Previously, three deaths in this outbreak had been confined to Minnesota and Virginia along with 425 people sick in 43 states. Now another dead person is counted in Idaho along with nine other ill ranging in age from 3 to 81, and all illnesses occurred between October and mid-December.
I am pleased that King Nut and Peanut Corporation of America have announced a Recall. However, they still have much to do on my To Do List:
1. Make sure ALL product is promptly recalled;
2. Do not destroy any documents;
3. The companies should pay the medical bills and all related expenses of the innocent victims and their families;
4. The companies should pay the cost of all related Health Department, CDC and FDA investigations;
5. Provide all bacterial and viral testing of all recalled product and any other tested product (before and after recall);
6. Release all inspection reports on the plants by any Governmental Entity or Third-party Auditor;
7. Release all Salmonella safety precautions taken by either King Nut or Peanut Corporation of America – especially after the 2007 Salmonella Peanut Butter Outbreak;
8. Provide the public with the Epidemiological investigation (with names redacted), so it is clear who knew what and when about the likely source of the outbreak; and,
9. Show the public what is being done to prevent the next outbreak.
The public is waiting.