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Peanut Corporation of America Out of Business

By PritzkerLaw

The main company responsible for a nationwide Salmonella outbreak that has killed nine people and sickened more than 636 others in 44 states has closed its doors for good -- filing for liquidation Friday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Virginia.

The immediate affect on victims of the food poisoning tsunami is unclear, but is not favorable and is likely to create even more public outrage. Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) operated bacteria-plagued plants in Blakely, Georgia, and Plainview, Texas, that were essentially shut down by state and federal health officials who found unsafe conditions.

Fred Pritzker, president of national food safety law firm PritzkerOlsen Attorneys, told The Associated Press that bankruptcy proceedings could delay justice for many people who have suffered. PritzkerOlsen's clients in the outbreak include the families of two Minnesota women who died after eating contaminated peanut butter at assisted living centers in Brainerd, Minnesota.

In a quote that moved on AP's national wire, Pritzker said: "For all the people whose loved ones have been killed or people who have been out of work or suffered serious injury or who have incurred medical bills, right now they are just left with a lump of uncertainty.''

In a Chapter 7 Bankrupty proceeding, a company liquidates and distributes its assets to creditors. While the process could postpone court action on civil suits, Pritzker will fight to push the Salmonella litigation forward. He also has sued King Nut Companies, a distributor of PCA peanut butter.

PCA shut down its Georgia plant last month after health investigators linked its peanut butter and peanut paste to the Salmonella outbreak. The move triggered more than 2,000 consumer recalls of peanut-containing products around the country. That's because PCA made bulk peanut butter and peanut paste by the tanker load that was sold to other food manufacturers as ingredients.

Many more consumer product recalls are expected to flow from this week's shut down of PCA's Texas plant. All products ever made at that plant were recalled after Texas inspectors found rodents, feces and feathers in a crawl space.. The plant's air-handling system sucked debris from the crawl space into an area where peanuts were processed.

We welcome your comments. What do you think of Peanut Corporation of America's bankruptcy filing?

Full post as published by Food Poisoning Law Blog on February 13, 2009 (boomark / email).