Peanut Corporation of America: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Defunct Peanut Processing Company}}{{Multiple issues|

{{COI|date=June 2017}}

{{more citations needed|date=June 2017}}

{{Tone|date=June 2017}}

{{misleading|date=December 2015}}

{{Expert needed|Journalism|talk=Deep reservations about the quality of sourcing at this article|reason=a careful review of article content and sources needs be undertaken, as discrepancies between source and article have been found; moreover, the article ignores company history—ownership 1977-1995 by Hugh Parnell (subject's father), by Stewart Parnell after 2000, by others in the interim—and so convolutes events across these periods, resulting in a sometimes dubious, non-encyclopedic account of history and matters relevant to the controversy |date=December 2015}}}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}}

| name = Peanut Corporation of America

| logo = Peanut Corporation of America logo.png

| type = Private

| genre = [[Peanut]] processing

| fate = Bankruptcy

| predecessor =

| successor =

| foundation = 1977

| founder =

| defunct = {{End date|2009|02|13}}

| location_city = [[Lynchburg, Virginia]]

| location_country = United States

| location =

| locations = [[Blakely, Georgia]]; [[Suffolk, Virginia]]; [[Plainview, Texas]]

| area_served =

| key_people = Stewart Parnell, Pres. & CEO<br>David Royster, Vice-Pres.

| owner = Stewart Parnell

| industry =

| products = [[Peanut butter]], [[peanut paste]], [[peanut meal]], whole and chopped peanuts

| services =

| market cap =

| revenue = $25.0&nbsp;million (2007)<ref name="hoovers">{{cite web | title=Peanut Corporation of America Company Overview | url=http://www.hoovers.com/Peanut-Corporation-Of-America/--HD__rfxjcjyfx,src__dbi--/free-co-dnb_factsheet.xhtml | publisher=Hoover's, Inc| year=2009 | access-date=April 11, 2009}}</ref>

| operating_income =

| net_income =

| aum =

| assets =

| equity =

| num_employees = 90 (2007)<ref name="hoovers"/>

| divisions =

| subsid =

| homepage = [https://web.archive.org/web/20090126122237/http://peanutcorp.com/ www.peanutcorp.com]}}

'''Peanut Corporation of America (PCA)''' was a [[peanut]]-[[Industrial process|process]]ing business which is now defunct as a result of one of the most massive and lethal food-borne contamination events in U.S. history. PCA was founded in 1977 and initially run by Hugh Parnell, father of Stewart Parnell, with him and two other sons. The company was sold in 1994–1995 with the senior Parnell retiring, and with Stewart Parnell and others remaining with the new company as consultants. In 2000, controlofPCA returned to Stewart Parnell via a private sale. Over this history, PCA came to operate processing facilitiesin[[Blakely, Georgia]], [[Suffolk, Virginia]], and [[Plainview, Texas]], providing peanut and peanut butter products primarily to the "institutional food" market (schools, [[prisons]] and [[nursing home]]s), to food manufacturers for useincookies, snacks, ice cream, and dog treats, and to other markets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/peanut-salmonella-trial-shows-food-safety-relies-on-honor-system/article_67596124-2004-11e4-bef5-0017a43b2370.html|title=Peanut salmonella trial shows food safety relies on honor system|agency=Associated Press|website=newsadvance.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

PCA permanently halted its operations after it was found to be the source of a massive ''[[Salmonella]]'' outbreak in the U.S., during late 2008 and early 2009. By 2007, prior to closing its doors, PCA had grown to 90 employees and was doing $25&nbsp;million in annual sales. It has been estimated to have been manufacturing roughly 2.5% of processed peanuts in the U.S. at that time. The 2008 contamination followed a long history of food quality issues. There had been concerns about sanitation at the company since at least the mid-1980s, when the company was run by its founder, Stewart Parnell's father, Hugh Parnell. In addition, in the years just prior to its sale and Hugh Parnell's retirement, PCA was sued: by [[American Candy Company]] in 1990, and by Zachary Confections Inc. of [[Frankfort, Indiana]] in 1991, after discovery that PCA's peanut products exceeded the [[The Food Defect Action Levels|FDA tolerance level]] for [[aflatoxin]], a mold-derived toxin common to peanuts. Moreover, as a result of the coming contamination event, investigations would show that some PCA processing was being done without FDA knowledge and oversight, and other food handling and processing areas had gone long periods without federal inspection.

In late 2008 and early 2009, as a result of the ''Salmonella'' contamination event, 9 people died and at least 714 people fell ill, all from [[food poisoning]] after eating products containing contaminated peanuts. This contamination triggered the most extensive [[food recall]] in U.S. history up to that time, involving 46 states, more than 360 companies, and more than 3,900 different products manufactured using PCA ingredients. The contamination and recall had immediate major ramifications for the market of this set of farm products. On February 13, 2009, Peanut Corporation of America ceased all manufacturing and business operations, and filed for [[Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 7 bankruptcy]] liquidation. As of February 2009, a federal criminal investigation was continuing, and at least a dozen civil lawsuits had been filed. In September 2015, Stewart Parnell was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for his role in the nationwide outbreak. Stewart's brother, Michael Parnell, was sentenced 20 years in prison.

==Scope of business==

{{More citations needed section|date=December 2015}}

Hugh Parnell Sr.<ref name="wp0215"/> founded Parnell's Peanuts, in Gorman, Texas in 1977<ref name="foodqualityandsafety.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/article/blowing-the-whistle-on-wrongdoings/|title=Blowing the Whistle on Wrongdoings - Food Quality & Safety|website=foodqualityandsafety.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> selling to consumers, bakeries and manufacturers (candy, ice cream, and snacks). In 1990 the [[FDA]] found PCA distributing peanuts with high levels of aflatoxins, caused by mold that grows in nuts and seeds. In 1992 the American Candy Company sued PCA for lost inventory that had used PCA nuts contaminated with aflatoxins. The company was sold in 1994–1995, with the senior Parnell retiring, and with Stewart Parnell and others remaining with the new company as consultants.<ref name="wp0215"/><ref name="ap12"/> In 2000, control of PCA returned to Stewart Parnell via a private sale.<ref name="wp0215"/> Over its history, PCA came to operate processing facilities in [[Blakely, Georgia]], [[Suffolk, Virginia]], and [[Plainview, Texas]],<ref name="wp0215"/> providing peanuts, peanut butter, peanut meal, and peanut paste to an institutional food market{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}—to schools, [[prisons]], and [[nursing home]]s{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}—as well as to low-budget retail outlets such as [[dollar store]]s<ref name="retail">{{cite news | author=Craig Schneider | title=Peanut Corp. of America did sell to retailers | url=http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/stories/2009/02/09/georgia_peanut_retail.html | work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | date=February 9, 2009 | access-date=April 11, 2009}}</ref> and to food manufacturers for use in cookies, snacks, ice cream, and dog treats.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} It has been estimated to have been manufacturing roughly 2.5 percent of processed peanuts in the U.S. at its height,<ref name="pca">{{cite news |author1=Chapman, Dan |author2=Newkirk, Margaret |name-list-style=amp | title=Blakely Plant Part of Firm with Humble Start | url=http://www.ajc.com/services/content/news/stories/2009/02/08/peanutcorp0208.html | work=The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | date=February 8, 2009 | access-date=April 11, 2009}}</ref> with 90 employees and $25&nbsp;million in annual sales in 2007.<ref name="hoovers"/> The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and permanently halted its processing and sales operations, after being found to be the source of a massive ''Salmonella'' outbreak in the United States beginning in 2008.<ref name="liquidate">{{cite news |author1=Kate Brumback |author2=Greg Bluestein | title=Peanut Corp. Of America Files For Bankruptcy | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/13/peanut-corp-of-america-fi_n_166841.html | work=The Huffington Post | date=February 13, 2009 | access-date=April 11, 2009}}</ref>

==Aflatoxin suits==

{{expand section | a more full account and citations, regarding this major regulatory and legal issue, in the period of Hugh Parnell's leadership | small = no |date=December 2015}}

PCA was sued in 1990 by the [[American Candy Company]] after the FDA discovered that PCA's peanut butter exceeded the [[The Food Defect Action Levels|FDA tolerance level]] for [[aflatoxin]],<ref name="pca"/> a mold-derived toxin common to peanut production;{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} American Candy had turned the peanut butter into 8,000 unshipped cases of "kisses" for [[Wal-Mart]].<ref name="pca"/>{{verification needed|date=December 2015}} Another lawsuit was brought by Zachary Confections Inc. of [[Frankfort, Indiana]], in 1991, after a 40,020-pound shipment of nuts from PCA was also found to have an unacceptably high level of aflatoxin.<ref name="pca"/>

==Nestlé inspection==

In January 2006, [[Nestlé]] completed an onsite audit of PCA's Plainview plant, and gave it a "Does Not Meet Standards" score on nearly all 40 inspection areas.<ref name="foodqualityandsafety.com"/> Months after, PCA hired Kenneth Kendrick as assistant plant manager at the Plainview plant.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/article/blowing-the-whistle-on-wrongdoings/?singlepage=1|title=Blowing the Whistle on Wrongdoings - Food Quality & Safety|website=foodqualityandsafety.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopfoodborneillness.org/candc-jeff-almer/|title=I'm Very Happy They're Locked Up, But Nothing Can Bring My Amazing Mom Back|website=www.stopfoodborneillness.org|date=February 23, 2017 |access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

==FDA oversight before 2008==

{{expand section | thorough coverage of reporting on oversight prior top the Salmonella event | small = no |date=December 2015}}

In 2001, FDA inspectors also found that products from the Blakely plant were potentially exposed to insecticides, according to a report obtained by the Associated Press.<ref name="ap6">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeLgwCG-FEEYH8KZ7Tt45zOdSIKgD96690U81 Insecticide found in peanut plant during 2001 tour], [[Associated Press]], February 6, 2009</ref>

According to Virginia state inspection records, the PCA blanching operations in [[Suffolk, Virginia]], had some of the same food safety problems that would be found in the company's Georgia plant (see below). Inspection in 2008 found mold on "totes" holding peanuts, counted 43 mouse droppings on the floor, and saw a live bird walking and flying inside the warehouse.<ref name="godan">[http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/state_regional/article/reports_show_safety_problems_at_suffolk_peanut_processor/8992/ Reports show safety problems at Suffolk peanut processor]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[News & Advance]], February 11, 2009</ref><ref name="cnn0209">[https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2009-02-09-peanut-plant-risk_N.htm Peanut blanching plant in Virginia had Salmonella risks], CNN, February 9, 2009</ref>

== Salmonella contamination of products==

===Discovery and impact===

In late 2008 and early 2009, nine people died<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.marlerblog.com/legal-cases/yes-stewart-parnell-and-pca-you-killed-people-with-salmonella-peanut-butter/|title=Yes, Stewart Parnell and PCA, You Killed People with Salmonella Peanut Butter - Marler Blog|date=July 1, 2015|website=marlerblog.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> and at least 714 people in 46 states, half of them children, fell ill due to [[food poisoning]] from eating products containing contaminated peanuts, according to the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC). Among persons with available information, 23% reported being hospitalized.<ref name="cdcupdate">{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/typhimurium/update.html|title=Multistate Outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium Infections Linked to Peanut Butter, 2008-2009 (FINAL UPDATE)|website=www.cdc.gov|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> The real numbers were believed to be much higher, since for every reported case of salmonellosis, on average, another 38 or so cases go unreported, according to the CDC.<ref name="new1">[http://www.news-press.com/article/20090205/HEALTH/90205016/1013/RSS03 First Florida Salmonella poisoning linked to peanut plant reported]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[The News-Press]], February 5, 2009</ref> A combination of epidemiological analysis and laboratory testing by state officials in [[Minnesota]] and [[Connecticut]], the [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA), and the CDC enabled the FDA to confirm that the sources of the outbreak of illnesses caused by ''[[Salmonella typhimurium]]'' were peanut butter, peanut paste, and peanut meal produced by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) at its Blakely, Georgia, processing plant.<ref name="fdaupdate">

{{cite book | author = Solomon, Steven M. | date = March 11, 2009 | chapter = PCA Investigation | title = Recalling FDA-regulated Products, Statement of Steven M. Solomon, D.V.M., M.P.H., Assistant Commissioner for Compliance Policy, to the Subcommittee on Regulations and Healthcare, Committee on Small Business, U.S. House of Representatives | location = Washington, DC, USA | publisher =U.S. [[Food and Drug Administration]] | chapter-url = https://www.fda.gov/newsevents/testimony/ucm152511.htm | access-date = 11 December 2015 }}</ref>

On February 7, 2009, [[Oregon]] officials confirmed the first case of [[salmonellosis]] in a dog that had eaten biscuits contaminated with the PCA-produced peanut products.<ref name="dog">[https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-02-06-salmonella-animal_N.htm First animal injured in Salmonella outbreak], ''[[USA Today]]'', February 7, 2009</ref>

The company issued a statement categorically denying the allegations;{{when|date=December 2015}}<ref name="ms1"/><ref name="cnn28">[http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/01/28/salmonella.outbreak/ FDA: Peanut plant knew product was tainted with ''Salmonella''], CNN, January 28, 2009</ref><ref name="lat6">[http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-peanut-fda7-2009feb07,0,6413500.story Company lied to FDA about tainted peanut butter, agency says], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', February 6, 2009</ref> in January 2009, it shut down production and laid off 50 employees at the Blakely plant.<ref name="Zaremba2015">{{cite book|author=Alan Jay Zaremba|title=Crisis Communication|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iaVL4gSwT2kC&pg=PA18|date=18 May 2015|publisher=M.E. Sharpe|isbn=978-0-7656-2831-2|pages=18–}}</ref><ref name="local">[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-peanut-slumpfeb05,0,482156.story Georgia peanut region concerned about Salmonella outbreak's long-term impact], ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', February 5, 2009</ref><ref name="sd">[http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/02/01/peanut_0201.html Salmonella-tainted peanut products spark public fury], ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', February 1, 2009</ref>

===Recall===

This contamination event triggered the most extensive [[food recall]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fns.usda.gov/sites/default/files/Responding_Food_Recall_FNS_Final_May_30_2014.pdf |title=Food Recall |date=2014 |website=www.fns.usda.gov |access-date=2019-07-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nfsmi.org/|title=NFSMI.ORG|website=NFSMI.ORG}}</ref> ever in U.S. history. As of April 22, 2009, it involved at least 361 companies and 3,913 different products manufactured using PCA ingredients.<ref name="list">[http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/peanutbutterrecall/index.cfm Peanut Butter and other Peanut Containing Products Recall List (Current Update)], Food and Drug Administration</ref> The recall included everything produced at the Blakely plant since January 1, 2007,<ref name="ms1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090130114929/http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28899634/ Peanut Corp. recalls all products back to 2007], [[MSNBC]], January 28, 2009</ref><ref name="usa1">[https://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/food/2009-02-01-peanut-butter-recall-salmonella_N.htm Peanut product recalls spread fast], ''[[USA Today]]'', February 1, 2009</ref><ref name="mp">[http://www.medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/GeneralInfectiousDisease/12647 Peanut Product Recall Widened After Site Visit to Georgia Plant], [[MedPage Today]], January 28, 2009</ref><ref name="w29p">[https://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/01/29/mold-and-roaches-found-in-peanut-butter-plant-linked-to-salmonella/?mod=googlenews_wsj Mold and Roaches Found in Peanut Butter Plant Linked to Salmonella], ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', January 29, 2009</ref> as well as everything ever produced at the Plainview, Texas, plant.<ref name="txrecal"/><ref name="cnn0220">[http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/20/texas.peanut.recall/ Texas health department takes over peanut recall], [[CNN]], February 20, 2009</ref> Products supplied for some school lunches were pulled,<ref name="n6"/> and the [[Federal Emergency Management Agency]] (FEMA) even recalled emergency meals sent after a [[January 2009 Central Plains and Midwest ice storm|massive ice storm]].<ref name="fe">[http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-na-salmonella-fema6-2009feb06,0,1907573.story Schools, disaster victims may have gotten tainted peanut butter], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', February 5, 2009</ref><ref name="atl0206"/> (Since the storm left many without power, the [[United States Postal Service]] went door-to-door in [[Kentucky]] to warn residents and hand out 600,000 flyers from FEMA.<ref name="fema">[http://tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=54891 Postal Workers Warn Kentuckians Of Peanut Recall], [[WTVW]], IN, February 9, 2009</ref>) Food banks nationwide had to discard thousands of pounds of food in time of high demand from millions of U.S. families in need.<ref name="foodbanks">[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-il-peanutrecalls-foo,0,4184198.story Food banks toss out food linked to peanut recall], [[Associated Press]], February 15, 2009</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.faegrebd.com/sarah-brew|title=''Peanut Corporation of America: A Case Study'' Grocery Manufacturers Association, Food Claims and Litigation Conference|author=Sarah L. Brew|date=2011|website=www.faegrebd.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.schnader.com/files/Event/eee255b1-60df-4b25-b1ed-642d913f96e7/Presentation/EventAttachment/5b8fcadd-f514-4084-9472-6771c2a15ce7/DRI%20Product%20Liability%20Conference%20-%204-2011.pdf|title=''Peanut Corporation of America: A Case Study'' Cynthia P. Arends, Nilan Johnson Lewis, Minneapolis, Minnesota|website=schnader.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gmaonline.org/forms/meeting/Microsite/FoodClaimsLitigation2011,1|title=''Peanut Corporation of America: A Case Study'' Grocery Manufacturers Association, Food Claims and Litigation Conference|author=Sarah L. Brew|date=2011|website=www.gmaonline.org|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

The recall did not involve major-brand peanut butters, since PCA primarily served only low-budget and institutional providers, but many consumers reacted by avoiding peanut products altogether, driving down the sales of all brands of peanut butter by nearly 25%.<ref name="n6">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/07/business/07peanut.html?hp Sales Drop 25% as Parents Shun Peanut Butter], ''[[The New York Times]]'', February 6, 2009</ref><ref name="surv">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gnaLH7aEDUDxwiBn4VbAKBSh_mXQD96APGOO2 Survey: peanut recall known but misunderstood], [[Associated Press]], February 13, 2009</ref>

This caused great harm to the industry and farmers, already suffering from low prices due to the 2008 [[bumper crop]] and the [[Late-2000s recession|deepening economic crisis]].<ref name="local"/><ref name="a6">[http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2009/02/08/georgia_peanut_industry.html Georgia’s peanut farmers in their ‘darkest year’], ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', February 6, 2009</ref><ref name="localnew">[http://www.ajc.com/services/content/business/stories/2009/02/08/peanutbiz0208.html State’s farmers take early blow], ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', February 8, 2009</ref><ref name="farmers_hurting">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h7V0WaQ_baK-FGzF7wBWi3Mm2OrgD96C6L3G0 Nation's peanut growers reeling from outbreak], [[Associated Press]], February 16, 2009</ref> Early estimated losses to the U.S. peanut industry because of this outbreak would be on the order of $1&nbsp;billion.<ref name="dog"/><ref name="reuters0311">[https://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE52A4AT20090311 Reuters] Recall costs peanut industry $1&nbsp;billion, [[Reuters]], March 1outbreak strain of Salmonella.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2015/09/food-producer-prison-sentence/|title=You Can't Go to Prison for Destroying the Economy, But Bad Peanut Butter Is Another Story|website=motherjones.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/a-life-sentence-for-salmonella|title=A Life Sentence for Salmonella?|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/15/AR2009011501525.html|title=Kellogg Halts Sales of Peanut Butter Crackers|first=Steven|last=Reinberg|date=January 15, 2009|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/29/ST2009012902133.html|title=Every Peanut Product From Ga. Plant Recalled|first=Lyndsey|last=Layton|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/washingtonpostinvestigations/2009/01/reports_outline_dirty_plant_be.html|title=Unsanitary Conditions Found in Peanut Plant - Washington Post Investigations|website=voices.washingtonpost.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/13/AR2009021303420.html|title=Peanut Company at Center of Salmonella Scare Files for Bankruptcy Protection|first1=Nick|last1=Miroff|first2=Lyndsey|last2=Layton|date=February 14, 2009|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/10/AR2009021001933.html|title=Peanut Company at Center of Outbreak Shuts Its Texas Plant After Salmonella Is Found|first=Lyndsey|last=Layton|date=February 11, 2009|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/27/ST2009012703730.html|title=Peanut Processor Knowingly Sold Tainted Products|first=Lyndsey|last=Layton|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/former-owner-of-virginia-peanut-company-faces-charges-in-salmonella-case/2013/02/21/62be1de0-7c3f-11e2-82e8-61a46c2cde3d_story.html|title=Former owner of Virginia peanut company faces charges in salmonella case|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/11/AR2009021104174.html|title=Peanut Executive Takes the Fifth|first=Lyndsey|last=Layton|date=February 12, 2009|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/28/AR2009022801702.html|title=Ripples From Peanut Scandal Affect Companies Big and Small|first=Lyndsey|last=Layton|date=March 1, 2009|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/16/AR2009021601186.html|title=Food-Safety Bills in Congress? 'Turn Them Loose'|date=February 17, 2009|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=washingtonpost.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/trial-in-salmonella-outbreak-from-peanuts-to-begin/2014/07/27/817622f8-15ba-11e4-9e3b-7f2f110c6265_story.html|title=Trial to start for peanut salmonella outbreak that killed 9|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/a-life-sentence-for-shipping-tainted-peanuts-victims-families-say-yes/2015/09/19/e844a314-5bf1-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html|title=Executive who shipped tainted peanuts gets 28 years; 9 died of salmonella|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/24/former-peanut-plant-executive-faces-life-sentence-for-selling-salmonella-tainted-food/|title=Former peanut plant executive faces life sentence for lethal salmonella coverup|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/former-peanut-executive-sentenced-to-28-years-in-prison-for-outbreak-that-killed-nine-people-sickened-hundreds/2015/09/21/aba7500e-60a7-11e5-8e9e-dce8a2a2a679_story.html|title=Former peanut executive sentenced to 28 years in prison|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=August 2022}}

==2009 investigations==

=== Georgia ===

====Journalistic====

Following initial reporting of the contamination's source, reporters and investigators began taking a careful look at the sites run by PCA. ''[[The Washington Post]]'' reported on February 14, 2009, the view of David Brooks, a buyer for a snack company that had visited PCA facilities in the mid-1980s (when PCA was under Hugh Parnell's control), that "everybody in the peanut industry" in the states involved (Georgia, Virginia, and Texas) knew of the serious sanitation issues associated with PCA; Brooks went on to state that PCA was "a time bomb waiting to go off."<ref name="wp0215">{{cite news |author1=Lyndsey Layton |author2=Nick Miroff | title=The Rise And Fall of A Peanut Empire | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/14/AR2009021401758.html?hpid=topnews | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=February 15, 2009 | access-date=April 11, 2009}}</ref>

Former employees interviewed by the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' stated that conditions in the plant were "filthy and nasty", and that they would never eat the peanut butter or allow their children to eat it. One employee remembered seeing a family of baby mice in a tote of peanuts, and others recalled having to step over standing water inside the building after heavy rain.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}<ref name="ch3">[http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-peanut-newfeb04,0,1819241.story Inside 'nasty' nut processor - Ex-employees say rodents, roaches and mold commonplace], ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', February 3, 2009</ref> Another former employee told [[CBS News]] that he saw a rat dry-roasting in a peanut area.<ref name="cbs3">[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/03/earlyshow/health/main4771754.shtml Worker: I Saw Rat Roasting In Peanut Plant], CBS News, February 3, 2009</ref> Another told [[ABC News]] that workers had no idea the company had positive ''Salmonella'' tests because "that information is not for the average employee to see."<ref name="abc11">[https://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6848906&page=1 Lawmakers Examine Peanut Recall], [[ABC News]], February 11, 2009</ref>

====Food and Drug Administration====

[[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) inspectors reported, following a two-week inspection of the Blakely, Georgia, plant in January 2009, that the company had information that its peanut-butter products were tainted with ''Salmonella'', but shipped them anyway after "retesting" them. This occurred at least 12 times in 2007 and 2008.<ref name="rep">[https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/CentersOffices/ORA/ORAElectronicReadingRoom/ucm109818.htm Federal Inspectional Report], [[Form 483]] issued by Food and Drug Administration, January 28, 2009 and amendment</ref><ref name="ap40">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iH_omeaDBaB1UKxFZ4QGmvPKuuQQD961SUHG0 Gov't launches criminal probe in peanut recall], [[Associated Press]], January 30, 2009</ref><ref name="f">[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,484933,00.html FDA: Peanut Plant Knowingly Shipped Contaminated Products], [[Fox News]], January 29, 2009</ref><ref name="u">[https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-01-27-peanut-salmonella_N.htm FDA: Peanut processor found Salmonella, shipped anyway], ''[[USA Today]]'', January 27, 2009</ref><ref name="usn">[http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2009/01/28/peanut-company-knew-its-plant-was-contaminated-with-salmonella.html Peanut Company Knew Its Plant Was Contaminated With Salmonella], [[U.S. News & World Report]], January 28, 2009</ref> FDA inspectors also found mold growing on the plant's ceiling and walls, foot-long gaps in its roof, dead insects near peanuts, and holes in the plant big enough for rodents to enter. Inspectors found that the company also did not clean its equipment after finding contamination, and did not properly segregate raw and finished products.<ref name="w29p"/><ref name="rep"/><ref name="n28">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/us/29Peanut.html?ref=dining Salmonella Was Found at Peanut Plant Before], ''The New York Times'', January 28, 2009</ref><ref name="ap28">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iH_omeaDBaB1UKxFZ4QGmvPKuuQQD960BQE00 FDA report finds multiple problems at peanut plant], [[Associated Press]], January 28, 2009</ref><ref name="atlj"/> In 2007, the company shipped chopped peanuts on two occasions even after ''Salmonella'' was confirmed by private lab tests.<ref name="atlj">[http://www.ajc.com/services/content/printedition/2009/02/07/peanut0207.html Products shipped even when they failed], ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', February 7, 2009</ref> The company had previously refused to divulge production test records until federal officials invoked the food safety provisions of a federal antiterrorism law (the 2002 [[Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness Response Act]]).<ref name="new1"/><ref name="apt">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeLgwCG-FEEYH8KZ7Tt45zOdSIKgD965MN780 Lawmakers: Food safety fixes need push from Obama], [[Associated Press]], February 6, 2009</ref> As a result of this refusal and the incident in general, the [[Georgia State Senate]] passed a bill requiring peanut product manufacturers to report any contamination within 24 hours, failing which felony charges would result.<ref name="gasenate">[http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9870681 Georgia Lawmakers Take First Step in Toughening Law] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221081408/http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9870681 |date=February 21, 2009 }}, [[WRCB-TV]], February 19, 2009</ref>

On February 6, 2009, the FDA reported that the company shipped tainted products under three conditions: (1) without retesting, (2) before the retest results came back from an outside company, and (3) after a second test showed no bacterial contamination.<ref name="cnn6">[http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/06/peanut.butter/index.html FDA: Peanut plant knew product was tainted with Salmonella], CNN, February 6, 2009</ref> In all three cases, the initial positive result means that the product should have been destroyed. Food safety experts say ''Salmonella'' can live in pockets of peanut butter, so that one batch could test both negative and positive. In that case, it should have been destroyed, they said.<ref name="wp_1">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/02/AR2009020202967.html Obama Faults FDA on Food Safety], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', February 3, 2009</ref>

Documents released February 11 by the [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce|U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee]] showed that the company shipped products to customers even before receiving results of ''Salmonella ''tests, and the company stopped using a private laboratory because too many tests done there showed contamination.<ref name="nyt11"/><ref name="bb11">[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=anHgQNdceh8o&refer=us Peanut Corp. Ignored Salmonella Findings, Labs Say], [[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]], February 11, 2009</ref> A lab tester told the House panel that the company discovered ''Salmonella'' at its Blakely plant as far back as 2006.<ref name="emails"/>

===Texas===

The company had operated a plant in [[Gorman, Texas|Gorman]], where the company originally started in 1977.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} David Brooks, the snack food company buyer interviewed by ''The Washington Post'' after the ''Salmonella'' outbreak, said that he inspected this plant three times on behalf of his company in the mid-1980s to determine whether to buy peanuts from PCA. The plant failed his private inspection each time for what he called "just filthy" conditions, including dusty beams, leaky roofs, and birds flying through the building.<ref name="wp0215"/> The Gorman operations transferred to Plainview when [[Hale County, Texas|Hale County]] officials issued $2&nbsp;million in tax-free revenue bonds to help the company convert a long vacant [[Jimmy Dean (brand)|Jimmy Dean]] sausage factory into a peanut plant.<ref name="DMN0301">{{cite journal | author = Jacobson, Sherry | date = March 1, 2009 | title = Plant dodged scrutiny: All in Texas town knew of peanut processor, but state was in dark | url = http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_hidethis=no&p_field_label-0=Author&p_field_label-1=title&p_bool_label-1=AND&p_text_label-1=Plant%20dodged%20scrutiny&p_field_label-2=Section&p_bool_label-2=AND&s_dispstring=headline(Plant%20dodged%20scrutiny)%20AND%20date(all)&xcal_numdocs=40&p_perpage=20&p_sort=YMD_date:A&xcal_useweights=no | access-date = 11 December 2015 | ref = Document ID, 126AC150A5D26368 }}</ref> Local officials, including a county health inspector, toured the new plant and approved its opening, although the state said it never knew the plant existed. The plant was located along a major highway, across from a large Wal-Mart distribution center; it had four highly visible signs in the front and a billboard bearing a picture of a peanut. A state inspector who drove by the plant "a few times" on his way to other inspections never stopped because it was not on his list. State officials said the company was solely to blame for failing to obtain the food manufacturer's license when the Plainview plant opened.<ref name="DMN0301"/>

The company's plant in Plainview opened in March 2005 and employed 30 people, but was never licensed in that state as a food manufacturing facility; the state had not done any inspections until the problems with the Georgia plant became news.<ref name="amr"/> The Texas plant [[Blanching (cooking)|blanched]], dry- and oil-roasted, and chopped peanuts, then shipped them to food companies across the country.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} The plant had been certified for organic production in November 2005, based on what state officials later called incomplete information obtained by an inspector with the [[Texas Department of Agriculture]].<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/14/business/14peanut.html Peanut Corporation of America to Liquidate], ''The New York Times'', February 14, 2009</ref> However, the company failed to apply for a Texas health certificate, which would have triggered a visit by state inspectors.<ref name="hc0212">[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hotstories/6261463.html All peanuts from Texas plant are recalled], [[Houston Chronicle]], February 12, 2009</ref> State health officials were not aware the plant existed until the company released a list of its plants around the country.<ref>[http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/DN-peanuts__13nat.ART0.State.Edition1.4e39f45.html Texas issues emergency recall of Plainview peanut plant's products], ''[[The Dallas Morning News]]'', February 13, 2009</ref>

The Texas inspection in January 2009 found some unsanitary conditions, such as unclean sections of a peanut-roasting line. It also reported that several internal company laboratory tests dating back to November had found no ''Salmonella'' or other contaminants.<ref name="amr">[http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=254624 Plainview peanut plant raises questions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207084616/http://www.connectamarillo.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=254624 |date=February 7, 2009 }}, Connect [[Amarillo]], February 3, 2009</ref> However, on February 10, 2009, company officials announced that the Texas plant had been shut down, after samples taken on February 4 tested positive for ''Salmonella''.<ref name="txplant">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/10/AR2009021001933.html Salmonella Fears Shutter Second Peanut Processing Plant], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', February 10, 2009</ref><ref name="txshutdown">[http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/10/texas.peanut.butter.company/ Texas unit of Georgia peanut company halts operations], CNN, February 10, 2009</ref> Former workers at the Texas plant interviewed by ''The New York Times'' said that the facility was "disgusting". It said the plant shared many of the problems found in the plant in Georgia, including a badly leaking roof and rodent infestation.<ref name="txs">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/health/policy/11peanut.html?ref=health After Tests, Peanut Plant in Texas Is Closed], ''The New York Times'', February 11, 2009</ref> A former plant manager told ''[[Good Morning America]]'' that he had repeatedly complained to the company owner, Stewart Parnell, about unsanitary conditions, including "water leaking off a roof and bird feces washing in", but Parnell would not authorise money for necessary repairs.<ref name="formertxmgr">[http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=6888169&page=1 Former Manager Says Peanut Plant Complaints Ignored], [[ABC News]], February 16, 2009</ref>

On February 12, 2009, Texan health officials ordered an unprecedented recall of all products ever shipped from the Texas plant since it opened in 2005, after discovering that the plant's air-handling system was drawing in debris from a crawl space containing "dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers" into production areas.<ref name="txrecal">[https://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-02-12-salmonella-recall_N.htm Texas recalls all products from Salmonella-infected plant], ''[[USA Today]]'', February 12, 2009</ref><ref name="PlainView">[http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/12/peanut.butter.recall/ Dead rodents, excrement in peanut processor lead to recall], CNN, February 12, 2009</ref> State health officials said they issued the sweeping recall because they did not know how long the unsanitary conditions had existed at the plant.<ref name="WaPoBankrupt">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/13/AR2009021302053.html Peanut Corp. of America files for bankruptcy]{{dead link|date=June 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, [[Associated Press]] via ''[[The Washington Post]]'', February 13, 2009</ref>

===Virginia ===

The PCA's peanut blanching operation in Suffolk, Virginia, employed 13 workers and was shut down the day PCA filed for bankruptcy.<ref name="vaplant">[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123489441770101553?mod=googlenews_wsj Peanut Firm Linked to Salmonella Closes Virginia Plant] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120095835/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123489441770101553?mod=googlenews_wsj |date=November 20, 2018 }}, ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'', February 17, 2009</ref>

==Criminal proceedings==

===Georgia Investigation===

[[Tommy Irvin]], commissioner of the [[Georgia Department of Agriculture]] (GDA), requested [[criminal investigation]] of the [[Georgia Bureau of Investigation]] (GBI) as the organization responsible for inspections contracted by the FDA. GDA and GBI officials had said they would consider pursuing [[manslaughter]] charges if federal authorities did not take up the case.<ref name="fi31"/> On January 30, 2009, federal health officials announced that a criminal investigation had been launched by the [[U.S. Justice Department]] for possible prosecution under provisions of the 1938 [[Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act]].<ref name="ap40"/><ref name="fi31">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icC3O6F1Y1BEtxB5hZV3KXyib2jQD9628DJO0 Feds rarely file charges in tainted food cases], [[Associated Press]], January 31, 2009</ref><ref name="at31">[http://www.ajc.com/services/content/news/stories/2009/01/31/peanut0131.html Federal criminal probe targets peanut plant], ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', January 31, 2009</ref><ref name="wps31">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/30/AR2009013003422.html FDA Investigating Peanut Company Behind Recall], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', January 31, 2009</ref> On February 4, Georgia officials said they would not prosecute the company, because the two state laws under consideration (reckless conduct and adulteration of food) were only misdemeanors and would only allow for minor penalties. [[Vernon Keenan (law enforcement official)|Vernon Keenan]], director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, said: "Any potential prosecution is most appropriately handled at the federal level".<ref name="atl0206"/>

===Federal Prosecution===

On February 9, 2009, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI) announced that it had joined with the [[Office of Criminal Investigations|FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations]] (FDA-OCI) as part of a criminal investigation of the company.<ref name="fyi">[http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/02/09/peanut.salmonella.fbi/ FBI joins investigation of peanut-related illnesses], CNN, February 9, 2009</ref> Search warrants were executed on the Blakely plant, as well as PCA's corporate headquarters in Lynchburg.<ref name="warrants">[http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=126689&catid=3 FBI Issues Search Warrants In Peanut Case], [[WXIA-TV]], February 9, 2009</ref> Following a raid by its agents, the Federal Agents sealed off the Blakely plant.<ref name="txshutdown"/><ref name="raid">[http://www.wjbf.com/jbf/news/state_regional/georgia/article/fbi_seals_off_blakely_ga_peanut_plant/10832/ FBI Seals Off Blakely, GA Peanut Plant]{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, [[WJBF-TV]], February 10, 2009</ref> On February 21, 2013, four former officials of the company were named in a 75-count indictment<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/iso/opa/resources/61201322111426350488.pdf |title=Data |website=www.justice.gov |access-date=2019-07-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2013/02/prosecution-pca/|title="Sh\*t, Just Ship It": Felony Prosecution for Salmonella-Peanut Executives|magazine=Wired|access-date=July 8, 2017|last1=McKenna |first1=Maryn }}</ref> on charges related to ''Salmonella''-tainted peanuts and peanut products.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/21/peanut-corporation-salmonella-indictment/1935673/|title=Peanut execs indicted in salmonella outbreak|website=usatoday.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> The former processing plant manager for Peanut Corporation, Samuel Lightsey, reached a plea agreement on May 8, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.parkmanlawfirm.com/media-coverage/federal-indictments-in-peanut-butter-salmonella-outbreak|title=Federal Indictments in Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak|website=parkmanlawfirm.com|access-date=July 8, 2017|archive-date=October 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013090129/http://www.parkmanlawfirm.com/media-coverage/federal-indictments-in-peanut-butter-salmonella-outbreak/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Lightsey was then available to the government as a witness at the trial, scheduled to begin in July 2014.<ref name="plea">[http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/morning_call/2014/05/ga-peanut-plant-exec-pleads-guilty-in-deadly.html Former plant manager reaches plea agreement]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodpoisonjournal.com/foodborne-illness-outbreaks/american-greed-peanut-corporation-of-america-salmonella-outbreak/|title=Tonight on American Greed - Peanut Corporation of America Salmonella Outbreak - Food Poison Journal|date=July 3, 2017|website=foodpoisonjournal.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/39016909|title=PCA Peanut Butter Salmonella Outbreak Victim: Cliff Tousignant|website=Vimeo|date=March 22, 2012 |access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.walb.com/story/26162591/salmonella-outbreak-trial-coverage-from-albany-ga-week-1|title=Salmonella outbreak trial coverage from Albany, GA - Week 1|first=WALB News|last=Team|website=walb.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

===Convictions===

Parnell<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/in--week-peanut-salmonella-case-defense-takes-hour/article_8a8b3f04-390f-11e4-ae4d-001a4bcf6878.html|title=In 5-week peanut salmonella case, defense takes 1 hour|agency=Associated Press|website=newsadvance.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gentrylocke.com/article/my-journey-below-the-gnat-line-in-united-states-v-stewart-parnell-how-to-pass-the-long-trial-test/|title=My Journey Below the Gnat Line in United States v. Stewart Parnell: How to Pass the Long Trial Test - Gentry Locke Attorneys|first=Prototype|last=Advertising|website=gentrylocke.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> and his brother were convicted in September 2014 of 71 criminal counts,<ref name="WashingtonPost-2015-07-24"/> including conspiracy, fraud and other federal charges.<ref name="CNN_2014-09-19">{{cite web | title = Peanut exec found guilty in deadly salmonella outbreak | last = Basu | first = Moni | work = [[CNN]] | date = 19 September 2014 | access-date = 2015-07-29 | url = http://edition.cnn.com/2014/09/19/us/peanut-butter-salmonella-trial/index.html }}</ref> In July 2015, Federal authorities recommended a sentence of life imprisonment for Stewart Parnell.<ref name="WashingtonPost-2015-07-24"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://us.cnn.com/2015/09/20/us/peanut-butter-salmonella-trial/index.html | title=Peanut company owner faces life in jail for Salmonella | author=Moni Basu | date=September 20, 2015 | website=us.cnn.com | publisher=CNN | access-date=September 20, 2015 | quote=Parnell faces life in prison, according to court documents that detailed the sentencing guidelines. His brother and food broker, Michael Parnell, faces 17 years, and a QA manager, Mary Wilkerson, could be behind bars for five years.}}</ref> Both Daniel Kilgore and Samuel Lightsey (both former plant managers at PCA) pleaded guilty on their related charges and became government witnesses in the case, providing testimony during the 2014 trial, for consideration of limited sentencing.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

===Sentencing===

In July 2015, federal authorities recommended a sentence of life imprisonment for Parnell. He faced a statutory maximum of 804 years in prison.<ref name="WashingtonPost-2015-07-24">{{cite news | title = Former peanut plant executive faces life sentence for lethal Salmonella coverup | last = Bever | first = Lindsey | newspaper = [[The Washington Post]] | date = 24 July 2015 | access-date = 2015-07-29 | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/24/former-peanut-plant-executive-faces-life-sentence-for-selling-salmonella-tainted-food/ }}</ref> On September 21, 2015, Parnell was sentenced to 28 years in prison, the longest punishment ever handed out to a producer in a U.S. foodborne illness case.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-peanut-company-officials-sentenced-prison-their-roles-salmonella-tainted-peanut|title=Former Peanut Company Officials Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in Salmonella-Tainted Peanut Product Outbreak|website=www.justice.gov|date=October 2015 |access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/22/peanut-corp-owner-sorry-salmonella-outbreak|title=Peanut Corp owner says 'I'm truly sorry' for salmonella outbreak that killed nine|agency=Associated Press|date=September 22, 2015|access-date=July 8, 2017|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-peanut-company-president-receives-largest-criminal-sentence-food-safety-case-two|title=Former Peanut Company President Receives Largest Criminal Sentence in Food Safety Case; Two Others also Sentenced for Their Roles in Salmonella-Tainted Peanut Product Outbreak|website=www.justice.gov|date=September 21, 2015 |access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> His brother, Michael Parnell, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and the plant's former quality assurance manager Mary Wilkerson was sentenced to five years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/09/wilkerson-remains-in-search-of-pca-exculpatory-documents/|title=Wilkerson remains in search of PCA 'exculpatory documents' - Food Safety News|date=September 21, 2016|website=foodsafetynews.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref name="AssociatedPress-2015-09-21">{{cite news | title = Ex-peanut company exec gets 28 years in Salmonella outbreak that killed 9 | agency = Associated Press | date = 21 September 2015 | access-date = 2015-09-21 | url = http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-salmonella-sentence-20150921-story.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/21/us/salmonella-peanut-exec-sentenced/index.html| title=28 years for Salmonella: Peanut exec gets groundbreaking sentence | author=Moni Basu | date=September 21, 2015 | website = cnn.com | publisher=CNN | access-date=September 21, 2015 | quote=A federal judge sentenced Parnell, 61, to 28 years in prison in the toughest penalty ever for a corporate executive in a food poisoning outbreak. His brother and food broker Michael Parnell received a 20-year sentence, and the plant's quality assurance manager, Mary Wilkerson, was given 5 years.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Charles|first=Dan|date=21 September 2015|title=Peanut Exec Gets 28 Years In Prison For Deadly Salmonella Outbreak|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/21/442335132/peanut-exec-gets-28-years-in-prison-for-deadly-salmonella-outbreak

|newspaper=[[NPR]]|access-date=22 September 2015}}</ref> On October 1, 2015, Samuel Lightsey was sentenced to three years in prison and Daniel Kilgore was sentenced to six years in prison. Both men had agreed to cooperate with the government in exchange for leniency.<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=https://www.fda.gov/ICECI/CriminalInvestigations/ucm465896.htm|title=Criminal Investigations - October 1, 2015: Former Peanut Company Officials Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in Salmonella-Tainted Peanut Product Outbreak|first=Office of Regulatory|last=Affairs|website=www.fda.gov|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stopfoodborneillness.org/sofs-final-sentencing-for-pca-case/|title=Final Sentencing for PCA Case|website=www.stopfoodborneillness.org|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/10/last-two-pca-sentences-are-in-kilgore-gets-6-years-lightsey-gets-3/|title=Last Two PCA Sentences Are In: Kilgore Gets 6 Years; Lightsey, 3 - Food Safety News|date=October 1, 2015|website=foodsafetynews.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2017/05/wilkerson-seeks-release-on-bail-as-lightsey-gains-his-freedom/|title=Wilkerson seeks release on bail as Lightsey gains his freedom - Food Safety News|date=May 15, 2017|website=foodsafetynews.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands stated during sentencing, "We place faith that no one would intentionally ship products to market that are contaminated…. Consumers are at the mercy of food producers for the safety of the products. These acts [of the convicted PCA executives] were driven by profit and the protection of profit … thus greed."<ref name="auto2">{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/09/bearing-witness-to-justice-at-the-pca-sentencing/#.VgKDMN9Viko|title=Bearing Witness to Justice at the PCA Sentencing|first=Darin|last=Detwiler|date= September 23, 2015|website=Food Safety News|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><br>Sands told Stewart Parnell that he had "taken risks for years," that they were "eventually discovered and traced back" to his corporation, and that, unfortunately, "thousands of people suffered and nine died" from Parnell's knowing disregard for public health and safety.

Judge Sands addressed Mary Wilkerson, Quality Assurance Manager for PCA, "You were aware of what was going on and played a role in concealing the problem. That was not actually a minor role in this case".<ref name="auto1">{{cite news|last1=Detwiler|first1=Darin|title=Bearing Witness to Justice at the PCA Sentencing|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/09/bearing-witness-to-justice-at-the-pca-sentencing/#.VgKDMN9Viko|access-date=25 January 2017|publisher=Food Safety News|date=September 23, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fdalawblog.net/fda_law_blog_hyman_phelps/2015/08/the-government-seeks-an-unprecedented-life-sentence-for-former-peanut-corporation-of-america-executi.html|title=The Government Seeks an Unprecedented Life Sentence for Former Peanut Corporation of America Executive, Stewart Parnell|website=FDA Law Blog|date=August 11, 2015 |access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> The PCA case, according to Sands, was not about the "condemnation of peanuts or the peanut industry, but of a few individuals."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/09/praise-for-an-unlikely-whistleblower/|title=Praise for an Unlikely 'Whistleblower' - Food Safety News|date=September 25, 2015|website=foodsafetynews.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

The prosecution team asked the court to find that the Parnell brothers were flight risks and to deny them bail while they appeal their convictions. The prosecutors did not ask the same for Wilkerson. Judge Sands dismissed defense team allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and a "less-than-unbiased jury." He also addressed defense objections to the victims' testimony, citing their constitutional rights. The judge then announced that the character witnesses and families of the two Parnell brothers hurt their argument that the two men would not be a flight risk by talking about Stewart Parnell's hobby of being a licensed pilot and flying all over the country, their family resources, and their many connections around the world. Judge Sands ordered that the two Parnell brothers be taken into custody of the U.S. Marshals while allowing bail for Wilkerson (stating that she did not pose the same flight risk without the same access to resources) until the Bureau of Prisons directs her to appear at a specified time and place to begin her sentence.<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2016/11/briefs-filed-in-criminal-appeals-of-peanut-corporation-of-america-cases/|title=Appeal briefs filed for Peanut Corporation of America criminal cases - Food Safety News|date=November 28, 2016|website=foodsafetynews.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2017/mar/9/peanut-company-executives-appeal-prison-sentences-rare-corporate-prosecution/|title=Peanut Company Executives Appeal Prison Sentences in Rare Corporate Prosecution - Prison Legal News|website=www.prisonlegalnews.org|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.startribune.com/4-indicted-in-tainted-peanut-butter-outbreak-that-killed-3-minnesotans/192312011/|title=Peanut Corp. owner, 3 workers indicted in deadly salmonella outbreak|website=startribune.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

==Bankruptcy==

On February 13, 2009, less than 24 hours after the Texas recall, Peanut Corporation of America announced it was permanently halting operations and filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Bankruptcy lawyer Andrew Goldstein said that the company had considered filing for [[Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code|Chapter 11]], but decided to liquidate because all of its plants had been shut down and there was no way it could carry on business.<ref name="bb13">[https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=al9aOLMU4CQ8&refer=home Peanut Corp. to Liquidate Following Salmonella Deaths], [[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]], February 13, 2009</ref> [[Consumers Union]] criticised the move, saying that the bankruptcy filing would shield the company from liability suits,<ref name="cu-bankruptcy">[http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_food_safety/009425.html CU statement in response to PCA bankruptcy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218223557/http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_food_safety/009425.html |date=February 18, 2009 }}, [[Consumers Union]], February 13, 2009</ref> although in reality, the bankruptcy filing merely delays any claims against the company.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/13/AR2009021303420.html Peanut Company Files for Bankruptcy Protection], ''The Washington Post'', February 14, 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsadvance.com/work_it_lynchburg/news/imprisoned-peanut-exec-won-t-have-to-pay-salmonella-victims/article_70a1b9fa-fce1-11e5-8112-cfe6fda242c0.html|title=Imprisoned peanut exec won't have to pay salmonella victims|agency=Associated Press|website=newsadvance.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/article_0433af7a-0931-52e9-8ea7-bdeaba676d49.html|title=$12 million fund established for salmonella victims|first=Ray|last=Reed|website=newsadvance.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/judge-recommends-m-settlement-in-pca-case/article_f0857bfa-11db-5c15-b852-c59209466624.html|title=Judge recommends $12M settlement in PCA case|first=Chris|last=Dumond|website=newsadvance.com|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

== Other federal action ==

Parnell served on the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]]'s Peanut Standards Board, which sets quality and handling standards for peanuts.<ref name="atl31"/> He was first appointed by Agriculture Secretary [[Mike Johanns]] to the position in 2005,<ref>[http://southwestfarmpress.com/mag/farming_six_appointed_peanut/ Six appointed to Peanut Standards Board] Southwest Farm Press, September 1, 2005.</ref> and was reappointed for another term that would have expired in 2011,<ref name="atl31"/> but on February 5, 2009, the USDA announced that the new Agriculture Secretary [[Tom Vilsack]] had removed Parnell from the board.<ref name="n6"/><ref name="nyt5"/><ref name="vs1">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeLgwCG-FEEYH8KZ7Tt45zOdSIKgD966U5C00 Small company in Salmonella scandal had wide reach], [[Associated Press]], February 7, 2009.</ref>

On February 5, 2009, the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]] (USDA) announced that Peanut Corporation of America and a subsidiary, Tidewater Blanching LLC, were banned from all federal government contracts and subcontracts for one year, saying the company: "lacks business integrity and business honesty, which seriously and directly hinders its ability to do business with the federal government."<ref name="atl0206">[http://www.ajc.com/traffic/content/metro/stories/2009/02/06/peanut_roundup.html Salmonella outbreak’s pain spreads], ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', February 6, 2009</ref><ref name="nyt5">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/health/06peanut.html?ref=us Peanut Supplier Banned From Federal Business], ''The New York Times'', February 5, 2009</ref>

Peanut Corporation of America was founded and originally owned by Hugh Parnell, father of Stewart Parnell,<ref name="wp0215"/> but by the time of the contamination scandal had passed to Stewart as sole owner,<ref name="wp0215"/><ref name="uts">[https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/09/21/peanut-executive-salmonella-sentencing/72549166 Peanut executive sentenced to 28 years], ''[[USA Today]]'', September 21, 2015.</ref> and as president and CEO of the company.<ref name="lat6"/><ref name="atl31">[http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/stories/2009/01/31/parnell_0201.html Troubled peanut firm’s chief also an industry quality adviser], ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', January 31, 2009.</ref><ref name="vs1"/>

Hugh Parnell started in the peanut business with Stewart Parnell and his two younger brothers in 1977; they took a struggling, $50,000-a-year peanut roasting operation and turned it into a $30&nbsp;million business before selling the business in 1994–1995, after which Stewart Parnell continued on as a consultant until re-buying the Gorman, Texas, plant in 2000.<ref name="wp0215"/><ref name="ap12">{{cite journal | author = Blackledge, Brett J. & Lindsey, Sue ([[Associated Press|AP]]) | date = February 13, 2009 | title = Peanut plant owner becomes recluse after outbreak | url = http://www.trentonian.com/article/TT/20090213/FINANCE01/302139958 | access-date = 12 December 2015 }}</ref> In 2001, he bought the Blakely, Georgia, operation,<ref name="vs1"/> when its operations consisted only of roasting and blanching peanuts.<ref name="atl_f"/> Parnell tripled revenue at the Blakely plant by 2004, turning its first profit in 15 years,<ref name="pca"/> with production regularly surpassing 2.5&nbsp;million pounds of peanuts per month.<ref name="pcabl">[https://web.archive.org/web/20071210164202/http://www.peanutcorp.com/GAmain.htm Peanut Corporation of America's Blakely, Georgia Plant], Peanut Corporation of America website, retrieved February 8, 2009.</ref> However, the FDA did not know that the plant manufactured peanut butter until the 2008-2009 outbreak.<ref name="atl_f">[http://www.ajc.com/feeds/content/metro/stories/2009/02/08/peanut_0208.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=13 Food risks draw little urgency], ''[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution]]'', February 8, 2009.</ref>

Despite more than 12 tests between 2007 and 2008 that showed ''Salmonella'' contamination in his company's products, Parnell wrote an email to company employees on January 12, 2009, that stated, "We have never found any salmonella at all. No salmonella has been found anywhere in our products or in our plants."<ref name="nyt11">[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/health/policy/12peanut.html?hp Peanut Company Sent Products Before Test Results], ''The New York Times'', February 11, 2009.</ref><ref name="emails"/> Parnell ordered products identified with ''Salmonella'' to be shipped and complained that tests discovering the contaminated food were "costing us huge $$$$$." In a June 2008 email exchange, Parnell complained to a worker after being notified that ''Salmonella'' had been found in more products. "I go thru this about once a week," he wrote. "I will hold my breath ... again."<ref name="emails">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeLgwCG-FEEYH8KZ7Tt45zOdSIKgD969THS80 Peanut butter outbreak prompts tighter food safety], Associated Press, February 12, 2009.</ref> After the company was identified as the source of the outbreak, Parnell pressed federal regulators to allow him to continue using peanuts from the tainted plant. He wrote that company executives "desperately at least need to turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money."<ref name="nyt11"/>

Under Congressional [[subpoena]], Parnell on February 11 appeared with his plant manager before a [[United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce|House Energy and Commerce]] subcommittee, but repeatedly refused to testify, citing their [[Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fifth Amendment]] protection against self-incrimination.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_0bEA7OriU |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/J_0bEA7OriU |archive-date=2021-12-15 |url-status=live|title=C-SPAN: Peanut Corp. of America Owner Pleads the 5th|last=C-SPAN|date=February 11, 2009|access-date=July 8, 2017|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="5th">[https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jeLgwCG-FEEYH8KZ7Tt45zOdSIKgD969HAB00 Peanut company owner refuses to testify], [[Associated Press]], February 11, 2009.</ref><ref name="5thCNN">[http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/11/congress.peanut.butter/ Peanut company officials spurn Congress' questions], CNN, February 11, 2009.</ref> Among the questions they refused to answer was one from Rep. [[Greg Walden]] (R-Ore.): "In this container, are products that have your ingredients in them, some of which are on the recall list, some of which are probably contaminated. It seems like from what we've read you were willing to send out that peanut base that went into these ingredients. I just wonder, would either of you be willing to take the lid off and eat any of these products now like the people on the panel ahead of you, their relatives, their loved ones did?"<ref>{{cite news

|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/story?id=6848906&page=1

|title=Lawmakers Examine Peanut Recall

|publisher=[[ABC News]]

|date=February 11, 2009

|access-date=February 11, 2009

}}</ref> Walden revealed an e-mail from Parnell, who, referring to products that had tested positive for Salmonella, wrote: "Let's turn them loose."<ref name="wp11">[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/11/AR2009021104224.html?hpid=topnews Mr. (Tainted) Peanut Pleads the Fifth], ''The Washington Post'', February 11, 2009.</ref>

In 2015, Food Republic produced and aired ''Food Crimes'': "P.B. & Jail."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzYtI9xEmyg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160320174509/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzYtI9xEmyg |archive-date=2016-03-20 |url-status=dead|title=''Food Crimes'': "P.B. & Jail."|publisher=Food Republic|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref>

A Food Safety Expert / Professor of food policy & regulatory compliance wrote a series of articles based on interviewing participants and being in the courtroom during the sentencing.<ref name="auto2"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/09/praise-for-an-unlikely-whistleblower/#.VgU56MtViko|title=Praise for an Unlikely 'Whistleblower'|first=Darin|last=Detwiler|date= September 25, 2015|website=Food Safety News|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/09/pca-does-not-reflect-all-in-the-food-industry-2/#.VfwHfhHBzGc|title=PCA Does Not Reflect All in the Food Industry|first=Darin|last=Detwiler|date= September 18, 2015|website=Food Safety News|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/article/holding-food-companies-accountable/|title=Holding Food Companies Accountable|first=Darin|last=Detwiler|date= June 14, 2015|website=Food Quality and Safety Magazine|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2015/05/building-an-integrated-food-safety-system-will-take-all-of-us/#.VWhBMPlViko|title=Building an 'Integrated Food Safety System' Will Take All of Us|first=Darin|last=Detwiler|date= May 29, 2015|website=Food Safety News|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/article/blowing-the-whistle-on-wrongdoings/ |title=Blowing the Whistle on Wrongdoings: PCA Salmonella Outbreak|first=Darin|last=Detwiler|date= April 13, 2015|website=Food Quality and Safety Magazine|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodqualityandsafety.com/article/cracking-the-case-of-a-multi-state-salmonella-outbreak/ |title=Cracking the Case of a Multi-State Salmonella Outbreak: The Victims' Stories|first=Darin|last=Detwiler|date= February 20, 2015|website=Food Quality and Safety Magazine|access-date=July 8, 2017}}</ref> He also focused on this event in his book on food safety<ref>*{{cite book |last1=Detwiler |first1=Darin |title=Food Safety: Past, Present, and Predictions |date=2020 |publisher=Elsevier Academic Press |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=9780128182192 |edition=1st |url=https://www.elsevier.com/books/food-safety/detwiler/978-0-12-818219-2}}</ref>