Victims of Georgia peanut butter contaminated with Salmonella angered over lack of prosecutions
FBI agents raided two peanut butter plants in Blakely, Georgia nearly a year ago after a Salmonella outbreak was linked to the plants’ peanut butter. The outbreak killed nine people and sickened hundreds of others. However, not a single executive of the company, Peanut Corp. of America, has been charged with a crime. The lack of prosecutions has caused a stir among many victims and their families.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution has the story.
The evidence seemed overwhelming. FDA inspectors found mold, a leaky roof and cockroaches at the Blakely plants. Congress also found e-mails written by the company’s top executive, Stewart Parnell, which suggested putting profits above safety even after being aware of the contamination. Specifically, emails from Parnell revealed that he “desperately” needed to turn the peanuts on the floor into money. Parnell also instructed his plant manager to “turn them loose” which referred to peanuts that had tested positive for contamination but were cleared in a second test. When a final lab test revealed salmonella, Parnell voiced great concern to his plant manager over the amount of money that would be lost.
The lack of prosecutions has surprised many. Some have speculated that the delay may be due to the fact that the outbreak has been controlled and the plants closed. The acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, G.F. Peterman, has refused to comment on the matter. Historically, prosecutors have been hesitant to bring charges in contaminated food cases. In the 2006 tainted spinach scare, prosecutors did not pursue convictions even though three died and 200 were harmed. When prosecutions do occur, companies are typically charged with misdemeanor offenses and receive fines. For instance, Sara Lee Corp. pleaded guilty in 2001 to selling meats contaminated with Listeria which killed 15. The company was fined $200,000 and agreed to hand over $3 million for food safety research. So far Peanut Corp. of America has only suffered a barrage of civil lawsuits.
Our personal injury attorneys have successfully represented several clients who have been harmed due to defective or contaminated products. In our experience, a victim’s best chance for holding a food company accountable for injuries is through a civil suit as many of the victims in this case have done. Georgia law contains several statutes which allow injured consumers to go after companies responsible for contaminated food. From the corporate farmer to the owner of a restaurant or grocery store, Georgia’s laws cast a wide net of liability on those involved in food production, manufacturing and distribution. In addition to food borne illnesses, a consumer may also have a cause of action for food containing unsafe levels of pesticides, foods whose poor quality is concealed, foods that are unfit for human consumption or that have not been handled properly and foods that contain foreign objects. In many of these cases, the consumer can recover substantial monetary damages.
Pate & Brody is an accomplished Georgia law firm with offices in Atlanta, Macon and Madison. Our lawyers are dedicated to pursuing justice for crime victims, people who have been defrauded by deceptive business practices, or injured through the fault of others. Our lawyers have been recognized on the list of Georgia’s “Super Lawyers”, and included among Georgia’s “Legal Elite” by Georgia Trend Magazine.
