Food inspectors 'asleep at switch' at peanut butter plant

NEWS RELEASE

CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN

************************* Stupak statement on latest developments in salmonella outbreak

WASHINGTON - U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on oversight and investigations, issued the following statement regarding the latest developments in FDA and CDC’s investigation into the salmonella outbreak linked to the Peanut Butter Corporation of America’s (PCA) facility in Blakely, Georgia.

On January 16, Stupak announced that his subcommittee’s food safety investigation had been expanded to include the recent Salmonella outbreak.

"The fact that four different strains of salmonella have been tied to Peanut Butter Corporation of America’s plant and products show not only that the company was not adhering to good manufacturing practices, but also that FDA inspectors were asleep at the switch,” Stupak said.

Stupak’s staff was briefed by FDA and CDC investigators, who confirmed that four strains of salmonella have been identified over the course of the investigation:

- Salmonella Typhimurium has been discovered in PCA products in Minnesota and is the only strain linked to an increase in human illnesses. It is responsible for the 501 illnesses and eight deaths associated with the current outbreak.

- Salmonella Tennessee has been detected in an unopened jar of King Nut peanut butter.

- Salmonella Senftenberg and Salmonella Mbandaka have been detected on the floors of PCA’s Blakely facility by FDA inspectors.

In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday afternoon, the FDA and CDC announced that they have identified 12 instances in which PCA’s products that tested positive for salmonella, were retested – sometimes by different testing companies – and once negative results were obtained the products were sold into commerce.

“These are the exact concerns we have brought up in numerous food safety hearings,” Stupak said. “Inspections are worthless if companies can test and retest until they receive the results they want. Our comprehensive food and drug safety legislation would crack down on lab shopping, requiring companies to submit all testing results to the FDA – not just the most favorable.”

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