Nation's peanut growers reeling from outbreak

[babylonsister]

Nation's peanut growers reeling from outbreak

By BETSY BLANEY – 2 hours ago


LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — With hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work and the economy in a nosedive, the U.S. peanut industry expected sales to soar this year.

Americans tend to turn to peanut products to stretch their food dollars in tough times, avoiding more expensive protein sources such as steak and ground beef.

Enter an ongoing salmonella outbreak that has sickened some 600 people in 43 states and been linked to nine deaths, and those rosy predictions after a record growing season have been dashed.

"They've tainted our entire industry," said Shelly Nutt, executive director of the peanut producers board in Texas, the nation's second largest growing state behind Georgia. "Public perception is killing us."

More than 2,000 products have been recalled — one of the largest in U.S. history. And the damage was done by a small player in the industry — Virginia-based Peanut Corp. of America. Two of the company's plants — in Blakely, Ga., and in Plainview, Texas — have been shuttered after salmonella contamination was found.

The company, which has filed for bankruptcy, handles no more than 2.5 percent of all peanuts processed, yet sales of jarred peanut butter plummeted 22 percent nationwide for the four weeks ending Jan. 24 compared with the same period last year, Nutt said. February's numbers will likely worsen significantly, she said.

more...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h7V0WaQ_baK-FGzF7wBWi3Mm2OrgD96C6L3G0

[BlooInBloo]

1. (shrug) It's their own damn fault. They knew what was going on, and said nothing.

EDIT: Wrong "their".

[babylonsister]

4. Did you even bother to read it?

The company, which has filed for bankruptcy, handles no more than 2.5 percent of all peanuts processed.

But everyone is suffering because of this one company.

I feel sorry for the companies that didn't do anything wrong. :shrug:

[GentryDixon]

9. I still trust Jiff.

[pinto]

10. I do as well. PB is a good source of protein (8 grams in 2 Tbsp).

[aquart]

17. Exactly. I immediately went to the Skippy site.

They don't use ANYTHING from that filthy processor.

[murielm99]

8. The growers haven't done anything wrong.

Farmers are always too much at the mercy of market forces. I hate to see others lose their livelihoods over this.

Shelley Nutt??? :rofl:

I read something the other day that said parnell has become a recluse since being exposed in this scandal. Good.

[Trajan]

13. Should be 'EDIT: Sweeping generalization'

The word 'They' ...

Who is 'They' ?

EVERY grower knew what was going on ? ... Every single farmer who planted peanuts knew what was going on ?

Again: Careless and imprecise language usage leads to fallacious statements ...

It is clear that the bulk of peanut producers ; 1) Run CLEAN production operations, and 2) Did NOT know what was going on ....

Typical ....

[Systematic Chaos]

2. This is really from the Onion, right?

"They've tainted our entire industry," said Shelly Nutt, executive director of the peanut producers board in Texas, the nation's second largest growing state behind Georgia. "Public perception is killing us."

That, or either someone has one fucked up sense of humor. I refuse to believe that's her real name. I just don't!

[babylonsister]

5. I know! What are the odds...? nt

[CurtEastPoint]

19. That's her real name, all right. Shelly Nutt.

http://southwestfarmpress.com/news/farming_shelly_nutt_new/

[grannie4peace]

3. pannell screwed so many people!

[icnorth]

6. The Reagan/Bush saga continues...

Stewart Parnell, president of Peanut Corp. of America was appointed to the USDA Peanut Standards board in July 2005 and reappointed for a second term that runs until 2011. Stewart Parnell ordered tainted product shipped from his factory even after the confirmation of salmonella bacteria. Nine deaths and six hundred cases of poisoning from contaminated peanut butter; so much for self regulation and social corporate responsibility.

Peanut Corporation of America sought bankruptcy protection on Friday after a salmonella outbreak traced to one of its plants led to one of the biggest product recalls in U.S. history.
The company filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Virginia, saying the negative economic effects of the recalls have been "extremely devastating" to its financial condition.

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=866155〈=eng_news

[Maine-ah]

7. they should be denied the right to file

and the corp. should go under.

[icnorth]

22. Yes and Stewart Parnell

should be indicted for 9 counts of manslaughter.

[DBoon]

11. Well that's the way the free market works

When a food product sickens hundreds of people, consumers will avoid it. When you buy peanut products, you have no idea if they were processed at the tainted plants. If one small producer is producing tainted peanuts, you have no way of knowing how many others are as well. Since a rational customer has a high aversion to salmonella poisoning, the best course of action is to avoid the product altogether.

The alternative is stronger government regulation, where you prevent these outbreaks before they happen.

Since government regulation ha been considered a bad thing since the days of Reagan, we have the alternative - mass poisonings, consumer panic, and innocent providers suffering.

[JVS]

12. Yup obviously this industry wasn't self-regulating well enough and deserves to die.

[Trajan]

14. Perhaps you wish it would die ...

Your public expression, well, speaks for itself ...

Here is a clue: Peanuts are good food, and even without proper self-regulation (Which I agree is problematic), peanuts will continue to be produced and consumed .... It isnt going to 'die' ....

[JVS]

16. Yeah whatever. If you're right then the farmers should STFU because it will all be ok.

[DBoon]

21. If the industry does not want effective government regulation

it may face something worse

Some of the innocent victims of this scandal may want to rethink their positions on effective food purity regulations.

[Trajan]

15. They make enough money to establish a new set of rules ...

And new distribution facilities ....

It is obvious that a small segment of the production population have destroyed the reputation of an otherwise reasonably clean industry .... They will need to make strong moves to regain the trust of the public ...

I would advise CLOSING the offending factories, forever, and creating a new production paradigm that focuses on WHOLESOME production values and processes, including sterile storage and an extensive testing regime ...

They can return from this mess, by cleaning up this mess ....

[varelse]

18. Good argument for food industry representatives to support higher Federal standards

including tougher penalties for violations and increased funding for enforcement of FDA regulations. Failures like this inevitably hurt the industry as a whole, while the perpetrators don't often face penalties commensurate with the damage they've done, not only to the consumers but also to their fellow producers.

[gizmo1979]

20. Shelly Nutt

Is that the perfect name or what?

[Mari333]

23. hire all union workers, all of them, demand strict health standards

all of them, and follow the rules. until they all do that, and have high standards for their plants and hire qualified union workers who are trained, they will continue to have shoddy products. this is like china, this is what happens when you make a product on the cheap, with no oversight. The bottom line for these companies is short term profit..now they are reaping what they sow. I feel sorry for any company that did hire union labour, and followed the rules. For the ones who didnt, this should be a lesson.