GBI Says No to Investigation While Docs Show More Peanut Problems

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will not investigate Peanut Corporation of America’s Blakely operations. The head of GBI says any criminal investigation is best handled at the federal level.

Meanwhile, federal documents showing the plant had sanitary and contamination problems as far back as 2001.

According to the Food and Drug Administration documents, peanut products processed at the Blakely facility contained Aflatoxins, a common fungus in peanuts that in very rare cases can cause death. The documents also show federal inspectors found cobwebs, dead insects and spaces large enough for rodents to crawl through in the facility.

In 2007, inspectors cited a leaky roof at the plant over where peanuts were stored. Many of the problems appear in more report. The documents raise questions as to why the plant was allowed to continue operating without correcting the findings.

Officials at the FDA are not commenting, and PCA says it broke no law, and brought all violations into compliance.