut butter or paste from the facility were recalled. That represented products made with peanut ingredients handled by the plant since July 1.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/28/AR2009012801994.html?hpid=topnews This is a comprehensive article. In spite of the potential for criminal action against these cretins for their crimes, Peanut Butter is NOT part of the recall, it is safe, and not made from the paste, granules and other derivatives that come from these bastards. One death is too many, but it isn't just the fault of Peanut Corporation of America. One paragraph in this article jumped out and struck me as just so "BUSH" in it's blatant disregard for humanity; The last time the FDA inspected the plant was in 2001, officials said yesterday. In 2006, the agency contracted inspections to the Georgia Department of Agriculture. (Which means the plant wasn't inspected for FIVE years prior to 2006) State inspectors visited the plant about twice a year, but in 2008 they did not check for salmonella. The state inspection reports all seemed to play down deficiencies, saying all that was needed was routine follow-up. I'd like to see a lot of the people in management and ownership at this company do some SERIOUS time and pay hefty fines, and Civil penalties. This is a travesty.
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