Federal Government Health Officials Have Started A Criminal Investigation Into The Actions Of The P.C.A. Or Peanut Corporation Of America

Government health officials have begun an investigation into the behavior of the Peanut Corp. Of America, which they said they knew that they had knowingly delivered contaminated peanut butter and peanut foods to food manufacturers.
The case is being conducted by the F.D.A. or Food and Drug Administration and the Justice Department, according to Dr. Stephen F. Sundlof, director of the food center at the Food and Drug Administration.
The agency rarely discloses criminal investigations that are presently happening, but did so in this situation after a number of influential members of Congress demanded a criminal investigation in recent days.
The tainting of the company’s foods with salmonella poisoning has caused one of the largest food recalls in U.S.A. history. More than 400 foods containing peanuts, peanut butter or peanut meal have been recalled, and more recalls are anticipated.
On Monday, the company increased its recall to include foods made at its plant in Blakely, Ga., in 2007 and the first 6 months of 2008; it had previously recalled all foods produced there from July onward.
The Food and Drug Administration also said that in April it denied to accept a delivery of peanut foods from the company to be brought back into the United States from Canada because it contained metal fragments. The company attempted to clean the shipment but failed, and the peanut products were destroyed in November, the agency said.
As a result of that predicament, the agency asked state inspectors in Georgia to visit the plant to ensure that no more metal fragments would get into the products.
The April incident involving the stopped shipment was apparently the first time the F.D.A. was aware that the company was making peanut products, instead of just peanut butter, at its Blakely plant.
Agency officials said that name-brand peanut butter had proved safe to consume, but that some generic brands of peanut butter for instance, those made in small batches at stores could be suspect.
The peanut poisoning has now struck 529 people and is associated with eight deaths. Cases are still being reported to federal health officials, although the number of new cases has lessened modestly, said Dr. Robert Tauxe of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs, said Friday, I think the incidents have without a doubt been shocking, that whether it was our own F.D.A. or a company that continuously found salmonella in its own testing would continue to deliver that product is beyond disturbing for millions of parents.

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