
February 20th / 22nd, 2009
"Peanut CEO is a Serial Killer"
No doubt about it, there are advantages to hosting a weekly television
program and writing a weekly newspaper column. But the primary perk isn’t
celebrity, so much as it is familiarity. I find that perfect strangers will walk up
to me, and offer their thoughts about a wide range of issues. Sometimes,
they even share their innermost feelings. Last week, one such gentleman
approached me to say that he had just been laid off from a local machinery
business where he had served as their long-time quality control officer. The reason
for the lay-off startled me. “They said they couldn’t afford quality
control anymore”, the man revealed.
Coincidentally that same day, hundreds of miles away, Peanut Corporation of
America (PCA) filed for bankruptcy following a massive recall, which had been
prompted by a lack of quality control.
Clearly one could argue that the economic downturn George Bush left us has
triggered the loss of quality control jobs. And, you could even argue that
Bush’s arrogant disregard for (and under-funding of) the FDA sent a clear
message to some industry leaders that quality and safety weren’t a top priority
for the Feds.
But the sins of PCA’s CEO Stewart Parnell and his managers transcend a bad
economy, or a toothless FDA. Their crimes were borne of greed and expediency
without regard to the consequences on public health.
Earlier this year an outbreak of salmonella poisoning at a nursing home in
Minnesota triggered an investigation that led straight to King Nut peanut
butter, one of PCA’s end products. What the nursing home administrator couldn’t have
known at the time, however, is that the tainted food had been shipped
not by accident, but on purpose. Weeks earlier a testing facility had
already informed Parnell that his product was contaminated with salmonella. But
rather than halting production or destroying the affected food, Stewart shopped
around for another lab that would give his peanut butter a clean bill of
health. As soon as he found one that would, Parnell ordered his manager at the
Blakely Georgia plant to start shipping the contaminated product immediately,
so that the company could invoice its customers.
PCA’s tainted products were used in a number of peanut butter brands which
were shipped to schools, nursing facilities, and some stores. To date, over
600 people have become ill from Parnell’s salmonella, and nine of them have
died, including one victim here in North Carolina.
The FDA has subsequently discovered the presence of roaches, mold, and leaky
roofs at PCA’s Georgia plant, and their investigation continues, with no
help from Parnell, I might add. That snake appeared before a Congressional
panel last week, and refused to testify by invoking his fifth amendment rights.
Anyone familiar with salmonella poisoning knows how painful and life
threatening it can be. It causes abdominal cramping, severe diarrhea and fever, and
can last up to seven days. Those most at risk of death from the illness are
infants, the elderly, and the infirmed. It’s no surprise, then, that the
lawsuits against PCA have already started to mount, including one filed by a
couple in Vermont, and another on behalf of a 72-year-old woman in Minneapolis
who died as a result of the contaminated peanut butter.
Meanwhile, the USDA banned PCA from doing business with the government, and
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack removed Parnell from the USDA’s Peanut
Standards Board. Talking about closing the barn door after the horses got
loose.
Anyway, such ceremonial slaps on the wrist are too little too late,
especially now that PCA has shut its doors.
In addition to civil suits and government admonishments, Parnell may also
face the wrath of the FBI. That’s because federal law forbids producing or
shipping foods under conditions that make it harmful to consumer health. If
ever that law applied to anyone, it applies to Parnell.
And not to minimize the personal suffering wrought by PCA, but our already-fragile
retail economy suffered a blow of its own due to the negative
publicity. Reputable brands like Peter Pan, Skippy, and Jif, which had nothing to
do with PCA, saw their market shares fall drastically in the aftermath of the
recall. Some brands’ business were off by as much as 50%, and that is
unprecedented.
Even the Tylenol scare of 1982 didn’t stop consumers from purchasing
analgesics. But Parnell has single handedly disrupted commerce for the entire peanut
butter industry. As such, I would expect the affected companies to sue PCA
for damages.
My heart goes out to the families of those who lost their lives as a result
of Parnell’s avarice, and he should pay the ultimate price for his role in
their deaths. The United States Attorney should seek the death penalty for
PCA’s CEO, and substantial prison time for any manager who knowingly shipped
the tainted product to unsuspecting customers. Nine people have died, and in
my book, that makes Stewart Parnell a serial killer.
But no matter the punishment and final resolution, there will always remain
an ironic twist to this sick saga. Parnell was poisoned by greed. So were
his victims.
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