Blakely Peanut Plant Gets Tour By Victim's Lawyer

A lawyer representing victims in the recent nationwide salmonella outbreak will today tour the south Georgia peanut plant linked to that outbreak. The attorney will be joined by a team of experts inside the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely. Today’s tour follows one at a PCA plant in Texas. The outbreak sickened hundreds across the country, and linked to the deaths of nine people. Several lawsuits are pending against the company.

Peanut Industry Predicts Billion-Dollar Loss

Today the head of the Georgia Peanut Commission told members of Congress the recent salmonella outbreak linked to a Georgia peanut plant could cost the industry 1 Billion dollars. A salmonella outbreak at plants operated by the now bankrupt Peanut Corp. of America prompted one of the largest recalls in history. The company shipped its peanut butter and paste to industrial producers who used it in products ranging from ice cream to dog food. More than 680 people were sickened and as many as nine may have died. The peanut commission's Don Koehler says peanut farmers are having to cut their acreage by a-third, but he says the true cost won't be know until the scare is over.

(Associated Press)

Salmonella Outbreak Highlights Inspector Shortage

Tight state budgets have led some of the biggest farm states to leave dozens of food inspection jobs vacant at a time when hundreds have been sickened by a nationwide salmonella outbreak tied to a filthy peanut processing plant.

Georgia, the site of the plant, has about 60 inspectors for some 16,000 sites, while budget cuts have forced the state agriculture department to keep 15 inspector positions vacant.

California, Texas and Florida are among other states facing the same problems while food experts say the federal government relies increasingly on states to monitor the nation's food supply.

"You can only shift the pawns on the table so many times before the game catches up with you," Georgia deputy Agriculture Commissioner Oscar Garrison told legislators earlier this month while asking for more money to hire inspectors.

The salmonella outbreak linked to Peanut Corp. of America has sickened hundreds, may have caused nine deaths and prompted one of the largest food recalls in the nation's history. Federal investigators have launched a criminal investigation, and Virginia-based Peanut Corp. faces mounting lawsuits and a bankruptcy filing.

Food safety experts warn each loss of an inspector increases the possibility that food problems could elude detection.

In the Georgia salmonella case, a state inspector found only minor problems when she probed the Blakely plant in October for less than two hours; less than three months later federal agents found roaches, mold, a leaking roof and other problems.

Almost every state legislature in the country is staring down budget deficits and scraping funds for schools, roads and other public safety areas, like prisons and police. Food safety is a tough sell.

"It's getting pretty dire out there," said Doug Farquhar, an analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. "With the salmonella scare, you'd think that now would be the time they'd say we need to invest in food safety. But the opposite is going on."

The belt-tightening comes at an inconvenient time.

The federal government increasingly relies on food safety inspections performed by states, where budgets for inspections have remained stagnant and overburdened officials have less training than their federal counterparts.

For officials in Georgia, the deadly outbreak has led to some soul searching.

Legislators have floated proposals to deputize county health officials so they can quickly pursue food safety tips.

And Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin said his department will focus more on food safety inspections and less on other duties, such as monitoring out-of-date foods. Leading lawmakers say they hope to boost inspections, despite budget cuts.

Inspectors are "referees of the food game," said Joseph Hotchkiss, a food science professor at Cornell University who once worked for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

"There's no way for us as individuals to know much about our food — how it's manufactured and prepared — without these people we hire. And with fewer of those people, that could in general result in an increased risk."

(AP)

Click here for more GPB News coverage about the effects of the salmonella outbreak in Georgia.

Video: Peanut Co. Files for Bankruptcy

The peanut processing company at the heart of a national salmonella outbreak has filed for bankruptcy.

The Virginia-based Peanut Corp. of America filed Friday for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in bankruptcy court in Lynchburg, Va. The company's attorney, Andrew Goldstein, says the filing was "regrettable" but inevitable.

The company said in the filing that its debt and assets both ranged between $1 million and $10 million.

The salmonella outbreak was traced to one of the company's plants in Blakely, Ga., where inspectors found roaches, mold and a leaking roof. A second plant in Texas was shuttered this week. The outbreak has resulted in more than 500 illnesses, led to one of the nation's biggest recalls and may have caused as many as nine deaths.

(AP)

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the salmonella outbreak, and its effect on Blakely.

PCA Owner Refuses to Testify at Congressional Hearing

The owner of a peanut company blamed for a salmonella outbreak has appeared before a House subcommittee, but is refusing to testify. Lawmakers ordered Peanut Corporation of America owner Stewart Parnell to appear at the hearing Wednesday.

He showed up, but refused to answer questions, invoking his constitutional right not to incriminate himself.

Earlier, the House Energy and Commerce Committee released the company's internal correspondence showing that Parnell was ordering tainted products to be sold even after confirmation of salmonella. Parnell complains in e-mails about losing money and says he's frustrated by the delay in shipping products.

The salmonella outbreak has resulted in 600 illnesses and is now linked to nine deaths across the country. A federal criminal investigation is under way.

(Associated Press)

Video: Peanut Co. Owner Urged Shipping Tainted Products

Internal e-mails indicate the owner of a peanut company urged his workers to ship tainted products after receiving test results identifying salmonella.

The company e-mails obtained by a House committee show Peanut Corp. of America owner Stewart Parnell ordered the shipments tainted with the bacteria because he was worried about lost sales.

Parnell was ordered to appear before Congress today to discuss the outbreak that has led to 600 illnesses and eight deaths blamed on his Georgia plant. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Oregon, revealed the internal correspondence from the company during a House Energy and Commerce hearing.

(AP)

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Salmonella Scare at Texas Peanut Plant

Health officials in Texas say lab tests show there may have been salmonella at a shuttered Texas plant operated by the peanut company linked to a national outbreak. Texas health officials say the Peanut Corp. of America temporarily closed its plant in Plainview, Texas. Peanut Corp.'s Blakely, Ga. plant is blamed for a salmonella outbreak that has sickened 600 people and may have caused at least eight deaths.

(Associated Press)

Proposal Would Make it Mandatory to Share Test Results Showing Contaminants

A key Senate committee is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would require food manufacturers to alert state investigators within a day of their internal test results that show a contaminant. This comes in response to the salmonella outbreak stemming from the Peanut Corporation of America's plant in Blakely, Georgia.

This proposal would also force the companies to conduct the tests at least once a year.

Food safety experts, government groups and industry lobbies say they don't know of any states that have such a requirement.

(AP)

FBI Now Involved in FDA Investigation of Georgia Peanut Plant

Special Agent Gregory Jones says the FBI is now "fully involved" in helping the Food and Drug Administration's inquiry into the Peanut Corporation of America's plant based in Blakely, Georgia.

Federal officials are saying that the company was aware it was shipping salmonella-tainted products. Tests have confirmed the contamination.

Politicians are calling for criminal charges.

The salmonella outbreak has sickened hundreds and may be the cause of eight deaths. It has led to one of the country’s biggest food recalls and a wave of lawsuits.

(AP)

Report: Insecticides at Peanut Plant

Federal inspectors found that a Georgia peanut plant now at the center of a salmonella outbreak exposed some of its equipment to insecticides in 2001. In a report based on that visit nearly eight years ago, inspectors said that workers at the Peanut Corp. of America's plant used an insecticide fogger not suitable for food areas and didn't wash its equipment. Those findings in 2001 are similar to problems discovered last month after the company shipped salmonella-tainted peanuts and peanut butter linked to at least eight deaths and 575 illnesses in 43 states.

(Associated Press)

PCA Employees Come Forward With Details

Employees at the Peanut Corporation of America’s Blakely plant are coming forward to fill in details about the unsanitary conditions.

In separate interviews, four employees say 55 gallon drums were used to collect water falling from the roof on rainy days, and that an inoperable freezer covered in mildew stored peanut products.

The holes in the roof were so large, it was common for birds to fly in to the facility, says former plant janitor Anne Bristow.

"If I would see a bird, I’d go and tell [the manager]. They would normally be in the box room. He’d go and get his little pellet gun and shoot. "

Another employee confirmed Bristow’s account, and added that instead of fixing the holes in the roof, the company bought decoy owls and mounted them around the building in an attempt to scare animals away.

Through statements, PCA says they followed the law, but have not returned calls to respond to these claims.

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.

Kellogg's Keebler Cookies and Special K Bars On Recall List

Kellogg’s Keebler Cookies and Special K Bars are now on the recall list. They’re part of the growing scope of a national salmonella outbreak linked to a Georgia peanut butter plant.

The Keebler cookies included are Soft Batch Homestyle Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies in 2.5 ounce packages with a “Best If Used Before" date before June 30. The cookies have UPC codes 3010032708 and 3010037899.

The Special K Protein Meal Bar recall includes only the Honey Almond flavor in six and eight count packages with a best if used before date before Feb. 1, 2010. No other Special K bars are part of the recall. The bars have UPC codes 3800039778, 3800039935 and 3800039931.

The cookies and bars don’t contain any peanut ingredients from the Peanut Corporation of American under investigation, but they were produced on the same line as products that do.

Click for more GPB stories on the peanut butter-salmonella outbreak.

New Food Safety Measures Sought

New food safety measures could be on the horizon for Georgia factories.

State senator John Bulloch is proposing a bill that would require companies to regularly test to ensure food safety and to report any tests that show contamination within one business day. Under the measure, state inspectors could also access test result records.

Few states, if any, require food manufacturers to alert state and federal inspectors to the results of their internal tests.

That issue came to light after the Peanut Corporation of America processor was linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds and may have contributed to eight deaths.

Federal officials say the company's records show that peanut butter had tested positive for salmonella at least 12 times in 2007 and 2008 but was distributed after it was retested and cleared.

(Associated Press)

Recalled Peanut Butter Sent to Schools Out-of-State

Salmonella contaminated peanut butter may have entered the National School Lunch Program.

The US department of Agriculture says schools in California, Idaho and Minnesota received products on the rapidly expanding recall list.

Federal officials have sourced the salmonella outbreak to the peanut corporation of America in Blakely. It’s now under federal Criminal investigation because officials say company records show the plant knew of the potential problem last year. Peanut butter tested positive for salmonella at least 12 times in 2007, but was distributed after it was retested and cleared.

The USDA believes most of the recalled food has been consumed.

(Associated Press)

Peanut Butter Now Included in Recall

Federal investigators are concerned salmonella could be in yet more peanut products. The company at the center of the outbreak is expanding it's recall to include all peanut products made at it's Blakely, Ga., facilities since January of 2007.

Virginia-based Peanut Corporation of America issued the recall after it was revealed the company found salmonella in it's own testing and did not report it. The Food and Drug Administration also alleges PCA knowingly sold tainted product.

It's not yet clear what brands used PCA peanuts.

The FDA's Stephen Sudlof said on a conference call that his agency is working with various companies to aid in the recall:

"These additional products are being recalled because there is concern of potential salmonella contamination including contamination with salmonella strains not associated with the current outbreak."

Cases of salmonella poisoning have been dropping off, according to federal scientists. Over five hundred have been sickened, and eight people are believed to have died from the salmonella contamination.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of this story.

Blakely Peanut Plant Knew of Salmonella Since 2007

Federal health officials say the Blakely peanut plant at the center of the salmonella outbreak had internal data that showed salmonella bacteria as far back as 2007. Plant officials were not required by law to share the information. Now state lawmakers want to change that.

Federal officials apparently evoked homeland security law in order to get access to internal plant documents at the Peanut Corporation of America Blakely facility. They revealed that routing quick tests on several occasions showed the presence of salmonella bacteria. Oscar Garrison with the Georgia Department of agriculture says current law does not require companies to share such information with state investigators.

"Companies want to do testing and we don’t want to discourage internal testing. But if they do the testing, which we won't require them to do, then they need to make those results available to us- particularly when they find excessive problems."

As a result, state lawmakers are currently drafting a bill that would require companies to hand over internal test results to public inspectors. Meanwhile FDA officials have left the plant in blakely and moved on to the companies Virginia.