The AP (2/3, Blackledge) reported, “A peanut processing plant in Texas run by the same company blamed for a national salmonella outbreak operated for years uninspected and unlicensed by government health officials, The Associated Press has learned.” The processing “plant in Plainview never was inspected until after the company fell under investigation by the Food and Drug Administration, according to Texas health records obtained by AP.” Cornell University food science professor Joseph Hotchkiss said, “The problem is ‘not a completely uncommon occurrence.'”
Supermarkets urged to contact shoppers at risk by tainted foods. The AP (2/4, Alonso-Zaldivar) reports, “Supermarkets should use their discount card programs that track customers’ shopping habits to prevent illness by alerting people who have bought tainted foods, a leading consumer group urged Tuesday” as “such a notification system might have helped avert much confusion over the current peanut recall.” Sarah Klein, a lawyer with the Center for Science in the Public Interest said, “Many retail chains have within their power the ability to protect consumers.” She added, “They are routinely collecting customer information and using it for marketing purposes. We’d like to see it used for public health.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
