Shortage of State Food Inspectors Allowed Tainted Peanut Butter to Spread

The nation’s deepening economic crisis may be to blame for forcing states to cut the number of food-safety inspections and allowing the massive outbreak of salmonella contamination linked to contaminated peanut products to occur.

A recent news analysis by the Associated Press finds that budget cuts in states including Georgia, where the food-processing plant blamed for the peanut outbreak was located, have forced officials to slash the frequency and substance of inspections by food-safety officials.

The Peanut Corp. of America owned and operated a peanut-processing plant in Blakely, Georgia which made peanut butter, peanut paste, and other products sold to food companies. Those raw materials were in turn used in thousands of consumer products, from cookies and ice cream to dog biscuits, diet dinners, and nutritional bars.

The plant has been singled out as the source of the salmonella contamination blamed for contributing to at least nine deaths, more than 600 sicknesses, and one of the largest food recalls in the nation’s history, with more than 2,000 products pulled from store shelves. Peanut Corp. officials have been accused of knowingly shipping contaminated food and may face criminal charges for their part in the salmonella outbreak.

Georgia Cut Backs Linked to Outbreak

Since Peanut Corp. was based in Georgia, the state’s handling of inspections of food-processing facilities has been called into question. According to the Associated Press report, Georgia has 60 inspectors who are responsible for policing about 16,000 sites, ranging from huge factories to a single ice machine. There are 15 food-inspector positions which have been forced to remain unfilled due to the state’s budget cuts, officials said.

And Georgia is not alone. California, Texas, and Florida also face similar problems in being shorthanded on food-safety inspectors. In Florida, the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has 12 of its 129 inspector positions open, according to the AP.

In Texas, there are eight food-inspector jobs vacant, leaving just 34 inspectors responsible for patrolling about 21,000 facilities across the state. That breaks down to 618 facilities per inspector. To keep up, inspectors are forced to focus on firms that are known to either have problems or produce foods that are particularly at risk of contamination.

This patchwork method is far from ideal and leaves millions of consumers at risk of contracting deadly food poisoning from peanut butter, poultry and other meats, and other food products.

Less Inspections, More Contaminations

The link between fewer food-safety inspections and more frequent outbreaks of salmonella and other life-threatening types of bacteria is not hard to make. Food processors that are not operating under the watchful eye of federal or state inspectors are more likely to be lax on maintenance, record-keeping, and other important practices. Problems can go on longer, contaminating more consumers, and may never be detected if inspectors are not allowed to keep regular rounds.

In these historically grim economic times, vital services such as food-safety inspections are often first on the chopping block, but in ordering cut backs, state officials are putting the health and safety of their citizens at risk.

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