It’s been one year since an outbreak of Salmonella at the Blakely, Georgia Peanut Corporation of America sickened 700 and was linked to nine deaths nationwide. Hundreds of food recalls for items that use peanut butter had to be initiated, and now the plant is closed and 50 workers are still out of a job.
Other than that, little has changed. Now bankrupt, no criminal charges have been filed against PCA or its top executives. Food safety legislation nationally has been pushed to the backburner by health care reform. Georgia has passed a law mandating new food testing regulations, but most have not been put into place. A $12 million insurance settlement has not been distributed to about 100 victims of food-borne illness or their survivors. Meanwhile there have been more than a dozen food recalls in the U.S. including pine nuts and hazel nuts and peanut butter with bacterial contamination.
What has changed?
New regulations in Georgia would prevent a food crisis like PCA. Regular food testing by the plant will be required under Senate Bill 80 that was signed into law by Gov. Perdue in May. Any contamination found must be reported to the state within 24 hours. Any contaminated products must be destroyed. But beware of a loophole. An amendment adopted in Georgia lets companies bypass the self-testing mandate if they submit a food safety plan instead to the state.
After Gov. Perdue signed the bill, the state agriculture department alerted about 750 food processing plants that they must report any contamination within 24 hours. So far there have been no reports submitted. On the national level, the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009 requires food companies to come up with their own safety plans and requires regular inspection of food plants. Those rules remain in limbo. #
