Peanut boss refuses to testify at salmonella hearing

— -- The head of the company linked to a massive salmonella outbreak in peanut products refused to testify at a Congressional hearing Wednesday as lawmakers accused him of caring more about profits than food safety.

Peanut Corporation of America President Stewart Parnell invoked his fifth amendment right not to testify, as did the plant manager at the Blakely, Ga., plant implicated in the outbreak, during the hearing before a House subcommittee. Both men also refused to eat recalled products that one lawmaker offered to them from a jar.

The Food and Drug Administration has said that PCA distributed products in 2007 and 2008 that had tested positive for salmonella. The products should not have been shipped, the FDA says.The outbreak has sickened more than 600 people may have contributed to nine deaths. More than 1,900 products have been recalled. A criminal probe is underway.

"We are shocked at what's been going on in this company," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., at the hearing.

He displayed a document showing that Parnell on Jan. 12 — a day before PCA's first recall — wrote to employees "we have never found any salmonella" and blamed the news media for creating a stir.

The hearing revealed a few new details about PCA and company e-mails indicating internal frustration about repeated tests showing positive results for salmonella.

In a June 2008 email, obtained by the congressional committee, Parnell was told that a product was "put on hold" after a presumptive positive on salmonella and that it was being retested.

"I go thru this about once a week," Parnell responded. "I will hold my breath … again."

Two months later another e-mail exchange indicates that PCA had a product test positive for salmonella that was then retested by another lab and got a negative result.

In response, Parnell wrote: "Let's turn them loose then." The FDA says it's well known in the industry that such product should be destroyed as salmonella can be missed in tests.