Feburary 13, 2009
I found this diagram on the FDA website. If this represents the "Simplified Peanut Product Distribution Pattern", what does the non-simplified version look like? Since nearly 2000 products produced by 200 or so companies have been recalled, the 2D drawing would probably span hundreds of pages. Once a product reaches a retail store, there are more routes a tainted product could reach a person's mouth than can be depicted simply on paper. Maybe you can think of a convoluted scenario which rings true for you? What would that look like on paper? Now multiply that by a thousand. Get the idea?
Update: January 31, 2009
Yesterday I read an exclusive AP article which revealed an even more disturbing tale of unsavory peanut commerce associated with the nationwide salmonella outbreak. Apparently, several weeks before any illnesses were reported; the Peanut Corporation of America attempted to ship putrid peanuts to Canada which were promptly rejected by Canadian inspectors. The FDA refused to allow the rejected shipment back into the States because the peanuts contained a "filthy, putrid or decomposed substance" that it deemed unfit for human consumption. The government agency charged with safeguarding the nation's food supply failed to follow up on the matter- no U.S. official tested the filthy peanuts for pathogens nor visited the original source of their production. While many insist that PCA be subject to criminal prosecution, what about the FDA?
Update: January 28, 2009
Gotcha! Today the public was informed that the Peanut Corporation of America KNOWINGLY shipped contaminated peanut butter to unsuspecting food manufacturers over the past two years. Not once, not twice, but 12 times! What is even more perplexing is the flaw in FDA and local health department policies which do not require companies to disclose results of internal testing. Also, inspectors from the state of Georgia failed to force PCA to clean up its act after finding unsanitary conditions. I don't know about you, but it doesn't seem to me like the government has made much progress in protecting Americans from lazy and negligent food producers since the time of Upton Sinclair. Will this saga cause consumers to shun ingredients sourced from the USA as vehemently as those China?
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Could there be a connection (or possibly a peanut conspiracy?) between these two recent nationwide salmonella-sickening scenarios? Probably not. However, the peanut itself is partially to blame for the recurrence. Peanut butter is a very good vehicle for the transport of salmonella around the country. A study conducted at the University of Georgia revealed that salmonella can survive up to 6 months at a storage temperature regarded as safe. Salmonella is not able to reproduce without the presence of water, but it is the absence of water that allows the bacteria to survive the peanut roasting process. Finally, the high fat content of peanut butter actually insulates salmonella from stomach acids allowing it to reach the intestines in virulent form.
So peanut butter has the potential to give pathogens the upperhand if they happen to enter the food supply; that still doesn't explain how salmonella got into the PCA facility in Blakely, Georgia in the first place. The bacteria is most commonly associated with undercooked eggs and tainted meat because it comes from animal feces (excuse me for stating the unmitigated truth). Produce, fish and spoiled dairy products can also contribute to salmonellosis as a result of cross-contamination anywhere along the chain from producer to consumer. Just in case you were wondering, the term "Salmonella" does not owe its name to the fish but rather to the veterinary pathologist (D. E. Salmon) who isolated the organism from sick pigs in the late 19th century. Since then, multiple types of Salmonella bacteria have been identified from many species of animal.
The strain of Salmonella that CDC investigators have found at the PCA plant does not match the one isolated from unopened containers of King Nut brand peanut butter by Minnesota and Connecticut health officials. Nevertheless, all products containing peanut butter and peanut paste from PCA are suspect, which is why well over 100 items have been recalled to date. On January 21, the FDA and CDC held a joint teleconference for the media in which they stated that traces of Salmonella were found in a floor crack in the plant near the washroom (hmm, sounds like a PCA employee may be the culprit).
Not knowing the ultimate source of this outbreak - which has made close to 500 people sick nationwide and killed 6 - is quite unsettling for the consumer. Americans tend to trust foods that are tightly packaged as opposed to things that are unwrapped and vulnerable to outside contaminants. The shiny silver foil or hermetically sealed bag encasing your favorite snack or indulgence - be it a granola bar, cookie or candy - seems to suggest sterility and gives the eater a false sense of security. The lesson we learn from this deadly outbreak of food-borne illness (and hundreds of others which have preceded it) is that invisible danger may lie within or without. We can thank the breakdown of food safety in this country on a system which rewards efficiency and mechanization as well as censure the government for poor enforcement of policies and procedures.
If this incident motivates you to do anything, I hope it will make you think twice about your reliance on packaged, mass-produced convenience foods. Perhaps you will take a little more time out of your day to buy a piece of fresh fruit and wash it thoroughly yourself. Or consider cooking your own dinner so you may personally prepare it safely and with care. Yes, there has been a breach of trust. Someone is to blame and should be punished. But the consumer must also take more responsibility for the food he puts in his mouth and gives to his children.
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