Peanut Company Behind Salmonella Outbreak Closes Another Plant

Peanut Corp. of America, the Virginia-based food processor blamed for shipping salmonella-tainted peanut butter and peanut paste to consumers, has closed another facility which had not been smeared with allegations of food contamination.

The plant, called Tidewater Blanching and located in Suffolk County in southeastern Virginia, was shut down on February 13, 2009, the same day the Peanut Corp. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. The plant had about 13 employees, officials said.

State officials said inspectors had found chipped paint, rodents, and other “minor problems” at the plant in 2007 and 2008, but nothing that would have prompted its closure.

Two other Peanut Corp. facilities are at the center of an ongoing storm of controversy over the deadly outbreak of contaminated food. The company’s plant in Blakely, Georgia is blamed for shipping peanut products tainted with salmonella which has been linked to at least nine deaths, 600 illnesses, and one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history.

Another Peanut Corp. facility in Plainview, Texas was recently shut down after an inspection there turned up evidence of rodent and bird infestation and other sanitary problems. At least six cases of salmonella sickening in Colorado have been traced back to food made at the Texas facility, officials said. The Texas plant operated for about four years without ever being inspected by state health officials or the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, officials have said.

Peanut Corp. and its owner, Stuart Parnell, are facing possible federal criminal charges for knowingly shipping contaminated peanut butter, peanut paste, and other products to food makers, who used the raw materials to make ice cream, cookies, nutritional bars, and other products. In all, nearly 2,000 food items have been recalled due to concerns about salmonella contamination.

Parnell refused to testify before a Congressional committee investigating the outbreak but in internal company emails released to the media, Parnell urged his employees to “turn loose” and ship out peanut products which had tested positive for salmonella.

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