According to Bankruptcy filings, Peanut Corporation of America has nearly $11.4 million in assets and debts of $4.8 million.  The only real estate listed in the documents was the company’s plant in Blakely, Georgia.  It was valued at $2 million, with a $1 million lien. The company also listed $2 million worth of equipment at…

Weeks ago the Washington Post wrote: “A sun-faded banner with a picture of a squirrel hangs nearby from Parnell’s [Peanut Corporation of America’s President’s] house reading "Welcome to the Nut House.’” According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the sign may soon read “Welcome to the Big House.”

As I said:

“In 15 years of litigating most of the major foodborne illness outbreaks in the U.S., the PCA case may well be the worst food-safety breach I have ever seen,” said Seattle food-borne illness attorney Bill Marler, who has filed multiple claims against Peanut Corp. in the recent outbreak.

With respect to criminal sanctions, I said in an earlier post:

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act was passed by Congress in 1938 in reaction to the growing public safety demands. The primary goal of the Act is to protect the health and safety of the public by preventing deleterious, adulterated or misbranded articles from entering interstate commerce. Under section 402(a)(4) of the Act, a food product is deemed “adulterated” if, inter alia, the food was “prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby it may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby it may have been rendered injurious to health.” A food product is also considered “adulterated” if it bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance which may render it injurious to health. If, however, the “poisonous or deleterious” substance is not an added substance, the food is not considered adulterated if the quantity of the substance in the particular food item does not ordinarily render the food injurious to health.Continue Reading “Welcome to the Nut House” Might Become “Welcome to the Big House”