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Thursday, February 12, 2009

Owner of Peanut Plant Tied to Salmonella Outbreak Refuses to Testify

Even though the families of victims who died as a result of eating peanut butter contaminated with salmonella came before Congress detailing their stories, the head of the peanut company who supplied the tainted product refused to cooperate. Stewart Parnell, the president and owner of Peanut Corporation of America, invoked his right to not incriminate himself repeatedly when asked about the salmonella outbreak.

Parnell’s Georgia plant is under federal investigation, and emails he sent were seized which point to Parnell’s prior knowledge of contaminated peanuts that have sickened hundreds and killed nine across the country. The most recent death linked to the salmonella outbreak was reported this Wednesday in Ohio.

Emails Parnell sent describe his concern over lost revenue, even though he was being investigated. In August, after a test that came up negative for salmonella after retests, Parnell sent an email saying, “okay, let’s turn them loose then.” In October, Parnell complained the positive tests were “costing us huge $$$$$$.” And even after the outbreak was tied to problems at the Georgia plant in January, Parnell told the FDA that the employees “desperately at least need to turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money.”

Though Parnell refused to explain to furious legislators and bereaved family members why he sent out salmonella contaminated peanut butter to an unwitting public, the emails seem to point to a business owner far more concerned with the bottom line than the potential harm he was inflicting. As a result of his actions, nine people are dead and nearly 2000 products have been recalled from dozens of stores, making this one of the largest recalls in U.S. history. In addition, all employees who worked at the Georgia plant have been let go and must now find employment elsewhere in an economy that’s already battered.

If you or a loved one has been made ill by eating something you suspect someone knew about in advance, please contact the experienced defective product attorneys at the Cochran Firm.

posted by Benjamin A. Irwin at 3:18 PM

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