Peanut Butter Recall Update

As the shock waves of the peanut butter recall reverberate throughout the nut and snack food industry, we are again reminded that there is no such thing as too much vigilance where food safety is concerned. As of January 27th, more than 500 people had been reported sickened, and the deaths of eight people in the United States and Canada have been linked to the outbreak, which has been traced to the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) plant in Blakely, Georgia. The plant is now closed down, and its future is uncertain.

Wide Range of Products Implicated, Lawsuits begin

The recall has spread to more than 390 products, including cakes, cookies, brownies, crackers, ice cream, energy bars, ready-to-eat meals, and even pet foods. An updated list can be found at the FDA website.

The lawsuits have begun, as well. Relatives of a 72 year old Minnesota woman whose death may be linked to the outbreak have filed suit against both Peanut Corporation of America and its distributor, Ohio based King Nut. More suits are sure to follow.

Many Problems at Blakely Plant Detected

Federal health officials have reported that PCA failed to take some standard "Good Manufacturing" steps to prevent contamination within the plant. This was corroborated by Michael Rogers, director of FDA's Division of Field Inspection, who announced that an investgation had revealed numerous problems. Four different strains of Salmonella were detected, although only one strain was involved in the outbreak. The most serious finding was that Peanut Corporation of America had engaged in "lab shopping" - when salmonella was detected in samples sent to a contract laboratory, the company got a second opinion from another lab. After the secondary tests came back negative, the product was sold. The complete transcript of the January 27th FDA briefing is available at the following LINK.

Legislators Reaction

"Inspections are worthless if companies can test and retest until they receive the results they want" said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Michigan, who was quoted in a recent Associated Press article. Congressman Stupak is heading a congressional panel that is conducting its own inquiry, and has introduced legislation to end such "lab shopping" and to require companies to submit all test results to the FDA.

Congressman John Dingell, D-Michigan issued a statement in which he affirmed that "People have reason to be angry about the quality of our nation's food supply" and vowed to introduce legislation to address these problems. "This legislation will grant FDA the proper authorities and resources it needs to ensure the safety of our food supply, as well as the safety of other products regulated by FDA, and restore American consumer confidence in the Agency. The American people deserve nothing less."
Food Safety Under the Obama Administration
If there was a chance that food safety and traceability would be ignored because of the overwhelming problems plaguing the economy, this high profile salmonella outbreak occurring in the first days of the Obama administration has put food safety and traceability back on the radar screen.

Now is the time to be sure we are implementing good manufacturing practices and sourcing our imported food responsibly. An ounce of prevention is surely better than a metric ton of cure