Salmonella Death Toll Rises to Nine; Company President Refuses to Testify Before Congress

As Ohio health officials confirmed another death linked to the outbreak of salmonella in peanuts, bringing the nationwide death total to nine, the owner of the peanut company blamed for the health crisis defiantly folded his arms across his chest and refused to answer Congressional leaders’ questions.

The refusal by Stewart Parnell, owner of Peanut Corp. of America, to discuss his company’s handling of peanut products now blamed for sickening more than 500 people and causing one of the largest food recall in U.S. history means we may never get answers to important questions that could help avert such deadly disasters in the future.

Parnell refused to discuss his company’s part in the outbreak while appearing before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, which is investigating how contaminated peanuts, peanut butter, and other peanut products found their way into the nation’s food supply. He had been subpoenaed to appear at the hearing after refusing to show up on his own.

After being asked by one committee member whether his company ever knowingly shipped food contaminated with salmonella, the owner of the Lynchburg, Va. food processor said, on the advice of his attorney, he was invoking his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination and refused to answer any questions.

Federal prosecutors reportedly are now pursuing criminal charges against Parnell and other company officials for alleged criminal acts in allowing food contaminated with deadly salmonella bacteria to be shipped out to free school lunch programs, emergency kits for disaster victims, and thousands of other food products. The FBI recently raided Parnell’s offices and other locations as part of the ongoing investigation.

Incriminating Emails Released

While Parnell refused to answer Congressional questions about his role in the outbreak, emails released to the public by the committee did plenty of damage to his case.

In the emails, Parnell urged his workers to distribute products which had tested positive for salmonella because he was worried about lost sales. The company president told workers that they needed to “desperately at least need to turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money.”

Health safety officials have said unsanitary conditions at a Blakely, Ga. peanut-processing plant operated by Parnell’s firm led to the deadly salmonella contamination. However, lax inspections by state officials and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are also being blamed for failing to detect the contamination in time.

In a June 6, 2008 e-mail, Parnell acknowledged that products which had tested positive for salmonella had been shipped out to consumers many times before, writing “I go thru this about once a week. I will hold my breath ………. again,” according to documents released by the Congressional committee.

‘A Total Systemic Breakdown’

Congressional leaders who heard from relatives of people killed by contaminated peanut products and officials from companies responsible for testing food-processing facilities for contamination said the FDA suffered “a total systemic breakdown.” Dirty tests conducted by private inspection firms were not reported to the FDA, so the agency had no clue that Parnell’s facility was producing contaminated food until after the outbreak had begun. FDA and state health inspectors were totally unaware that a Texas facility operated by Peanut Corp. and producing peanut products even existed.

While officials said Peanut Corp.’s total disregard for tests indicating salmonella contamination was “virtually unheard of” in the American food industry, the case should prompt a long, hard look at the current food-safety system and hopefully result in improvements.

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