Ninth Salmonella Death Confirmed

how many more (4.00 / 5)

will sicken & die before these people are in jail?
that's MY question.

come firefly-dreaming with me....

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by: RiaD @ Thu Feb 12, 2009 at 20:23:37 PM UTC

Here's another question... (4.00 / 4)

Will anybody go to jail?

It seems like a foregone conclusion right now, and honestly I don't see any circumstances under which at least Parnell could avoid prison.  But then again, I wouldn't put a whole lot of money on that...

And I also wouldn't bet against something completely ridiculous like 3 months and a $5,000 fine or something like that, either.  Hopefully I'll be proven wrong on that...

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Thu Feb 12, 2009 at 21:10:21 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

He won't even eat his own product...i wonder why. (4.00 / 4)

WASHINGTON - See the jar, the congressman challenged Stewart Parnell, holding up a container of the peanut seller's products and asking if he'd dare eat them. Parnell pleaded the Fifth.

The owner of the peanut company at the heart of the massive salmonella recall refused to answer the lawmaker's questions - or any others - Wednesday about the bacteria-tainted products he defiantly told employees to ship to some 50 manufacturers of cookies, crackers and ice cream.

Sic Transit Gloria Locavore!

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by: Asinus Asinum Fricat @ Thu Feb 12, 2009 at 22:11:48 PM UTC

that's for poor people (4.00 / 5)

you can't expect someone important like Parnell to eat peanut butter!


"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Feb 13, 2009 at 01:40:06 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

so you really got accused (4.00 / 4)

of being a conspiracy theorist for helping break this?

Reminds me of that quote about all science starting out as heresy and winding up as superstition. I look forward to the day when worrying about tainted food products truly is superstition.

"If God were to appear to starving people, he would not dare to appear in any other form than food." - Mahatma Gandhi

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by: Miep @ Fri Feb 13, 2009 at 01:42:39 AM UTC

Jay, two questions: (4.00 / 3)

a.  What have you heard about a second PCA plant (this one in Texas) also being implicated as a salmonella/pb problem?  Read that somewhere but don't know if it's true.

b.  I definitely read somewhere (thought it was NYT) that they found four different types of salmonella in PCA's pb, although some of those might be from internal tests last year or before.

I'm not tracking this issue as closely as you are...just wondered.

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. -- Calvin Trillin

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by: Youffraita @ Sat Feb 14, 2009 at 06:39:58 AM UTC

you're correct on both of those things (4.00 / 3)

yes, they found 4 strains of salmonella in the GA plant and that was recently when the FDA investigated. And they also found salmonella in the TX plant.

"I can understand someone from Iowa promoting corn and soy, but we are not feeding the world, we are feeding animals and soft drink companies." - Jim Goodman

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by: Jill Richardson @ Sat Feb 14, 2009 at 08:03:41 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

As to question 2... (4.00 / 2)

Yes, 4 strains were found.  They were named in the FDA's 483 form, which I covered in-depth here.  

I would also like to note that I read through the FDA's findings and had my piece up on that here and at dKos hours before any of the major papers...

:)

Here were the 4 strains found.  2 were found in peanut products, only one of which has been associated with the outbreak, and another 2 were found on the floor of PCA's Georgia plant but not in any peanut products -

The two strains of salmonella found in PCA's peanut products during this investigation have been named as Salmonella Typhimurium (the strain that has caused the sicknesses so far) and Salmonella Anatum.  Two other strains were found on the floor of the Blakely, Georgia processing facility and they are Salmonella Senftenberg and Salmonella Mbandaka.  No known sicknesses have yet been identified with any of the latter 3 strains during this particular outbreak.

In that diary, I also broke the news that the recall was going to greatly expand (which it certainly did!) almost 2 days before FDA issued the recalls, and a day before the papers began to speculate on that -

The first thing that struck me is that this recall is almost certain to expand greatly soon.  PCA has been knowingly selling contaminated products since June 2007.

I am good.

:)

As for question 1, yes.  And it's no wonder how it got in the peanuts, either -

The plant always had standing water in its basement, Mr. Kendrick said. The roof leaked so badly that when it rained, workers were instructed to raise tarps to the ceiling to direct the water away from peanuts and plant equipment, the two said. Rain at night went unattended, they said.

Bird shit from the roof washed into the peanuts with the rain.

"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks." - Christopher Hitchens

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by: JayinPortland @ Sat Feb 14, 2009 at 15:05:47 PM UTC

[ Parent ]