Officials call for criminal probe into salmonella recall
— -- Senior congressional and state officials called Wednesday for a federal probe of possible criminal violations at a Georgia peanut processing plant linked to the nationwide salmonella outbreak.
The government Tuesday accused the peanut butter manufacturer Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) of shipping products in 2007 and 2008 after internal tests found bacterial contamination, violating food safety regulations.
The company's actions "can only be described as reprehensible and criminal," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who oversees Food and Drug Administration funding. "Not only did this company knowingly sell tainted products, it shopped for a laboratory that would provide the acceptable results they were seeking. This behavior represents the worst of our current food safety regulatory system."
In Georgia, the state's top agriculture official joined DeLauro in asking the Justice Department to determine if the case warrants criminal prosecution.
"They tried to hide it so they could sell it," said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin. "Now they've caused a mammoth problem that could destroy their company — and it could destroy the peanut industry."
There was no immediate response from Peanut Corp., which owns the Blakely, Ga., processing plant at the center of the investigation. The company has previously said it fully cooperated with the salmonella investigation.
Irvin, the Georgia agriculture official, said he was outraged by the company's actions and said a state criminal probe was possible. He would not, however, specify which Georgia laws the company may have violated for fear it would help the company start planning its defense.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers were drafting a plan to require food makers to report the results of internal inspections to state officials, something the peanut plant in Blakely wasn't required to do.
Peanut butter and peanut paste manufactured by Peanut Corp. has been tied to the salmonella outbreak that has sickened 501 people in 43 states and is believed to have contributed to eight deaths.
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