Peanut Processor Knowingly Sold Tainted Products

[Crabtownboy]

The Georgia peanut plant linked to a salmonella outbreak that has killed eight people and sickened 500 more across the country knowingly shipped out contaminated peanut butter 12 times in the past two years, federal officials said yesterday.

Officials at the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which have been investigating the outbreak of salmonella illness, said yesterday that Peanut Corporation of America found salmonella in internal tests a dozen times in 2007 and 2008 but sold the products anyway, sometimes after getting a negative finding from a different laboratory.

Companies are not required to disclose their internal tests to either the FDA or state regulators, so health officials did not know of the problem

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/27/AR2009012702992.html?hpid=topnews

 

[donnA]

That is horrorable, bet they get sued, or something.

 

[carpro]

It's murder.

 

[sag38]

How long before someone blames the Bush Administration? But, no matter the blame I hope the FDA is able to provide better oversight of this and other industries.

 

[billwald]

The top management should be charged with manslaughter (murder 3 in some jurisdictions).

 

[Crabtownboy]

The top management should be charged with manslaughter (murder 3 in some jurisdictions).

I agree with you on that one. Of course there are people who say the government has not right overseeing industry. Go figure that one as it applies in this case.

 

[carpro]

I have seen no one at all that has opposed the usefulness of the FDA in regulating the food supply.

 

[Crabtownboy]

QUOTE=carpro]I have seen no one at all that has opposed the usefulness of the FDA in regulating the food supply.[/QUOTE]

I agree. But there have been some pretty strong statements as to how the government should not have regulatory control over companies. As we can see from the peanut butter problem ... and the melamine problem in China, this idea of no regulation can be taken too far.

 

[mcdirector]

The top management should be charged with manslaughter (murder 3 in some jurisdictions).

I like this plan . . .

 

[Bro. Curtis]

Murder, or manslaughter, is a state charge. The same with criminal negligence. The only fed responsibility in these would be extradition.

If you want to charge with conspiracy to commit fraud, resulting in death, you would have a federal case.

And I don't know a single conservative that wants to get rid of the FDA.

 

[billwald]

People died in States. In some city or county in some state. The county prosecuter could file charges.