Salmonella Found at ConAgra Plant
Pritzker | Ruohonen is representing victims of the Salmonella outbreak linked to Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter. In a recent development, the FDA found Salmonella on a roaster and some cleaning equipment at the ConAgra plant that manufactured the peanut butter linked to the Salmonella Tennessee outbreak that may have sickened thousands (the CDC report of 425 people is far lower than the actual number of people that were sickened in the last two years).
According to a story on WALB News, because Salmonella was found twice in the plant environment, FDA investigators assume it is in other places within the plant. The FDA has, therefore, recommended a complete cleanup. The story adds that FDA inspectors are gone from the plant now, but will return once the cleanup is complete to make sure there are no future problems.
Federal health investigators have stated that Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter manufactured at the ConAgra plant in question may have been contaminated from 2004 through the present, which means that Salmonella Tennessee was in the ConAgra plant for at least 2 years. How could ConAgra have run a food processing plant for two years without finding the Salmonella contamination? Why didn’t past inspections by health officials detect the problem? This outbreak exemplifies the need for state and federal health officials to thoroughly inspect food processing plants, inspecting them as if they are linked to an outbreak. It should not take an outbreak for a food processing plant to get a thorough inspection.
During this outbreak, we have been contacted by hundreds of people who believe they were sickened by the peanut butter. In some cases people fed their children the peanut butter to soothe their stomachs, thereby exacerbating the problem. It is also likely that some people died as a result of a Salmonella infection (salmonellosis) from the peanut butter.
We continue to get calls and online consultation forms from possible victims of the outbreak. If you have been sickened after eating Peter Pan or Great Value peanut butter—or if a family member has been sickened or died—contact Pritzker | Ruohonen for a free consultation. Please call toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or submit the firm’s online consultation form. If you have any leftover peanut butter, we can help you get the peanut butter tested.