FDA: Peanut Corp. knowingly shipped tainted goods

As far back as 2007, the South Georgia peanut plant linked to the salmonella outbreak shipped tainted products, even after tests showed contamination, according to inspection records released Friday.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials earlier had said that Peanut Corp. of America, after receiving a positive reading for salmonella, waited for a second test to clear peanut butter and peanut products before shipping them to customers.

• For all the latest developments on the peanut crisis and the salmonella outbreak, with an updated list of recalled items, plus background on the scare, go to the AJC's special report: ajc.com/peanuts.

But the agency amended its report Friday to say that the Blakely plant actually shipped some products before obtaining a second test.

Federal law forbids producing or shipping foods under conditions that could make it harmful to consumers’ health.

Federal officials have identified the plant as the sole source of the national salmonella outbreak that has sickened some 575 people, including six Georgians, and has been linked to the eight deaths. More than 1,550 products have been recalled and the the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation.

In one 2007 example, the company shipped chopped peanuts on July 18 and July 24 after salmonella was confirmed by private lab tests. Peanut Corp. sold products “on or after the positive salmonella results were obtained,” the FDA report states.

In other cases, the company didn’t wait for a second round of salmonella tests.

“In some instances, peanut products were shipped by (the company) prior to having assurance that the products were negative for salmonella,” said Michael Rogers, head of field investigations for the FDA.

A Peanut Corp. lawyer said the company is investigating what happened at the plant and had no comment on the latest FDA report.

“We have not made a determination yet on liability,” said attorney Amy Rotenberg. “We are neither denying or admitting liability at this point. We are still investigating.”

The new findings show that the plant sometimes shipped products before receiving results of salmonella tests. Other times, the company shipped products, then later received test results that were positive for salmonella, the report stated. Sometimes no additional testing appears to have been done, the FDA said. It remains unclear whether Peanut Corp. alerted its customers to the positive salmonella test results.

In one case, the FDA said the company shipped small, chopped peanut granules on June 7, 2007, but received positive test results on June 13, 2007, almost a week after the product had left the plant. The report showed no subsequent testing.

The report also showed both positive and negative tests for salmonella were received the same day the products were sent to market.

The FDA said Friday that it based its earlier assertions regarding testing and shipping on statements from the firm’s management. The new assessment comes after the agency “scrutinized many records related to the firm’s testing and shipping,” it said.

When the federal report was initially released last month, it fueled outrage and calls for a criminal investigation into the plant.

The six-page federal report detailed how the plant failed to maintain equipment, store food and properly clean and sanitize machinery and tools to protect against salmonella.

But the company challenged some of the findings, saying in a statement that “our top priority has been — and will continue to be — to ensure the public safety and to work promptly to remove all potentially contaminated products out of the marketplace.”

Some of the problems FDA discovered at the plant last month are similar to ones found in 2001, when an inspection turned up dead insects near peanuts and holes in the plant big enough for rodents to enter.

The inspectors also discovered that workers at the plant used an insecticide fogger in food processing areas and didn’t wash the exposed equipment.

The peanut recall offers a prime opportunity to merge all federal food safety oversight into one agency, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Friday.

Currently, the FDA and the Department of Agriculture share oversight responsibilities, along with other government agencies, dividing authority along lines that may sometimes overlap. For example, the FDA oversees eggs in the shell, while the Agriculture Department is responsible for processed egg products.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency share some food oversight, as well.

“You can’t have two systems and be able to reassure people you’ve got the job covered,” Vilsack said. “This is a grand opportunity for us to take a step back and rethink our approach.”

— Material from The Associated Press was used in this article.