The AP reports on “new documents and pictures” released Thursday by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigations subcommittee detailing unsanitary conditions at facilities owned by Peanut Corp. of America, the company “at the center of a nationwide [salmonella] outbreak that has sickened nearly 700 people and is being blamed for at least nine deaths. … Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the investigations subcommittee, questioned how dozens of food companies that bought peanut paste and other ingredients from Peanut Corp. failed to pick up the problems. Part of the reason, Stupak said, is that they relied on safety audits by inspectors who were hired by Peanut Corp.” The AP notes that Nestlé was one company that declined to do business with PCA after investigating its facilities. “Thursday’s hearing came as a major food company joins consumer groups in saying the U.S. food safety system is broken. The head of Kellogg Co., the world’s largest cereal maker, is calling for an overhaul of how the government polices the industry.”
From the American Association for Justice news release.
