Peanut Corporation of America Knew About Salmonella and Continued Shipments

According to an FDA report, Peanut Corporation of America has been aware of salmonella contamination of its products since 2007.

The company's own internal testing program detected strains of the bacteria 12 times from 2007-2008 in peanut paste, peanut butter, peanut meal, peanut granules and oil-roasted, salted peanuts. Most troubling was the fact that "after the firm retested the product and received a negative status, the product was shipped." Other findings at the plant include mildew growth and cockroach infestation.

According to the investigators, "no steps were taken in terms of cleaning or cross-contamination," allowing the spread of an outbreak that has sickened 502 people and been linked to 8 deaths. According to the National Peanut Board, the average American consumes over 6 pounds of peanuts and peanut butter products per year.

The list of recalled products now exceeds 300, and consumers are urged to dispose of any items whose safety is in question.

"'The outbreak highlights how food production has become more centralized,' said Jaydee Hanson, a policy analyst for the Center for Food Safety. 'The peanuts come from a variety of farms, then are processed at a central location into ingredients disbursed for use in many products,' he said."
Source: CNN

As a result of the investigation, the PCA plant shut down production on January 9, and this week laid off most all but three of its 46 workers.