Is there anything more enjoyable than eating a peanut butter sandwich? It’s a universal meal enjoyed by toddlers and starving college students alike.
Elvis Priestley used to eat fried peanut butter sandwiches by the dozen, and Hall of Fame Washington Redskins coach George Allen — who also was a Long Beach State football headcoach before he died — was notorious for consuming peanut butter sandwiches at almost every meal.
In a world where there is so much to be afraid of, it’s nice to know that we can gain some comfort by snacking on a delicious peanut butter sandwich. Well, at least that used to be the case.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture contracted with Peanut Corporation of America, a company accused of knowingly selling products containing salmonella bacteria. One of the contracts was a federal government program that provided free lunches to low-income grade school children.
This is shocking beyond belief. Our government releases warnings about biological terrorism threats being carried out by our enemies, yet it was an American company that allegedly sold contaminated food that led to the death of eight and left 575 people seriously ill. I thought al-Qaeda would be to blame for something like this, not our own people.
My question is, “How the hell did a company that was contracted with the federal government get away with such a horrific crime?”
The answer, of course, is being ducked like a right-hook from Mike Tyson. Representatives from the corporation refuse to comment on the situation, while the government blames “understaffing” and “number crunching” for one of the largest food recalls in American history.
“We are not food inspectors,” said Kent Politsch, a spokesperson for the USDA. “We audit processes: We walk through and see whether they can produce the product.”
Due to government cutbacks, the Food and Drug Administration is not able to properly inspect the safety condition of many food distribution companies. William Hubbard, a former associate commissioner for the FDA said in an interview with The Washington Post that the FDA’s food program has largely disappeared.
It was only after the outbreaks were traced to Peanut Corporation of America’s Blakely plant in Georgia that the FDA launched an extensive investigation. The conditions they discovered were disgusting.
According to The Washington Post the plant contained “dead roaches, mold on the ceiling and walls in the cooler where finished products were stored, and rainwater leaking from skylights into the production room.”
The article also reported that inspectors found four strains of salmonella, and noted deficiencies in the plant’s design and construction that invite contamination.
My liberal politics aside, I believe that this is a great example of why we must have government regulation on big businesses. In a perfect world, all corporations would conduct their operations in a safe and ethical way. We don’t, however, live in such a world.
Economical turmoil has caused businesses to cover their asses at all cost, in some cases risking the health and safety of their consumers. It is alleged that Peanut Corporation of America found 12 cases of salmonella strains in their products between 2007 and 2008.
How did they resolve this situation?
Officials claim that the peanut company had the results analyzed at a second laboratory that conveniently found the products did not contain salmonella. The matter was swept under the rug and contaminated products were knowingly shipped.
I wish the government didn’t have to monitor big businesses so closely, but we have no choice in a matter like this. With companies willing to sell poisonous foods to children, what other option do we have?
Grady Dunne is a senior journalism major and an assistant opinions editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.