Peanut,Executives,Indicted,Aft law Peanut Executives Indicted After Salmonella Outbreak
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After an investigation into one of the largest food relatedrecalls in history, a federal grand jury has indicted four executives from thenow-extinct Peanut Corporation of American, alleging that they knew that theirproducts were contaminated and chose to ship them to consumers anyway, hidinginformation from investigators in the process. Those indicted are the companyspresident, Stewart Parnell, his brother Michael, who acted as a food brokerrepresenting the company, Samuel Lightsey, operations manager at the companysplant where the contamination was found, and Mary Wilkerson, the plants qualityassurance manager.The salmonella outbreak, which sickened more than 700 peopleacross 46 different states and also may have contributed to as many as ninedeaths, stemmed from Peanut Corps Blakely plant in Atlanta, where the fourexecutives allegedly failed to keep the plant clear of rodents and insects thatcould contaminate the food production process. Once the outbreak wasdiscovered, the company then continued to ship its tainted peanut relatedgoods, including peanut butter, cookies, cereal, and pet treats, evenfabricating quality assurance labels and misleading investigators who inspectedthe facility to conceal the potential danger, according to the Department ofJustice.Stuart F. Delery, head of the Department of Justices CivilDivision said in a statement following the indictment that the department willnot hesitate to pursue any person whose criminal conduct risks the safety ofAmerican who have done nothing more than eat a peanut butter and jellysandwich. The Parnell brothers and Samuel Lightsey were charged with mail andwire fraud, conspiracy and introduction of adulterated and misbranded food intointerstate commerce with the intent to defraud or mislead. Stewart Parnell, Lightsey,and Mary Wilkerson were charged with obstruction of justice.William D. Marler, a food safety lawyer, said of the casethat the indictments should have a far reaching impact on the food industry,and that Corporate executives and directors of food safety will need to thinkhard about the safety of their product when it enters the stream of commerce.Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond added that the mainissue in the case was the Peanuts Corps primary emphasis on profits, ratherthan on public safety. Often, something goes awry due to a mistake or somekind of negligence. In this case, the government believes that profits were putahead of the publics safety.The Department of Justice is hopeful that the outcome of thecase will remind other major food producers and distributors to remain focusedon consumer safety before sales figures, ensuring that their internal processesadequately protect the public from serious health threats. If health dangers doappear, appropriate steps should be taken to correct the problem completely,rather than allowing the dangerous products to be dispersed to the public,exposing them to the kinds of dangers that forced the Peanut Corporation ofAmerica to declare bankruptcy and close its doors while its executives sufferedthe repercussions in federal court.
Peanut,Executives,Indicted,Aft