Peanut Butter-maker Under Criminal Probe In Deaths, Sickness
The Justice Department and the Food and Drug Administration are together investigating closely held Peanut Corp. of America, said Stephen Sundloff, director of the agencys Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in a conference call with reporters today. The companys Blakely, Georgia, plant has been identified as the source of the bacteria.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs confirmed the investigation during a briefing with journalists, when asked about an Associated Press report that the FDA knew in April about a shipment of peanuts from the plant containing pieces of metal and never tested by inspectors. Agency records also found that an outside lab uncovered salmonella at the plant as recently as last year, AP reported. A second round of testing by a different company turned up negative for salmonella, the news agency said.
“I think the revelations have no doubt been alarming, that whether it was our own regulatory system or a company that repeatedly found salmonella in its own testing would continue to ship out that product is beyond disturbing for millions of parents,” Gibbs said.
More Recalls
The FDA expects more recalls beyond the 350 products with peanut butter or paste already flagged, Sundloff said. The list of sickened consumers has grown by 28 over the past five days, Robert Tauxe, a deputy director in FDAs foodborne diseases division, said on the call.
The outbreak doesnt affect supermarket peanut butter brands. Peanut Corp.s peanut butter and paste are used by food manufacturers in “hundreds of different products, such as cookies, crackers, cereal, candy and ice cream,” according to the FDA Web site, which lists recalled products.
“The outbreak appears to be ongoing,” Tauxe said.
A Justice Department spokesman, Charles Miller, said the agency wasnt commenting and referred calls to the FDA.
Peanut Corp. spokesman George Clarke said the company will make a statement soon. He wouldnt elaborate.
“We have been devastated by this and we have been working around the clock with the FDA,” said a recorded message on the companys news media phone line.
Consumers concerned about peanut-butter containing products should check the FDAs Web site at www.fda.gov or call a CDC information line at 800-232-4636 for updates on recalled products, Sundloff said. Those who handle potentially contaminated items should wash their hands afterward, he said.
The company, based in Lynchburg, Virginia, recalled all peanut products made since January 2007 at its Blakely plant, FDA officials said Jan. 28. The factory has been identified as the source of an outbreak of the bacteria salmonella typhimurium that began in September and has sickened people in 43 states and Canada, the agency has said.
Peanut Corp. shipped crackers and other foods from the plant after tests on a dozen occasions in 2007 and 2008 showed salmonella, the FDA and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.