Peanut Processor KNOWINGLY Sold Tainted Products

[MountainLaurel]

So what is the penalty for deliberately selling a product you know will make people sick?

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.

The peanut butter and paste made at the company's Blakely, Ga., plant are not sold directly to stores but are used by manufacturers to make crackers, cookies, energy bars, cereal, ice cream, candies and even dog biscuits. Some of the country's biggest foodmakers, including Kellogg and McKee Foods, which produces Little Debbie brand snacks, have recalled more than 100 products made with the tainted ingredients, and the listkeeps growing.

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

[anonymous171]

1. Gotta love that free market. nt

[originalpckelly]

7. There is no corresponding market force to keep them from doing it.

Obviously they thought they could get away with it, without losing money. Somehow these companies must be regulated by the market to produce high quality goods. Reputation here seems important. Perhaps the complex relationships between distributors and actual manufacturers is too complex for the idea of corporate reputation to self-regulate their quality.

In other words, people stop buying crap they have heard kills other people, it's a matter of reputation. But when there is another company supplying ingredients, in a large and complex supply chain, the same regulation that comes from harm to one's reputation is non-existent for large businesses.

It's also obvious that government regulation is flawed in that it requires regulators not to be bought off by the companies they regulate, which is what's been going on here. It's called regulatory capture:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

[anonymous171]

9. Yep. Regulators need to actually do their jobs. nt

[xchrom]

2. china ----- peanut butter and china. nt

[Burma Jones]

3. This calls for Chinese Justice........

You know what THEY do to people that pull this shit.......

[MountainLaurel]

5. Sounds like an idea to me

After all, if corporations are going to have all the benefits of personhood, shouldn't they also have the same responsibilities. And if you deliberately gave your kid food laced with salmonella, wouldn't that be a crime?

[anonymous171]

31. I'm now 100% behind expanding Corporate Personhood. nt

[JVS]

12. The People's Republic could make a fortune and win PR victories by producing a show called...

Chinese Justice in which they deal with corrupt people. Think of it as a crassly commercialized reality TV version of the Cultural Revolution, people will eat it up.

[cabluedem]

18. I'll bring a hammer and nails if someone supplies the lumber, saws & rope. nt

[MountainLaurel]

25. Sounds like a plan n/t

[NashVegas]

4. Arrest Them

Fines aren't quite cutting it.

[depakid]

6. Uh oh - I bet I can find a federal crime or two here if I look (and not too hard)

I hope the Obama Justice Department realizes that better regulation is not enough- accountability requires prosecution and sentencing.

[Romulox]

8. This is involuntary manslaughter. Criminal charges are required. nt

[Harry Monroe]

10. We have a winner!!

[walldude]

27. Actually, since they knew about it, it's Depraved Indifference Homicide

Murder 2. Sending out a product you know is tainted with a disease that can kill people is akin to shooting someone and hoping they don't get hurt.

[Romulox]

29. You are referring to "abandoned and malignant heart"?

I personally wouldn't think that this situation would meet those criteria, but I'd have to see a list of the elements. (I hate crim. law.)

[Junkdrawer]

11. There's a business for ya: Second Opinion Labs, Inc. ...

"We see nothing, Nothing."

[cabluedem]

13. Question: Will anyone _EVER_ go to prison for this abomination? nt

[gratuitous]

14. The penalty? More subsidies and tax breaks is my guess

At least processed peanut butter and peanut paste isn't addictive (so far as we know). If the record of the tobacco companies is any indicator, though, the Peanut Corporation of America can look forward to a never-ending stream of federal treasury dollars in the form of subsidies, tax breaks and other little goodies tucked away inside of congressional bills.

What were you expecting?

[cabluedem]

17. Glad I don't use peanut products. And since some people are allergic to it they cant sneak it in. nt

[MountainLaurel]

20. A girl can dream, can't she?

:shrug:

[gratuitous]

23. I'm willing to share that dream

I would really like to see corporate criminality punished in a meaningful way that isn't just incorporated into "the cost of doing business." If the company is large enough, fines and penalties don't faze it. Exxon has still not paid a dime of the damages assessed against them for the Valdez running aground, and that's been more than 20 years ago. Philip Morris has never paid a dime for the damages assessed against them for the Jesse Williams verdict in Oregon.

Note that I'm talking about outright criminality, not just garden variety negligence. Fouling the high seas was a foreseeable outcome for Exxon of allowing an erratic and impaired captain to remain in his position skippering their tankers. The death of smokers was a foreseeable outcome of Philip Morris and other tobacco companies peddling their deadly product. People dying from salmonella poisoning was a foreseeable outcome of Peanut Corporation's selling tainted product. That's not just negligent; that rises to the level of criminal. Companies ought to be subject to a similar penalty that individuals who kill are subject to. Increased tax surcharges seem reasonable. Suspension of operations for a term of years does, too. And for particularly egregious crimes with aggravating factors, a corporate death penalty.

[ejpoeta]

15. with the number of safety issues with food in the past several years....

I have to wonder..... do we still like LESS regulation!!! and did we have this many problems with food before the deregulation party?

[guitar man]

16. there should be some manslaughter charges

But they'll probably get a nifty new corporate jet before it's over. :(

[MountainLaurel]

19. Unfortunately, that's probably more the case

Hell, they'll probably get a commendation for stimulating the economy: Think of all the extra health care and funeral dollars being spent.

[burythehatchet]

21. Saxby Chambliss

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

22. I'm waiting for all the posts...

complaining about how shitty American products are and about how Americans don't love their children very much.

[Gold Metal Flake]

24. Good for you!

Glad you are keeping busy.

[MountainLaurel]

26. Interesting news: Officials Used Terror Act to Get Plant Inspection

CBS Atlanta News learned Wednesday that health officials were forced to use a federal anti-terrorism act to get a south Georgia plant to reveal the results of internal food safety inspections.

Those inspections found salmonella bacteria at the Peanut Corporation of America plant in Blakely, Ga. The bacteria has sicked hundreds of people across the country.

The records weren't shared with inspectors. The plant was directly linked to the outbreak. Meanwhile, a Connecticut lawmaker is calling for a federal probe of possible criminal violations at the plant.

“The company's actions can only be described as reprehensible and criminal," Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., who oversees FDA funding, said Wednesday. DeLauro said she is asking the Justice Department to determine if the case warrants prosecution.

http://www.cbsatlanta.com/news/18584090/detail.html#-

Good to hear that someone is looking into criminal charges!

[Gold Metal Flake]

28. That is interesting.

I wonder what else could be done with the terra mojo. Could the plant owners or operators be prosecuted under anti-terror legislation? Would that lead to larger fines/more jail time? Could a energetic and resourceful prosecutor use the new anti-terror laws to jam these fuckers into Federal PMUTA prison for a long time?

One could use this case to set an example, if one wanted to, I guess.

[rucky]

30. Those darn Chinese people are at it again!

Wha?

[onethatcares]

32. how does an inspector miss, "MOLD< MILDEW& RATS?

It's one of the stories on MSN news homepage.

What happens to those people in China?

[Blue Dog Dominion]

33. Permanmently Punish Poisoned Peanut Peddler

Just saw Hairspray, sorry.