Yesterday, Congress actually saw a 3 year old boy who nearly died from salmonella tainted peanut butter and heard from his family. It put a face on this crisis. In discussing the causes of this outbreak, Representative, Henry Waxman, described the “greed” of the owners of Peanut Butter Corp. of America and the FDA’s inadequate food inspection system. He explained that when the company was notified last Fall that it’s product tested positive for salmonella, the President of the Company sent an e-mail complaining that positive salmonella tests were costing them huge money. Obviously, this company has its priorities upside down. The regulatory failures here are also obvious and need immediate attention. Hopefully, the current criminal investigation will lead to corrective action for the company and the new administration will address the regulatory failures.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
