Peanut Corp Lied, Sold to Retailers

Preplanned inspections, loose oversight kept company in business

(NEWSER) - Angry salmonella victims and their families are asking how the government missed the Peanut Corporation of America's flagrant health violations that killed eight people, reports the New York Times. The company and government inspectors overlooked rodents, leaky roofs and lukewarm roasters, while minimum-wage temporary workers paid little attention to health code procedures, according to reports. More»

FDA, Justice Dept. team up for investigation of Georgia peanut plant

(NEWSER) - The federal government has begun a criminal investigation into the peanut-driven salmonella outbreak, after it was revealed that a supplier shipped product that initially tested positive for the bacteria, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. The House has called representatives from two testing labs, which certified negative results, to testify. Peanut Corp. of America denies it “sought favorable results from any lab.” More»

(NEWSER) - A third of US states do not require testing of the salmonella bacteria involved in reported illnesses, possibly hampering national efforts to identify outbreaks, MSNBC reports. If testing were mandatory, proponents say, a strain’s widespread dissemination could be more quickly identified and the source more easily pinpointed. But states without mandatory testing say their methods are just as effective and more economical. More»

(NEWSER) - The latest victim of the nationwide salmonella outbreak is the Peanut Corporation of America, which filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy today, the Lynchburg News & Advance reports. “Given the events of the past month, including the broad-based recalls, the company has no alternative but to cease operations,” a lawyer for the scandal-plagued firm said. More»

Salmonella hearing makes an example of Fifth-taking exec

(NEWSER) - Congress knew it wasn’t going to get any answers out of Stew Parnell, the man whose company's peanut butter is suspected of killing eight people. Parnell doggedly took the Fifth on even the simplest questions, but it didn’t matter. Parnell was summoned only so he could be chastised, “put through the walk of shame,” writes Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. Think of it as the modern equivalent of putting him in the stocks. More»