Several Orange County Residents Sickened by Contaminated Peanut Butter
The salmonella-tainted peanut butter, which has so far sickened 500 people and killed eight nationwide, was distributed to at least 10 agencies in Orange County, state health officials have announced. The recipients of these contaminated products apparently include special education schools, juvenile detention centers and school districts. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued an expanded recall of all products processed at the Peanut Corporation of America’s plant in Georgia, which they say, is the source of this lethal salmonella outbreak. Our source for this blog was this news report in The Orange County Register.
Lawmakers have called for criminal probes of the facility owned by The Peanut Corporation of America that had manufactured the peanut butter after FDA officials found evidence of salmonella, and continued to ship the products knowing that they were contaminated. According to this news article an FDA report states that the plant not only shipped products that failed lab tests, but that it never cleaned parts in the plant that were under suspicion. Prior FDA inspection reports showed 10 violations of federal food safety standards at the Georgia plant. The company found salmonella in its products seven times in 2008 and five times in 2007, but shipped them out anyway after a second test “cleared” the product.
This information, unfortunately, comes too late for those who have suffered and those who continue to suffer from the horrible effects of this potentially lethal food-borne illness. As we have seen, salmonella infection can kill and this outbreak has killed seven people so far in the United States. To find out now that this company knew its products were contaminated and still sent them and made no effort to clean up, is appalling to say the least. It is absolutely unacceptable. If this report is accurate, they knowingly poisoned the nation’s population. They should be held criminally and civilly responsible for their negligence and utter disregard for the safety and well-being of their consumers.
The Register lists the following agencies as those that received this tainted peanut butter: Florence Crittendon Services; Isaiah’s Hope; Laguna Beach Unified School District; Le-Na Residential Care Inc.; Magnolia School District; Orange County Educational Arts Academy; Orange County Social Service Agency; Orange County Department of Education; Orange County Probation Department; and Phoenix House Orange County. In Orange County so far, two adults and five children have become sick from contaminated peanut products.
If you or a loved one has recently suffered from symptoms of this bacterial infection, please see a doctor first to confirm the diagnosis. And please be sure to consult a reputed Orange County food-borne illness attorney, should you decide to pursue your legal rights. Our firm has represented several clients, who were victims of food-borne illnesses as a result of someone else’s negligence. I believe that this particular food producer must be held accountable for their wrongdoing and our firm will do everything we can to fight for the rights of those injured victims – consumers –who have either been sickened or have lost loved ones as a result of this peanut butter salmonella outbreak. Please call my office for more information. My staff or I will be more than happy to answer your questions and provide you with the assistance you need.
