Dallas Carter | Food Safety News

The Human Face of the PCA Salmonella Outbreak

Dallas Carter — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 05:01:45 +0000

(Editor’s note: These are short profiles of victims of the 2008-09 Salmonella outbreak linked to Peanut Corporation of America products. The jury in the PCA criminal trial is due to resume its deliberations on Thursday morning in Albany, GA.) Shirley Almer Shirley Almer resided in Brainerd, MN. She owned a family bowling alley in Wadena, MN, called “Wadena Lanes.” The bowling alley belonged to her husband, and, after he passed away, Shirley took over.

Shirley Almer

After suffering from seizures in July 2008, Shirley was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. Shirley had been battling cancer for months before Salmonella took her life. Shirley was hospitalized a week before Christmas due to severe dehydration. She was scheduled to be released on Dec. 22, 2008, but she passed away on Dec. 21, 2008, supposedly due to pneumonia. She was 72. Roughly two weeks later, the Almer family received a call from the Minnesota Department of Health claiming that Shirley had Salmonella bacteria in her blood. Shirley was one of two victims at two different Brainerd nursing homes whose deaths have been blamed on contaminated PCA peanut butter. Minnie Borden Minnie Borden was raised in Lanett, AL. She was a lively woman who loved Little Debbie’s Peanut Butter Cheese sandwich crackers. With the exception of her arthritis and poor hearing, Minnie was in excellent health. In the fall of 2008, Minnie began complaining of abdominal pains and noticed that her appetite was dwindling, but that did not slow her down on her favorite Little Debbie snacks. Well into December, Minnie’s stomach pain was excruciating and she eventually called her daughter to take her to the Miami Valley Hospital Emergency Room. After blood testing, an EKG and lots of observation, nothing specific was found to be the cause of Minnie’s suffering.

Minnie Borden (left) with her daughter Earlene Carter.

Earlene Carter, Minnie’s daughter, agreed to have Minnie move in with her after Minnie was discharged from the hospital. With Earlene by Minnie’s side day and night, Earlene observed her mother’s state worsen by the day. One week later, Earlene scheduled another doctor’s appointment out of concern for her weak mother. On Christmas Eve of 2008, doctors sent a stool sample to a lab to test for pathogens. Though the results were alarming, it was a relief to have finally found the problem. Minnie had been sickened by Salmonella Group B. On Dec. 29, Minnie was discharged after many procedures in an attempt to get her health back on track. On the evening of Monday, Jan. 19, 2009, Earlene remembers getting ready to watch “Wheel of Fortune” with her mother in the hospital room. That night, while lying in bed after visiting with Minnie all day, Earlene received a devastating phone call about her mother. After doctors had worked on stabilizing her more than once, Minnie Borden was pronounced dead at 6:41 a.m. on Jan. 20, 2009. Bobby Ray Hullett Bobby Ray Hullett was raised in Maiden, NC. He passed away at Catawba Valley Medical Center in Hickory, NC, on Nov. 26, 2008, in his early 50s. Bobby, better known as “Pete,” and his wife, Shirley, were married for 45 years. Working at Southern Glove Mill for 30 years, Pete suffered from an accident, leaving him with only one functioning hand. Despite this injury, Pete worked hard up until his death. Other than high blood pressure and cholesterol problems, Pete was in excellent health.

Bobby Ray “Pete” Hullett with his family.

One of Pete’s favorite snacks was Austin brand peanut butter crackers, two and three packs a day. On Nov. 23, 2008, Pete began vomiting and eventually lost consciousness and collapsed on the floor. The morning after, he was very weak when taking the trash out. Shirley called her son Tony after Pete collapsed on the floor once again. Tony drove Pete to Catawba Valley Medical Center Emergency Room. The doctors found that Pete’s blood pressure was abnormally low and that he needed to be rehydrated. After an EKG showed normal results, blood and urine specimens were sent to a lab for testing. The lab results were abnormal, showing decreased kidney functions and creatinine. There was also concern about an increased amount of carbon dioxide in Pete’s bloodstream. Around 8 p.m., Pete needed to be admitted into the hospital for treatment of kidney failure and severe gastrointestinal symptoms. Around 2 a.m., Pete’s diagnosis was listed as shock, renal failure, diarrhea with white blood cells in stools, and also respiratory failure. Two short hours later, Pete seemed to gain some strength. He was able to move his toes and fingers upon request of the nurse. At 7 a.m., ICU physicians came to speak to Pete’s family. They explained that Pete had suffered an acute myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock and that his diagnosis was poor. Pete was in acute renal failure, and the doctor explained that the chances of him surviving were low. After almost 24 hours of attempting to save Pete’s life, hospice spoke to Pete’s family about protocol for cardiac arrest, which they expected to occur. Pete’s health continued to decline on Nov. 26. After being summoned into the hospital room, Pete’s family watched him gain enough strength to look at them one last time. With his family by his side, Bobby “Pete” Hullett was pronounced dead at 6:32 p.m. on Nov. 26, 2008. Vernon Knudsen Vernon Knudsen was raised in Onalaska, TX, and spends his time anticipating and praying that treatments, including chemotherapy, will rid him of his continuing illness. Vernon is a retired 74-year-old who lives just north of Houston, TX.

Vernon Knudsen

Vernon’s medical history includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol, an irregular heartbeat and tremors. Also, Vernon has had surgeries to repair a hernia and to treat sleep apnea. Vernon keeps up with his regular checkups and takes regular medications. On Aug. 6, 2008, Vernon began experiencing chest pains and shortness of breath. He instantly made an appointment with his doctor at the Huntsville Family Medicine Clinic. Vernon was diagnosed with cardiomegaly (enlarged heart). The doctors wanted to watch Vernon and make sure everything was correct. On Aug. 7, Vernon had an echocardiogram and Doppler tests. The tests showed an accumulation of fluid around the heart. Three weeks passed, and Vernon’s shortness of breath continued and seemed to get worse. By the end of August, Vernon’s health had seriously declined. He was extremely worried and called the doctor. Without hesitation, the doctor instructed Vernon to be admitted into the emergency room. Vernon was suffering from respiratory distress and was placed on a breathing machine. Vernon’s wife, Marjorie, was in a panic. After initial diagnosis, Vernon tested positive for Salmonella. The Knudsen family was shocked and had no idea that Vernon had been sickened by Salmonella from a Keebler peanut-butter-and-cheese cracker. Vernon’s suffering continued for nine days, and then, on Sept. 5, 2008, he was sent home. The next week, Vernon continued to suffer from abdominal pain, a cough and fever. On Sept. 23, 2008, he returned to the emergency room. Vernon then tested positive for Clostridium difficile. The next day, he was sent to the ICU. He was now suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, diarrhea, hypertension, anemia, renal insufficiency, coronary and aortic atherosclerotic disease, and he was becoming increasingly confused and disoriented. On Sept. 30, a nurse entered Vernon’s room to find him lifeless and non-responsive. Several nurses finally were able to awaken him and then realized he was unable to speak and had difficulty swallowing. The next day, Vernon was transferred to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. “By the time I got there, I was nearly dead,” he recalls. Vernon was eventually released and sent home. He still suffers daily and has been in and out of hospitals several times since October 2008. Christopher Meunier Christopher Meunier was raised in South Burlington, VT. A happy, confident, and healthy young boy who can meet any challenge, is how his parents described him. Even though it has been almost six years ago, Gabrielle and Daryl, Christopher’s parents, can still remember his bloodcurdling screams on the night of Nov. 25, 2008, when Gabrielle found her son sprawled on the floor, vomiting, choking and terrified. Twenty minutes after the vomiting came to a halt, Christopher began suffering from severe abdominal pains. Days later, his pain continued, along with nausea and diarrhea. The Meunier family decided to take Christopher to his pediatrician. After examining Christopher, the doctor sent him home with a stool sample kit. He was in pain, dehydrated and losing blood. His mother said he was “screaming about body pain everywhere, he was doubled over and was crying out, ‘Mommy, it hurts so bad, I want to die.'” Gabrielle and Daryl rushed their son to Fletcher Allen Health Care Emergency Room, and Christopher’s stool sample was taken in for testing. The results were positive for E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Shigella. Christopher was suffering from fever, weight loss, bloody stools, vomiting, and dozens of bouts of diarrhea a day. This went on for a week. Though he had tested positive for Clostridium difficile, the doctors were positive that the pain and suffering was from Salmonella. The bloody bouts of diarrhea continued until Dec. 3, after he was sent home. At that point, Christopher was put on a liquid diet and several antibiotics. Months passed, and neither Christopher nor his parents felt any better about his gastrointestinal problems. It wasn’t until May 8, 2009, that they began to feel some relief, but the fear of being infected with Salmonella will forever haunt them. Robert Moss Robert Moss was raised in Louisiana. He was a World War II Navy veteran and the owner of Moss Carpet and Flooring.

Robert Moss

After eating Austin-brand peanut butter crackers, Robert noticed that in October 2008 he suffered from bouts of diarrhea. He also suffered from a fever, chills, headaches, muscle aches and abdominal cramps. His symptoms seemed to worsen about Tuesday, Oct. 14. His diarrhea was now painful and more frequent, and he had lost 10 pounds by this point. Robert refused to seek professional help, and he tried to ease his ailments with home remedies. When he finally required medical help on Oct. 16, he was suffering from kidney failure. Robert was admitted into Glenwood Regional Medical Center Emergency Room for nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and excessive fatigue. A stool sample tested positive for Salmonella on Oct. 18. On Oct. 19, Robert was extremely ill. Blood tests showed that Salmonella had escaped his gastrointestinal tract and entered his bloodstream. Robert remained hospitalized and regularly received pain medication until Oct. 23. He continued having bouts of diarrhea until late February. On Feb. 24, 2009, Robert was admitted to the Glenwood Regional Medical Center Emergency Room. After blood tests, Robert found out that Salmonella was still alive in his gastrointestinal tract. Ultimately, he was discharged and transferred to a rehabilitation facility on March 23, almost a month later. Robert was readmitted to the Glenwood Regional Medical Center on April 6, discharged to an expert nursing facility on April 13, and then remained under constant medical supervision. He was admitted back to Glenwood Regional Medical Center in July 2009 due to bloody diarrhea. As the months went by, he grew weaker by the day. Robert passed away due to an infection caused by Salmonella on Oct. 4, 2009. He was 83. Betty Shelander Betty Shelander was raised in Blowing Rock, NC. She was a lively woman, caring and compassionate, and she had a great talent for music. Just two days after Christmas 2008, Betty began feeling extremely nauseous. Not wanting to worry her husband, she spent the night hovering over the toilet vomiting and crying. The next morning, Betty called for help. After speaking with her doctor, Betty was prescribed Phenergan suppositories for relief. On Dec. 28, Betty began to feel better from the medicine the doctor prescribed. However, she later began feeling weak and went to lay down. Toward the end of the afternoon, Betty’s husband, Albert, went to check on her. Mortified, he found Betty on the floor and her eyes wide open with a blank stare. Albert tried to resurrect Betty, but without success. After he called 911, an ambulance arrived and rushed Betty to Southeast Georgia Regional Health Center. She had no pulse when they arrived. The Emergency Room staff worked on Betty for 17 minutes, but, after no response, she was declared dead at 5:07 p.m. on Dec. 28, 2008. She was 53. The cause of death was pancreatitis. According to Dr. Hanley, a medical examiner, Betty had regularly consumed Zone Perfect nutritional bars. Hanley also revealed that the most apparent cause of acute hemorrhagic pancreatitis was a Salmonella infection from consuming a contaminated product from PCA. Clifford Tousignant Clifford Tousignant was raised in Duluth, MN. An Army veteran and a family man, he was sickened after consuming peanut butter sandwiches made with Salmonella-contaminated peanut butter manufactured by King Nut and Peanut Corporation of America.

Clifford Tousignant was a devoted family man.

After living with his son, Marshall, in Minnesota for almost a decade, moving into Good Samaritan Woodland Skilled Nursing Facility was a change. Upon entering his new home in November 2008, Cliff was struggling with diabetes mellitus, which had caused nerve damage, pain, and numbness in his hands and feet, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), high cholesterol and autoimmune thrombocytopenia (low platelet count). On Dec. 28, 2008, Cliff began having diarrhea. One of the nurses took a stool sample and had it sent to the St. Joseph’s Medical Center lab to be tested. Through the next two days, Cliff’s diarrhea got worse. On Dec. 30, 2008, he was sent to the hospital in an ambulance. The treating physician believed that Salmonella was causing the problem. The next day, Cliff’s suffering continued, and the results came back positive for Salmonella. By Jan. 3, assistance was needed for Cliff to get in and out of bed due to pain. On Jan. 4, Cliff was finally able to receive some treatment for the Salmonella. On Jan. 11, Marshall stopped by at Good Samaritan Woodland to check on his father. He noticed that Cliff seemed lethargic. After noticing that his father was unresponsive, Cliff was rushed to St. Joseph’s Medical Center Emergency Room. Salmonella was still present in Cliff’s gastrointestinal tract, and his health was rapidly declining. The morning of Jan. 12, 2009, Cliff was entirely unresponsive. At 11:08 a.m. on Jan. 12, 2009, he was pronounced dead at St. Joseph’s Medical Center due to Salmonella gastroenteritis. He was 79.

PCA’s Former Plant Manager Cross-Examined by Defense Team

Dallas Carter — Wed, 20 Aug 2014 05:01:20 +0000

Samuel Lightsey, the former Peanut Corporation of American (PCA) plant manager with the government plea deal, spent more than six days on the witness stand answering every question put to him by prosecutors. On Tuesday, defense attorneys for the three former PCA executives on trial for a total of 71 federal felonies got their chance to cross-examine him. Thomas J. Bondurant Jr., from Stewart Parnell’s defense team, got the first crack at the government’s star witness. Bondurant quickly moved to cast doubt on several of the prosecution’s narratives about the case. He called into question whether former PCA owner Stewart Parnell was really running the Blakely, GA, plant from rural Lynchburg, VA, since Lightsey testified that he had authority to run the plant and could make unapproved expenditures up to $5,000. As to whether all peanut pastes being shipped by the tanker truckload to Kellogg’s were proper, Bondurant zeroed in on Mexico’s role in the peanut industry. Lightsey acknowledged that Cubero, its Mexican source for peanut paste, gets its peanuts from fields in the U.S. The suggestion was that PCA was satisfying Kellogg’s specifications for American peanuts only, although they may have traveled over the border and back before finally getting to the Battle Creek, MI, company. Bondurant also attempted to cast doubt on the notion that PCA management could keep what, at the time, was a $12.5-billion food company such as Kellogg’s in the dark about both peanut sourcing and microbiological testing results. He noted that the three audits PCA passed earlier in 2008, before the outbreak that led to the peanut company’s demise, were all done to Kellogg’s specifications. The American Institute of Baking and auditors Cook & Thurber conducted those three independent audits. Bondurant also asked Lightsey about the Julian dating system used on the certificates PCA provided to Kellogg’s to document that shipments were proper. Lightsey acknowledged that anyone with knowledge of the Julian system used to date and track shipments would be able to tell if a certificate had been falsified. With the Julian system commonly used in the food business, Bondurant suggested that somebody at Kellogg’s must have known what was going on. Bondurant also used the company emails that have been so ponderously introduced at the trial to try and show a more favorable side of his client. For example, he said the government had skipped over one Stewart Parnell response that read, “Let me know so I can tell Nadi the truth.” Bondurant also drew out Lightsey’s testimony on PCA testing and retesting practices in an attempt to demonstrate that the company followed established protocols. Lightsey was originally charged with Stewart Parnell, his peanut broker brother Michael Parnell, and PCA’s former quality control manger Mary Wilkerson. The original February 2013 indictment against the four listed a total of 76 federal felony counts. Bondurant pressed Lightsey on the details of his May 2014 plea bargain with the government in which the former plant manager pleaded guilty to seven fraud- and conspiracy-related counts. In response to his questioning, the jury learned that Lightsey’s potential jail time was cut from more than 30 years to no more than six. Since the plea deal also includes language that could result in no jail time at all for Lightsey, Bondurant told the jury that the witness has every reason to make statements to help the government incarcerate the other three defendants. Michael Parnell’s defense attorney, Ed Tolley, was second at bat during Lightsey’s cross-examination. He went back to the Kellogg’s shipments, which his client brokered. Those shipments began in mid-2007 and continued until January 2009. Tolley depicted his client as detached from PCA and not attending corporate meetings. The deal he brokered with Kellogg’s required sourcing peanut from U.S. fields, without any misbranding or adulteration and with a “pure food” guarantee. Kellogg’s controlled the shipping schedules. Finally, Tom Ledford, defense attorney for Wilkerson, used a video of the plant, taken by FDA investigators during the Salmonella outbreak that sickened more than 700 and killed nine, to show the jury that it was in a clean condition. In response to Ledford’s questioning, Lightsey said Wilkerson was key to PCA’s product recall, which followed once the company was targeted as the source of the outbreak. Even though he removed her as manager of quality control on Dec. 1, 2008, Lightsey acknowledged that Wilkerson continued to work on the company recall following the outbreak. Lightsey said he and Wilkerson were PCA’s last two employees, working up until the company bankruptcy was filed.

In the Dark: Witness Says Kellogg’s Didn’t Know What it was Getting From PCA

Dallas Carter — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 05:01:53 +0000

Kellogg’s of Battle Creek believed it was getting what it had ordered from Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). It wanted only domestic peanuts free of Salmonella contamination, period. But each time a tanker truck with a 40,000-pound load left PCA’s Blakely, GA, peanut processing plant, Kellogg’s was getting something else entirely. The big tanker trucks were at least partially filled with paste made from imported Mexican peanuts, and sometimes the shipments did test positive for Salmonella, but PCA kept Kellogg’s in the dark about the bogus and contaminated product. That picture of deception is being painted this week in a federal courtroom in Albany, GA. Former PCA plant manager Samuel Lightsey, a government witness, is helping prosecutors prove that fraud and conspiracy were everyday business practices at PCA. When Lightsey resumes his testimony today, it will mark his 19th hour on the witness stand, and prosecutors are not through with him. He is their star witness, showing how Kellogg’s was deceived and how PCA recklessly shipped untested peanuts without regard to customers. Lightsey is one of two former PCA managers who reached an agreement to plead guilty and become a cooperating government witness at trial in exchange for consideration in sentencing. Government attorneys believe his testimony will help persuade the jury to convict former PCA owner and chief executive Stewart Parnell, his peanut broker brother Michael Parnell, and former PCA quality control manager Mary Wilkerson. The three were charged, along with Lightsey, in February 2013 with a total of 76 federal felony counts, including fraud and conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and placing misbranded and adulterated products into interstate commerce. (Daniel Kilgore, another former Blakely manager, reached a plea agreement with the government before the indictment against the others was unsealed.) Much of his first 18 hours of testimony has been tedious because Lightsey is testifying about specific documents and shipments. He told the jury on Monday that PCA was shipping products before microbiological test results came back. When PCA shipped peanut paste to Kellogg’s, it included a certificate that stated the product was free of any Salmonella or other microbiological contamination. When post-shipment testing later showed otherwise, Lightsey said, “It was a mistake,” but that nobody at PCA bothered to tell Kellogg’s about the problem. When he first took the witness stand last week, Lightsey testified that he had been waved off from dealing with Kellogg’s by defendant Michael Parnell. “I can handle Kellogg’s,” Parnell reportedly told Lightsey. “We’ve been shipping to them with false COAs (false certificates of analysis) since before you got here. I’ll handle Kellogg’s. Don’t worry about it.”

PCA’s system was depicted in Lightsey’s testimony as well-thought-out and deliberate. It especially had to get around Kellogg’s customer specifications, which stated, “Peanut paste will be produced from good quality domestic Runner type peanuts.” The specs were included in Kellogg’s purchase agreement with PCA.

Lightsey said that no one at Kellogg’s knew they were getting Mexican peanuts. Kellogg’s, which had annual sales of more than $12.5 billion at the time of the 2008-09 Salmonella outbreak traced back to PCA products, paid heavily for not knowing more about its supply chain. Not only was it caught up in the recall of products — such as its Austin Toasty Crackers with Peanut Butter, made with PCA peanut butter and paste — but it also paid some significant claims to outbreak victims. When the government completes its questioning of Lightsey, the three teams of defense attorneys will have their go at him. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands announced the jury will get a day off on Friday, Aug. 22, as the trial will take a long weekend break. The outbreak of deadly Salmonella typhimurium traced back to the Blakely PCA plant five years ago eventually sickened more than 700 people, resulting in nine deaths. The outbreak investigation, ultimately headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, lasted more than four years before the 76-count indictment was finally unsealed.

Ex-PCA Plant Manager Testifies Against His Former Associates

Dallas Carter — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 18:57:28 +0000

The former Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) plant manager at Blakely, GA, told a federal criminal jury on Friday that PCA owner and chief executive Stewart Parnell ordered him to ship peanut products that tested positive for Salmonella. Samuel Lightsey also said that peanut broker Michael Parnell, Stewart Parnell’s brother, told him not to worry about false certificates of analysis (COAs) that were being prepared by PCA for Kellogg’s, a major customer. Lightsey, who managed the plant until a Salmonella outbreak five years ago forced PCA into bankruptcy, also told the 12-member jury that Mary Wilkerson, the plant quality control manger, was not qualified for the job because she lacked the proper training. His stark depictions of the Parnell brothers and Wilkerson came as no surprise. Lightsey was originally charged, along with the three other defendants, in a 76-count felony indictment for conspiracy and fraud, obstruction of justice, and shipment through interstate commerce of misbranded and adulterated food. Before Lightsey began to testify on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands advised the jury that the witness had reason to make statements favorable to the government because of a plea agreement. This past May, Lightsey pleaded guilty to seven felony counts charged in the February 2013 indictment. Under the agreement, numerous other charges were set aside, and the former plant manager will likely see a sentence reduction to no more than six years in prison, down from the 76-year maximum term he might have faced, plus $1.5 million in fines. Lightsey told the jury that he decided to “do what is right and take responsibility ” for what he did. As the plant manager, he reported directly to owner and chief executive Stewart Parnell in Lynchburg, VA. However, he said Stewart Parnell was present at the Blakely, GA, plant about once a month and was involved on a day-to-day basis by phone and email. According to Lightsey, Michael Parnell told him, “I can handle Kellogg’s. We’ve been shipping to them with false COAs since before you got here. I’ll handle Kellogg’s. Don’t worry about it.” Peanut paste produced for Kellogg’s was not stored by PCA, but went immediately into tanker trucks and was shipped out immediately when full. Lightsey said that his mistake was allowing those shipments to continue with the phony COAs. He testified that he did not quit because he needed a job and thought that he could fix things if he remained in charge. Lightsey said he never could have remained at PCA if he thought the practices could hurt someone. He said the fact that people did get hurt is why he pleaded guilty. The outbreak of deadly Salmonella typhimurium traced back to the Blakely PCA plant five years ago eventually sickened more than 700 people, resulting in nine deaths. The outbreak investigation, ultimately headed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, lasted more than four years before the 76-count indictment was finally unsealed. Lightsey noted that, before coming to PCA, he’d worked in the industry for 20 years without seeing a positive Salmonella test for peanut products. It was U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigator Janet Gray who was first on the scene and spent the longest time on the witness stand this week at the PCA trial. Gray went to the PCA peanut processing plant in Blakely early in 2009 when King Nut peanut butter in Minnesota was found to be contaminated with deadly Salmonella typhimurium and the product was traced back to the Blakely PCA plant. When she arrived, Gray said she got a walk-through at the Blakely facility with Lightsey, who told her PCA had only one “presumptive positive” for Salmonella. He said it was then sent to Deibel Laboratories and came back negative. After the walk-through, Gray continued to head up FDA’s investigation into the nationwide outbreak. It was an investigation that came to focus on PCA peanut butter and peanut paste and products using those products as ingredients. Gray said PCA was initially not willing to share the number of Salmonella tests the company had failed, but more test information came out as the investigation continued. She told the 12-member jury that, had PCA been quicker to disclose test information, FDA’s investigation would have resulted in more effective product recalls. Wilkerson could have been more transparent, according to Gray. The former quality control manager is charged with two felony counts of obstruction of justice.

PCA Trial Testimony Focuses on Salmonella Testing, Investigation

Dallas Carter — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 16:54:35 +0000

Two top officials of testing laboratories used by the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) and a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) official who led the investigation into the deadly Salmonella outbreak linked to the Blakely, GA, peanut processing plant offered up the first testimony in the federal trial now in its second week in Albany, GA. On trial for felony charges involving fraud and conspiracy are three former executives of the now-defunct company, including former chief executive Stewart Parnell, his peanut broker brother Michael Parnell, and Mary Wilkerson, the quality control manager at the Blakely plant. The government’s first witness against the three defendants was Dr. Darlene Cowart, food safety director for J. Leek Associates, who explained to the jury the process used in Salmonella testing. Cowart noted that J. Leek’s relationship with the Blakely PCA plant was a “laboratory relationship only.” Scott Austin, one of the defense attorneys for Stewart Parnell, said that out of more than 3,500 tested samples of PCA products from 2007-08, only 12, or 0.33 percent, came back positive for Salmonella. When asked if a food producer should throw out the entire product if a portion is contaminated with Salmonella, Cowart said they should. “You can’t take a risk with public health. Period,” she said. Cowart confirmed that J. Leek Associates was dealing with a Salmonella problem at PCA’s Blakely facility. Dr. Charles Deibel, president of Deibel Laboratories, followed Cowart on the witness stand. Deibel was the second lab PCA used for microbiological testing. Deibel also testified that he was aware of a Salmonella problem at the PCA Blakely plant. He said he never visited the facility, but that he had contact with plant manager Samuel Lightsey about it. Diebel said a plant with recurring Salmonella should be shut down until the problem can be addressed. On cross-examination, Austin sought to impeach Diebel’s testimony with evidence that Deibel Laboratories itself had problems with FDA. The defense attorney pointed the jury’s attention to a warning letter FDA sent to Deibel Laboratories about the lab’s failure to follow protocols. “Laboratory mechanisms have been violated,” the warning letter stated. Deibel responded that the FDA warning related to pharmaceutical testing and not food safety. The third person to testify was Janet Grey, who has worked for 24 years as an investigator and consumer safety officer for FDA’s Southeast Region based in Tifton, GA. After Minnesota’s health and agriculture departments isolated a sample of King Nut peanut butter and matched it to the outbreak strain in January 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) traced it to PCA’s Blakely plant. FDA then sent Grey in to investigate. She testified that Lightsey, the plant manager, told her that PCA’s own microbiological testing had only once returned a positive test for Salmonella. Grey said Lightsey later acknowledged there were some additional positive Salmonella tests and suggested that Stewart Parnell and Mary Wilkerson knew more because they’d been working at PCA longer than he had. Originally charged with the other three defendants, Lightsey reached a plea agreement with the government last May. In it, he agreed to plead guilty to seven felony counts in exchange for having his potential jail time capped at six years. Lightsey pleaded guilty to: 1) conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud; 2) conspiracy to introduce adulterated and misbranded food into interstate commerce with intent to defraud; 3) introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce with intent to defraud; 4) introduction of misbranded food into interstate commerce with the intent to defraud; 5) interstate shipments fraud; 6) wire fraud, and 7) obstruction of justice. The FDA investigator confirmed that PCA shipped products before testing results were known, and that sometimes those results came back positive. She also shared pictures taken inside the Blakely plant during the investigation showing mold, leaks in the roof, and unsanitary conditions. ‘Non-Parties’ Challenge Government Request to Review Documents Outside the earshot of the jury, there’s another chapter of the PCA litigation that’s being fought out between government prosecutors and another set of attorneys who have yet to be seen in the courtroom. They are referred to as the “Non-Parties” and are lawyers and law firms that at one time or another represented PCA in its regular business dealings before the company met its demise in the 2008-09 Salmonella outbreak. Shortly before the trial began, the prosecution subpoenaed PCA’s former lawyers and even offered the services of a Department of Justice (DOJ) “taint” attorney to review documents for any reasons they might be excluded such as lawyer-client or work product privilege. Three of these “Non-Parties” — Weinberg, Wheeler, Hudgins, Bunn & Dial, LLC, Meagher and Geer, PLLP, and attorney Lanae Pederson — have moved to quash the government’s motion for In Camera Privilege document review by the court. Atlanta-based Weinberg, Wheeler claims it is part of the joint defense agreement involving defendants Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell, and Mary Wilkerson, along with all of their defense attorneys. Meagher and Geer and Pederson claim the government’s request is “unduly burdensome.” Government prosecutors have told the former PCA business lawyers that the scope of the requested document production should involve recorded statements, reports, notes, and emails from PCA employees to any of the defendants. It says it has limited the request to documents involving the defendants to make it less burdensome. “The case is currently in a criminal jury trial for which the Government seeks the documents described above,” DOJ attorney Patrick H. Hearn writes in a motion asking the court to approve the requested in-camera review. “The Government, would, respectfully, request an expedited review of the non-parties Motion to Quash and the Government’s Response and, should the Court production of the requested documents for in camera review, production of the requested documents to the Court.”

PCA Jury Hears About ‘Just Ship It’ Emails During Government’s Opening Statement

Dallas Carter — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 23:06:05 +0000

The long-awaited Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) trial got underway with opening statements Friday morning in Albany, GA, and it was not long before the jury learned about Stewart Parnell’s three most infamous words: “Just ship it.” That was allegedly his reply when employees wanted to know what to do when laboratory tests came back positive for Salmonella or results were delayed. Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Alan Dasher, speaking for the prosecution team (which also includes Patrick H. Hearn and Mary Englehart), took the 12-member jury and six alternates selected a day earlier through some emails that appear to depict the former PCA president as lacking much concern about food safety.

Assistant U.S. Attorney K. Alan Dasher made opening statements for the prosecution Friday as the Peanut Corporation of American trial began in Albany, GA. (Artist’s sketch by Richard Millet.)

While fresh to the jury, most of the emails became public more than five years ago during an investigation by Congress of the 2008-09 Salmonella outbreak traced back to PCA peanut butters and paste. That outbreak caused more than 700 illnesses throughout the nation and is blamed for nine deaths. Dasher told the jury that actions by defendants Stewart Parnell, Michael Parnell and Mary Wilkerson have affected lives across the United States. He pointed out the four locations from which PCA did business and told the jury the positions of the defendants within the PCA organization. Dasher called Stewart Parnell, PCA owner as well as president, a “hands-on guy” who claimed that he traveled regularly to all of the locations, including the Blakely, GA, plant, which has been noted as the source of the Salmonella outbreak. In February 2013, an indictment was unsealed charging former PCA executives with a total of 76 counts, all felonies, including allegations of fraud and conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and causing unbranded and adulterated peanut butter and paste to be placed in interstate commerce. One of those charged, Samuel Lightsey, the former PCA plant manager at Blakely, pleaded guilty before the case went to trial. Dasher showed the jury an email from March 2007, more than a year before the deadly outbreak, in which a manager in the Blakely plant stated that microbiological test results were not going to be back before a shipment was ready to go out. “Just ship it,” was Parnell’s response to the manager’s email, Dasher said. The prosecutor told the jury about a process known as “pre-dipping,” which refers to taking multiple samples from the same product lot and then falsifying the lot numbers. PCA allegedly took four samples from lot 0828 and then claimed them to be lot 0830, 0832, 0836, etc. Dasher also provided the jury with a copy of a contract of between Kellogg’s and PCA requiring that “all products produced at this facility are grown in the USA unless customers require peanuts that have been produced from a different origin.” But the prosecutor said that evidence will show 69 percent of the peanut paste delivered to Kellogg’s by PCA was made from either Mexican paste or paste made from Argentine peanuts. Dasher also introduced some additional emails he intends to use as evidence against the former PCA executives. One email, from Grey Adams to David Voth (the company’s national sales manager), began with, “They [peanuts] need to be air hosed off because they’re covered in dust and rat crap.” Adams is Stewart Parnell’s daughter, who worked at PCA’s headquarters in Lynchburg, VA. Dasher also presented an email in which Mary Wilkerson wrote, “We have a problem with Salmonella every other week if not every week.” He finished up his opening statement by repeating the phrase used in multiple emails about contaminated PCA product: “Just ship it.” Defense attorney Thomas J. Bondurant Jr., representing Stewart Parnell, began his opening statement by telling the jury about his client and the Parnell family’s long history in the peanut industry. Bondurant addressed the “pre-dipping” issue but said there is neither a legal requirement for retesting for Salmonella nor any law against it. Bondurant told the jury that the contract was not between Kellogg’s and PCA but was a contract of P.P. Sales and Kellogg’s. The defense attorney ended his opening statement by asking the jury to keep an open mind throughout the trial. Edward Tolley, defense attorney for Michael Parnell, and Thomas Ledford, defense attorney for Mary Wilkerson, both chose to hold their opening statements until they present their cases. The government’s first expert witness also took the stand on Friday. To explain to the jury how microbiological testing is conducted for Salmonella and other pathogens, the prosecution called Dr. Darlene Cowart, director of food safety and quality at Birdsong Peanuts. The University of Georgia-trained biologist previously headed up a privately owned laboratory with multiple locations and now works for Birdsong, one of the state’s best-known peanut shelling companies. Cowart’s testimony will continue at 8 a.m. on Monday at the C.B. King U.S. Courthouse in Albany.