2009 Peanut Corporation of America recall
Food recall / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In late 2008 and early 2009, nine people died and at least 714 people fell ill due to food poisoning from eating products containing contaminated peanuts supplied by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA).[1] The real numbers were believed to be much higher, since for every reported case of salmonellosis, on average, another 38 or so cases go unreported, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[2] A combination of epidemiological analysis and laboratory testing by state officials in Minnesota and Connecticut, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC confirmed that the sources of the outbreak of illnesses caused by Salmonella typhimurium were peanut butter, peanut paste, and peanut meal produced by the PCA at its Blakely, Georgia, processing plant.[3]
On February 7, 2009, Oregon officials confirmed the first case of salmonellosis in a dog that had eaten biscuits contaminated with the PCA-produced peanut products.[4]
In January 2009, the company issued a statement categorically denying the allegations;[5][6][7] in January 2009, it shut down production and laid off 50 employees at the Blakely plant.[8][9][10]