US investigation of 2007 peanut butter recall wraps up

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In this Feb 16, 2007, file photo, returned jars of Peter Pan Peanut Butter are shown at a super market in Atlanta. Photo: AP


PUBLISHED: 11:21 AM, MAY 20, 2015
OMAHA (Nebraska) — ConAgra Foods is likely to face a criminal charge now that the US government has completed its investigation of the company's 2007 peanut butter recall.

A spokeswoman for the US attorney's office in Georgia, Ms Pam Lightsey, said yesterday (May 19) that prosecutors plan to reveal details of the investigation today.


ConAgra spokeswoman Teresa Paulsen declined to comment on the investigation yesterday, but the company previously has said it was negotiating an end to the investigation that would likely include a misdemeanour charge of shipping tainted products.

If the Omaha, Nebraska, food-maker is charged criminally, the case would extend a recent string of high-profile food safety prosecutions. It wasn't clear yesterday whether any ConAgra executives would be charged.

Earlier this year, two former Iowa egg industry executives were sentenced to three months in jail. Last year, two Colorado cantaloupe farmers were convicted and received probation in a deadly 2011 listeria outbreak, and the former owner of Peanut Corporation of America was convicted in a 2008 salmonella outbreak. The peanut executive, Mr Stewart Parnell, could face jail time when sentenced.

ConAgra recalled all its peanut butter in 2007 after its Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter was linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened at least 625 people in 47 states. The peanut butter was produced at ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia, plant.

At the time of ConAgra's recall, it was unusual for peanut butter to be implicated in a disease outbreak. But the ConAgra case and the subsequent Peanut Corporation of America recall that was linked to nine deaths demonstrated that the pantry staple could harbour bacteria.

ConAgra's Paulsen said the company is committed to food safety and hasn't had any problems with its peanut butter since the recall.

"We took full responsibility in 2007, taking immediate steps to determine the potential causes of and solutions for the problem and acting quickly and definitively to inform and protect consumers," Ms Paulsen said.

ConAgra officials blamed moisture in the production plant for helping salmonella bacteria on the raw peanuts grow. The company said the roof leaked during a storm and the sprinkler system malfunctioned, which allowed the moisture in.

The production plant was upgraded and ConAgra adopted new testing procedures before reintroducing Peter Pan peanut butter a few months later.

ConAgra said in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had already recorded charges of US$31.7 million (S$42.3 million) related to the investigation over the past nearly four years. The maker of Healthy Choice, Orville Redenbacher, Chef Boyardee and dozens of other branded foods said it doesn't expect this investigation to have a material effect on its profits. AP

US investigation of 2007 peanut butter recall wraps up | TODAYonline

 

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Peanut butter....


Taste Test: Peanut Butter, Creamy | Serious Eats

 

[Dubious]

I highlighted this

Earlier this year, two former Iowa egg industry executives were sentenced to three months in jail. Last year, two Colorado cantaloupe farmers were convicted and received probation in a deadly 2011 listeria outbreak, and the former owner of Peanut Corporation of America was convicted in a 2008 salmonella outbreak. The peanut executive, Mr Stewart Parnell, could face jail time when sentenced.

because I appreciate them taking steps even against giants....either coz some judge needs a promotion in the D.A's office or whatever...at least they are doing what the courts were made for

 

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I highlighted this
because I appreciate them taking steps even against giants....either coz some judge needs a promotion in the D.A's office or whatever...at least they are doing what the courts were made for

Nah, they were small potatoes.
Peanut Corporation of America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
90 employees

 

[Dubious]

Nah, they were small potatoes.
Peanut Corporation of America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
90 employees

Soo the media is making a big fuss by comparing it to others?

string of high-profile food safety prosecutions.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Soo the media is making a big fuss by comparing it to others?

Any sizable recall is a big deal.
I'm just saying that Peanut Butter guy wasn't head of some giant corporation.

ConAgra is though.

 

[Dubious]

Any sizable recall is a big deal.
I'm just saying that Peanut Butter guy wasn't head of some giant corporation.

ConAgra is though.

And who is the peanut butter guy?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

And who is the peanut butter guy?

peanut executive, Mr Stewart Parnell, could face jail time when sentenced.

 

[Dubious]

peanut executive, Mr Stewart Parnell, could face jail time when sentenced.

And he works for?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

And he works for?

Peanut Corporation of America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Dubious]

Criminal cases roil US food industry

BY JESSE NEWMAN, MAY 21 2015, 14:15

A CONAGRA Foods unit agreed to pay a record fine and plead guilty to a federal misdemeanour charge stemming from a 2006-07 salmonella outbreak. The rare criminal case spotlights how stepped-up enforcement of food-safety laws is shaking up the industry.

ConAgra Grocery Products LLC will pay $11.2m to resolve allegations that the company shipped contaminated peanut butter under its Peter Pan brand and Wal-Mart Stores’ Great Value label. The salmonella contamination sickened more than 700 people.

The fine — the largest ever levied in a food-safety case — marks the latest in a string of successful efforts by the Justice Department to hold food companies or their executives accountable for outbreaks of food-borne illnesses that, added together, have sickened thousands.

Since 2013, the Justice Department has won convictions or guilty pleas in four criminal cases against food companies or the executives that ran them. All of the cases fell under the 1938 Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. By contrast, that is roughly the same number of convictions or guilty pleas as the agency landed under the same act in the 24-year-period from 1988 through 2012.

In most of the recent cases, the Justice Department has successfully prosecuted defendants for introducing contaminated food into the market even without proof that officials acted with criminal intent — a nuance that has jolted the food industry, given its broad implications.

The agency’s actions have sparked greater awareness in corporate boardrooms and many companies have stepped up efforts to bolster food safety, according to industry executives and lawyers. Some companies have invested in new technologies to prevent the build-up of bacteria in plants and to enhance and speed up data collection and analysis.

"It’s a sea change," said James Neale, a Virginia attorney who represents food manufacturers and retailers in foodborne-illness cases, but wasn’t directly involved in the recent federal criminal cases. "Everyone is paying closer attention to food safety."

It is widely agreed that tougher enforcement is one of several factors increasing food makers’ vigilance. New safety rules from the Food and Drug Administration are also contributing.

Among the Justice Department’s other recent prosecutorial successes in food safety: last year, a federal jury convicted the former owner of a Georgia peanut-processing company, Peanut Corp of America, and three former employees of felony conspiracy and other charges following a 2008-09 salmonella outbreak tied to nine deaths and more than 700 illnesses. Last month, two executives at a large egg producer were sentenced to prison for their roles in a 2010 salmonella outbreak. In 2014, two Colorado brothers were sentenced to five years’ probation after pleading guilty to misdemeanour charges following a 2011 listeria outbreak that resulted in 33 deaths linked to their farm’s cantaloupes.

Stuart Delery, acting associate US attorney-general, said the gravity of recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses focused his attention on addressing threats to food safety soon after his arrival at the Justice Department’s civil division in 2012.

American families "are relying on us and on food companies to make sure their products are safe to eat," he said in an interview.

"The (current) state of affairs is unacceptable."

The enforcement efforts come amid several recent voluntary recalls, including by Blue Bell Creameries LP, which last month pulled all its ice-cream products from grocery store shelves because of a listeria outbreak. And in April, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams recalled all of its products after listeria was discovered in one of its desserts — an action that some food-industry consultants point to as a sign food companies now are taking more precautions. The company has since resumed making ice cream.

ConAgra in 2007 pulled its peanut butter from store shelves after the salmonella outbreak — which sickened people in 47 states — was traced to the company’s Sylvester, Georgia, plant.

But ConAgra admitted as part of Wednesday’s plea agreement that it had been aware of some risk of contamination prior to the recall. The government alleged that ConAgra had earlier shipped from Georgia to Texas peanut butter produced under conditions in which it may have become contaminated with salmonella.

Routine product testing on two occasions in 2004 had revealed what later was confirmed to be salmonella in samples of finished peanut butter, according to the government. After the outbreak, the government said ConAgra made significant upgrades to its plant, and instituted enhanced safety protocols for manufacturing, testing and sanitation.

"We did not, and never will, knowingly ship a product that is not safe for consumers," said Dr Al Bolles, chief technical and operations officer for ConAgra Foods, in a news release on Wednesday.

Last year, an internal e-mail trail helped government attorneys convince a jury that Stewart Parnell, the former owner of Peanut Corp of America, had presided over a multiyear scheme to conceal that many of the firm’s products were contaminated with salmonella. The government said Peanut Corp for years failed to notify customers when laboratory tests revealed traces of salmonella in its products. In some cases, company officials fabricated lab results, stating peanut products were safe for consumption when tests showed otherwise, or when products had never been tested at all, according to court papers. One internal e-mail suggested Mr Parnell’s desperation after learning that shipment of an order would be delayed because test results weren’t yet available for a batch of peanut products.

"Just ship it", he wrote, according to court papers. "I cannot afford to loose (sic) another customer."

The verdict in the Peanut Corp case could result in a lengthy prison sentence and fines. Mr Parnell’s lawyer has filed a motion for a new trial. Tom Bondurant, Mr Parnell’s lead attorney, declined to comment on Wednesday.

Participants in the case are under a gag order imposed by a federal judge. Government attorneys levied felony charges — a rare move in food-safety cases — against Mr Parnell because they felt they could prove criminal intent, according to food-safety lawyers.

Other cases may represent a more significant development for food companies, the lawyers said, with two pairs of executives recently convicted of misdemeanour crimes even without proof of intent.

In April, a federal judge sentenced a former Iowa egg magnate and his son to three months in prison and payment of $100,000 in fines for misdemeanour violations linked to a 2010 salmonella outbreak that sickened thousands of people and prompted the recall of a half-billion shell eggs.

Austin "Jack" DeCoster and his son Peter DeCoster each pleaded guilty to one count of selling contaminated food across state lines. The DeCosters ran Quality Egg LLC.

Lawyers say the prison terms for the DeCosters reflect the resurrection by prosecutors of a little-used legal doctrine to impose "strict liability"— through which guilt can be ascribed regardless of whether there was intent to violate the law — against an individual rather than a corporate entity. Attorneys for the DeCosters have appealed the sentences.

"Where there was no criminal intent, does the penalty fit the crime?" said Stuart Dornan, the younger Decoster’s attorney.

"While Peter has great concern and sympathy for the victims, he didn’t know his eggs had any salmonella in them."


Criminal cases roil US food industry | Law & Constitution | BDlive

Peanut Corporation of America - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ok got it...Sorry got confused between the 2 cases...thought it was the same as both was peanut butter