Congressional Subcommittee Hearing

What is that? A yeah, it's a World Cup Her Like the soccer Tournament World Cup? Hlder. For the world It fits every car, holds every cup. It has a Carvana logo. Carvana made it. They buy and sell cars, so they made a car cup holder So, uh got any good cups lately? I used to. I just couldn't figure out where in the world to put them. The World Cup holder, brought to you by Carvana. proud sponsors of the World Cup holder. Sign up today toin you're at cup dash holder twenty six dot comot otherhwed endorsed by FIA, not a real product for parredity for your purp This episode of Swindled may contain graphic descriptions or audio recordings of disturbing events which may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised And I said, Are you okay? And he just his eyes started rolling back in his head, and he just started going to lay back down. And I went over and started patting his face. I'm like, Chuck, what's wrong You know, what's wrong? You have to talk to me. What's wrong? You know, talk to me now, I'm going to call the ambulance And he couldn't talk or anything. So that's when I called nine hundred eleven. Charles Palmer was found unresponsive in his Colorado Springs home by his wife Tammy on august thirty first, twenty eleven The seventy year old retired Marine sergeant had been sick in bed for a few days, and his condition had worsened Charles's blood pressure was high He wasn't responding. M he had a low grade fever Tammy Palmer called for an ambulance who rushed Charles to the hospital His eyes were open, medical staff noted, But Chuck had lost most of his motor functions and all awareness of space and time Tests revealed that Charles Palmer was suffering from a severe infection The doctor that treated him wondered if Chuck's illness was related to the recent outbreak of lisereiosis additional test confirmed that it was Listeriosis is a food borne illness caused by the bacterium, Listeria monocytogenes. yptoms of the infection include fever, vomiting, body aches, and confusion. More serious conditions can arise including sepsis, a potentially fatal blood infection and meningitis where the membrane surrounding the brain becomes inflamed. fatality rate is high And almost a quarter of the people diagnosed with listeriosis die from complications elderly and other immunocompromised persons are most affected. pass to children through birth and cause pregnant women to miscarry. but what makes the listeria bacteria unique and far more deadly than its food borne counterparts like salmonella and Ei is that it can take weeks, sometimes months for symptoms to manifest And worst of all, the bacteria thrive in cool dark places. Listeria can survive in the soil It lurks in the water And it can be found in the contents of your favorite foods Pasteurized cheese Dgs, raw milk Sounds delicious, but Charles Palmer had consumed none of those things Even though the source of Charles's listeriosis was traced back to a cantaloupe purchased from a Walmart a few weeks earlier Tammy Palmer said her husband was having a slice or two here and there. over the course of two days. At the time cantalpes were a previously unheard of vehicle for which Listeria could roam fortunately That was no longer the case That's a phrase we'd hope never to hear Killer cantaloupe Federal health officials are searching for the cause of the listeria outbreak in cantaloupe that has killed four people already. twentyenty two people have been sickened in seven states. Take a look. Colorado, Indiana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and West Virginia They're not sure how the cantalpes were contaminated. The outbreak has been traced, though, to a single Colorado farm And Ryan Jensen never meant to hurt anybody brothers were fourth generation farmers The Jensson Farms's Rocky Ford cantalpes were the pride and economic backbone of their town Brothers Jensen were devastated to learn that the listeria outbreak had been traced back to their livelihood. Our first priority is the public's health and safety. A statement read We're still in shock We're completely focused on our recall efforts right now Jensen Farm stopped production voluntarily on september tenth, twenty eleven Brothers issued a recall for their entire harvest crop of more than three hundred thousand cantaloppes that had already been distributed It really comes It's personal to us. it's deeply troubles and forest. No, there's nothing to stick of. It's been a very good Europe until this point. We're totally shut down right now. You don't know what to trust, what to buy Tammy Palmer told A BBC News I just can't believe it. I'm still in shock I want him home said of her husband Charles, who had been in the hospital for weeks I want him. by my side Retired Marine sergeant Charles Palmer ultimately survived his bow with listeriosis, but he was never really the same He had lost more than a third of his body weight by the time he was released on the thirty fifth day Charles said his reflection in theirror resembled a prisoner of war The Kenelo Palmer ink came from this Colorado farm M more than three hundred thousand cases of cantalopes have been voluntarily recalled in seventeen states this week because of potential lystteria contamination Two people in seven states have been sickened by the Jetson Farm mellace. The numbers were compounding according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control beginning on july twenty ninth There have been more than eighty four confirmed cases of listeriosis linked to the Jensen Farmss cantalpes in almost twenty different states teen people had died October The listeria outbreak was approaching record breaking numbers The FDA released its report today, saying that unsanitary conditions at Jensen Farmmss Packing shed appear to be responsible. That outbreak so far is responsible for twenty five deaths, including six in Colorado and more than one hundred twenty illnesses in twenty six states. That outbreak was traced to cantaloupes grown at Jenson Farms near Hollley. and now the farm's packing facility in Granada An investigation of the Jensen Farms packing facility conducted by the Food and Drug Administration. found four different strains of listeria The FDA reported that the bacteria was present and water pulled on the plant's floor and on the corroded equipment Jenson Brothers had recently purchased used from a potato farm. Well we primarily found it's on product that was in the packing facility as well as on the washing and drying equipment that was used The FDA also reported the lack of a pre cooling step in the packing process before the cantalpes were placed into cold storage. such oversight could produce condensation which can contribute to the bacteria's growth This was all news to Eric and Ryan Jenssen. Primus labs had just given their facilities a stellar safety rating just weeks before the outbreak occurred at the end of twenty eleven The FDA reported that the listeria outbreak caused the deaths of thirty three people the illness of about one hundred and fifty more It was the deadliest recorded US outbreak of foodborne illness since the nineteen eighty five outbreak of Listeria tainted Mexican cheese in southern California Somebody asked me once if I thought they were bad people And I couldn't answer the question at that time. I personally don't think the Jensons are bad people. I think they were led astray in their heart. I think they know they've done something wrong. Stinson Farms went bankrupt brothers sued the food safety auditor promised to donate any proceeds to the victims who were suing Jensen Farms Charles and Tammy Palmer brought the first lawsuit The couple sought to recoup at least a quarter of a million dollars in medical expenses Walmart was also named in the suit, but the retail giant settled out of court for an undisclosed amount Palmer died from rectal cancer before the case's resolution legal ramifications for the Jensen Bothers did not end there twoo years later september twenty thirteen Eric and Ryan, now thirty seven and thirty three years old respectively were charged with six counts of adulteration of a food and aiding in abetting lawyer told the Denver Post, quote The charges against Eric and Ryan do not imply that they knew or even should have known that the cantaloppes had been contaminated as they were from the first day of this tragedy Jensens remains shocked. saddened and in prayerful remembrance of the victims and their families The brothers who own the Colorado cantalouope farm behind a deadly listeria outbreak were sentenced today Eric and Ryan Jensenon pleaded guilty last year to six federal counts, and under a plea deal, they were sentenced to five years probation and six months of home detention. Though the charges were misdemeanors, the Jensen Farms case was significant because it was one of the few times a food producer faced criminal charges prosecutions are rare in the industry. because it is difficult to prove criminal intent most of the time most. of the time ation issues that a peanut processing company to one of the most extensive food recalls in American history onn this episode of Swindt They bried government officials accounting ra violations of st law clearly unetical p of playillions of taxpayer dollars that were waste a hundred tens of millions of do million dollars billion dollars b also trying his bs and recs respountable for the collapse of the entire system in the schoolrol of some god of Sage Port for Swindled comes from Gusto One thing nobody tells you when you start a business is how much time you'll spend doing things that have nothing to do. the actual business Payroll tax forms Onboarding paperwork, HR questions. 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The less time you spend wrestling with paperwork The more time you can spend doing the work that actually pays the bills. tried Gusto today gusto. com slash Swindled three months free when you run your first payroll Three months of free payroll at gusto. com slash swwindled. One more time, gusto d. com slash Swindled In late two thousand eight, the Minnesota Department of Health Noticed an elevated number of salmoneilla cases My state has one of the best surveillance systems in the country and after comprehensive investigations of Minnesota scientists identified the king nut brand of peanut butter as the culprit prodrouced by the Peanut Corporation of America, or PCA Corporation of America It was founded in Gorman, Texas in nineteen seventy six Back then it was known as Parnell's peeanuts. The company was named after its owner. c part now an ice cream nding machine salesman who had stumbled upon a new niche while restocking a machine with nutty buddy ice cream cones. HQgh noticed that the peanuts and the ingredients were sourced from some northern state He remembered a few of his ice cream clients had complained that they couldn't buy peanuts in bulk in the South I bought a chopping machine and a few bags of peanuts and went to work. Carnell towld the Lynchburg, Virginia News in Avance in nineteen eighty three by then Parnell's peanuts had annual sales of more than ten million dollars T years later Parnell and his three sons who helped operate the company had tripled the revenue When Hugh Parnell seld Parnell's peeanuts and retired in nineteen ninety four. The company had plants in Texas, Georgia, and Virginia that employed almost one hundred people Parnells created a thirty million dollars business with nothing more than hard work and a good idea that ever fleeting American dream. When the old man retired, the three Parnell sons weren't so keen on letting it just slip away. brothers agreed to stay on as consultants under the company's new owners at least until a new opportunity presented itself did in two thousand forty eight year old Stuart Parnell. Hgh's oldest son and a private sale was able to buy back the company his father started Stewart merged what was now called the Peanut Corporation of America. the struggling peanut processing plant in Blakeley, Georgia owned by a different businessman The new venture proved lucrative PCA blanched, roasted, granulated, salted and packaged peanuts and peanut butter for clients large and small all over the country Kell Logs, Sarly, L Dbbie some of the most popular snack food products on store shelves were manufactured with ingredients from Peanut Corporation of America. because the peeanut Corporation of America's ingredients were fast, cheap Plentiful and versatile bird seed, dog treats and dollar store peanut butter alike Peanut meal and peanut paste were also sold in bulk to the institutional food market You know, schools, prisons, nursing homes places whose residents have no input on what they are fed The United States government was a PCA customer too the National School Launch prorogram. BMA mills for disaster victims and food for the military all featured the company's products in some form or fashion. It has been estimated that the Peanut Corporation of America was manufacturing two point five percent of all processed peanuts in the US at the time. As a result, Stuart Parnell, the company's president, was appointed to sit on the U S. Department of Agriculture's Peanut Standards Board. who better to advise on peanut quality than a major player like him However, behind the scenes, the Panut Corporation of America was anything but major Stewart had adopted his father's bare bones approach to infrastructure and labor The company was headquartered in a converted garage behind Stewart's upscale home in Lynchburg The banner was hanging outside with a picture of a squirrel that read quote Welcome to the N House It didn't make sense to maintain some fancy office space because Parnell was always traveling between his Virginia and Georgia plants anyway And in two thousand five PCA opened a new plant in Plainville, Texas, near Lubbock Stuart Parnell's hand on managerial approach ensured that he was never home but at least all the hard work was paying off by the end of two thousand five. Peanut Corporation of America's Blakeley Georgia plant alone Pcessing two and a half million pounds of peanuts per month by two thousand seven PCA was nearing a return to those Hugh Partnell glory days The company had ninety employees and was earning more than twenty five million dollars in annual revenue Finet growth was in full view Naturally, we had suspected some kind of food poisoning And so it was Look here This is what we found These are salmonella organisms of the species typhy murum which were isolated from a patient's stool specimen. From the lapse of time between our patients's last meal and the outbreak of illness It was pretty evident that the evening meals were responsible for the presence of the salmonella organisms in the stool specimens Chirleie May Omer tougher than nails. A year after beating lung cancer, she suffered a seizure Doctors found a brain tumor sureurely beat that too. afterfter months of rehab to regain the use of her limbs and speech in october two thousand eight Shirly Almer was released back home to her family in Perham, Minnesota Unfortunately, the seventy two year old was readmitted into a short term care facility and brainered around Thanksgiving after developing a urinary tract infection Shirley Amer was supposed to be home by Christmas Well she kept getting worse The UTI was followed by stomach cramping and diarrhea There was nothing the medical staff could do This is Sirley's son, Jeff Amer She began to complain of stomach cramping and had diarrhea There was a downward spiral from that point on. Our family was absolutely stunned to learn on the day before her scheduled release that doctors were giving her hours to live It was very unexpected and equally hard to fathom how she could have gotten to this point We were devastated as we ended up saying her tearful goodbyes and watching her last breaths on that Sunday It was just after the new year that my sister, Ginger was informed by the Minnesota Department of Health about the positive test for salmonella Salmonella usually referred to as food poisoning when calling out of work is America's most common food borne illness It's typically found in contaminated raw meat ry milk and eggs Those that ingest the bacteria may experience diarrhea fever, abdominal cramps and vomiting The symptoms usually last four to seven days Most people recover without treatment. However, severe infections can occur in those most susceptible. very young, the elderly and the frail. Fortunately, Shirley May Almer was two of the three She died a few days before Christmas in two thousand eight Sarlely was the first confirmed death. More than a month later, Nelly Napier in Ohio was the last. She just celebrated her eightieth birthday. Health officials in Minnesota noticed that there had been several salmonella deaths in the state around the same time To is the not alsoso died at an assisted living facility in Brainard So did eighty seven year old Dorors fllatgard but the outbreak was far from contained. Salmonella had killed Pete Hollett and Betty Shilander in North Carolina There was also a report that a dog in Oregon was sick too by New Year's Day two thousand nine. At least five people had died and hundreds more were sickened by salmonella days later Health officials identified the source of the outbreak We did a case control study talking to ill people and well people in many states. in order to find out what was different? What the What did the people who were sick, Eden The well people had not eaten And the answer that came back from that study was the same as the suspicion in Minnesota, was peanut butter Su for Swindled comes from Rocket Money. You ever have one of those mornings where you look at your bank account and think What am I doing with my life That happens to me on almost a daily basis I can be irresponsible. I admit it I'm always paying for things I forgot I signed up for months ago That's why I've been using Rocket money. It puts all of your finances in one place so you can actually see where your money is going. It tracks subscriptions, monitors spending, and helps you spot patterns that are easy to miss when you're busy doing literally anything else. 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Americans are warned to avoid eating cookies, cakes, ice cream, and anything else that might contain peanut butter until more is known The FDA says most peanut butter sold in supermarkets appears to be safe, the outbreak has sickened more than four hundred and seventy people nationwide. Six deaths are blamed on the outbreak. Officials are focusing on peanut products produced by this Georgia plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America as a possible source of the deadly strains onn january fourth, two thousand nine through a combination of epidemiological analysis and laboratory testing The U. S. Centers for Disease Control, the Minnesota Department of Health, And the Connecticut Department of Health simultaneously traced the outbreak strain of salmonella back to a brand of peanut butter manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America called King Nut. teria was found in jars of King nut and some of the affected nursing homes Health officials also found salmonella in Austin and Kabler brand prepackaged peanut butter crackers You know the ones radioactive orange three packs that are provided in meetings or passed out at events by people who obviously don't care about you Peanut Corporation of America supplied the peanut butter paste that held those abominations together. PCA issued an immediate recall of some of its products, but released a statement categorically denying the allegations It was not the first time somebody had something to say about the Panut Corporation of America those in the industry were familiar with these sanitation and food quality concerns that followed that company around The Washington Post spoke to a buyer for a snack food company that had inspected PCAs facilities three separate times in the mid eighties Brooks describbe the facilities as just filthy. quote. Dust was all over the beams, the braces of the building. The roofs leaked, the windows would be open, and birds would fly through the building. It was just a time bomb waiting to go off. and everybody in the peanut industry in Georgia, Virginia, and Texas They all knew Yet no one had intervened In the early nineties, Peanut Corporation of America was sued by two candy companies over lost inventory for providing products that exceeded the Food and Drug Administration's tolerance for aflaoxin byproduct of molt. Th then in two thousand one, the FDA found products at PCA's Blakeley, Georgia plant that had been potentially exposed to insecticides. Company officials had used a fogger in the processing areas and never followed through with a thorough clean FDA inspectors also discovered gaps in doors and holes in walls that served as easy access for rodents And there were dead bugs and mouse droppings on the floor near the food accccording to Virginia State insspection Reords corpse plant and sulfic had similar issues The same was true of PCA's pllant in Plainview, Texas Nestle even refused to buy from PCA after conducting an onsite audit of the Texas plant in two thousand six That's right. Nestlely. Stuart Parnell was just as surprised as you In response, later that year, Parnell hired an assistant plant manager at the Plainview plant named Kenneth Kendrick Kendrick observes numerous problems at the facility as soon as he ste foot through the door Most notably the rodent infestations and the leaky ceiling When it rained, all the bird fe ses that peppered the roof would wash into the building Stuart Parnell ignored Kendrick's observations The plant manager sent anonymous emails and letters detailing its concerns to the Texas Department of Health and some of PCA's customers He never received a single response I knew it was a train wreck and something unethical and bad was about to happen, Kendrick said He quit working for PCA after only a few months on the job. but a little more than two years later Following the Salmonella outbreak in january two thousand nine The Food and Drug Administration conducted a two week inspection of peanut corpse plant in Georgia. The agency confirmed all of the rumored sanitation issues. There was mold, dead insects, dirty equipment, water leaks, and large holes in the roof. Naturally, these findings led to questions. Investigators asked Samuel Leitzy, PCA's Blakeley, Georgia plant manager if the company's products had tested positive for Salmonella at any time in the past. Leitzy hesitated to answer before admitting to one It was a false positive, he assured Finally, after five days of repeated requests for information, Samuel lies he changed his story. He divulged that there in fact had been three positive tests in recent years It was a blessing in disguise Lighte's Le allowed the FDA to perform a rare order to legally demand two four years of production, shipping, and testing records that were usually punctually and voluntarily handed over by those being investigated But after receiving the documents, it became clear as to what. Panut Corporation of America was trying to hide accccording to PCA's own internal testing records between two thousand seven and two thousand eight, There have been twelve positive tests for salmonella But instead of destroying the product and deep cleaning the facility, like most reasonable food processing companies would do The Peanut Corporation of America simply retested the product using a different lab until a negative test was returned. product would then be shipped to customers without disclosing the initial positive test. And infamously, salmonella can live within pockets of substances such as peanut butter bacteria are usually not equally distributed part of a batch can be contaminated while another part tests clean. It is not uncommon for one product to return to varying results Corporation of America claimed that the first tests were merely presumptive and not definitive proof of contamination but a clean second test was no excuse Further investigation by the FDA revealed that the situation was even more disturbing A simple comparison of production, testing, and shipping dates revealed that sometimes PCA did not even bother to wait for the second test before shipping The company knew about possible salmonella contaminations and decided to distribute the product anyway In other instances, the peanuts were not tested at all. There's more damaging evidence against the Georgia peanut plant at the heart of the salmonella outbreak probe The FDA has previously said the Peanut Corporation of America ship products after waiting for a second test to clear peanut butter and peanuts that initially tested positive for salmonella. Now the government claims the company shipped products even after the initial tests showed they tested positive for the bacteria The investigation also revealed thanks to Kenneth Kendrick's relentless whistleblowing PCA plant in Plainview, Texas was completely unknown to federal and state regulators Put Corporation of America had never bothered to register to the facility or obtain a food manufacturer's license which meant that in the plant's four years of operation that had never once been inspected by health officials However, in two thousand five PCA did apply and received approval from the Texas Department of Agriculture to label its products certified organic rats, roaches and all. Last month, federal investigators identified Peanut Corporation's Georgia processing plant. as the source of the salmonella outbreak That outbreak has sickened some six hundred people and may have contributed to nine deaths When the FDA's investigation concluded in late january two thousand nine Formmer Peanut Corporation of America employees came forward with their own stories Texas worker described the plant's conditions to the New York Times as disgusting Others echoed concerns about water leaks and rodents A worker at the Georgia pllant even revealed the secret recipe. Allright What's dry roasted peanut day after the FDA published its findings Peanut Corporation of America agreed to expand its recall to include every peanut product produced at the Blakeley Georgia pllant in the past two years At least four hundred and thirty one peanut butter containing products were recalled by fifty four companies that were using ingredients produced by PCA It wasn't an easy decision to make Stewart Parnell reportedly begged officials to let him ship what was already packaged on the factory floor No thanks. Instead, the federal government invited Stuart Parnell and PCA Georgia plant manager Samuel Leitzy. to explain themselves at a House Energy and Commerce sububcommittee on february tenth, two thousand nine U. S. representative from California Henry Waxman. by sharing incriminating emails the FDA had obtained These documents obtained by our subcommittee are very disturbing. because what they show is that this company cared more about its financial bottom line that it did about the safety of its customers. Greed was a common theme For example, in one email. Carnell responded to test results taking longer than expected by instructing his employees to quote, shit, just ship it I cannot afford to lose another customer In another, Parnell ordered his plant manager to turn them loose, even after the products he was referring to had initially tested positive for salmonella These lab tests are fucking breaking me. The CEO wrote in august two thousand seven And on february fourth, two thousand eight, after he was alerted by a plant manager of almost four thousandteen hundred pounds of peanut waste sitting on a factory floor. Stuart Parnell responded in all caps, quote It is money. It is money It is money. goddamned money that we do not have because of how long I have allowed you, your crew, and everyone down there to let this go on stop the money from ever getting out of the production flow They're covered in dust and rat crap. The manager reminded Parnell Can them up and ship them boss replied The blatant disregard for the health and safety of the public contained in those emails was disturbing, to say the least Eespecially for the families of the victims who attended the subcommittee meeting that day to urge federal lawmakers to reform food safety laws Jeff Amer, the son of Shirley May Amer was the first to speak Um When I came here today, I didn't think I would possibly get more outraged than I already am about how this happened. But I have to tell you, it's reached another level after seeing emails and comments from mr. Parnell. No excuses. Mr. Almer recalled his mother's plight, how she had survived cancer twice only to succumb to peanut butter This should have never happened and what was initially viewed as an innocent mistake by a negligent company had morphed into something sinister Her death and the deaths of seven others could have been so easily prevented if it were not for the greed and avarice of the Punut Corporation of America. PCA appears to be more concerned with squeezing every dollar possible at the expense of sanitary conditions and sound food manufacturing processes. While they were not expecting to kill anyone PCA now has the blood of eight victims on their hands, along with the shattered health of aknown six hundred others and they've devastated their own community with the unemployment Their legacy is now that of a company that did what it could get away with until their shoddy practices has led to the nation's largest recall Their behavior is criminal in my opinion I want to see jail time, and I want to see them serve nothing but the putrid sludge they've been trowelling on Lou Tzenant, son of Clifford Tzenant, who also died from salmonella in a Minnesota nursing home, asked the panel to take action We have a blind faith that when we go to a grocery store, the food there is also safe It clearly is not Do not let the death of my father, the seven others, and the hundred sickened. Be in vain. Please do your job. And Peter Hurley, the father of Jacob Hurley, a toddler that had been infected and survived, offered a very American metaphor. People would be in utter outrage if they heard of a police officer putting a loaded gun to someone's head pulling the trigger and then in the horrific aftermath, say I was just hoping that the bullet in the chamber wouldn't fire. Victim testimonies were heartbreaking. Everyone in attendance and everyone watching at home was touched But unfortunately, the person who needed to hear their stories the most didn't bother to show up I wonder if mis. Parnell is in the audience Mr. Parnell in the audience. You know, I would think that the least he could have done was be here to hear your comments and to hear about your loved ones like a victim impact panel because that's really what this is today However, Stuart Parnell and Samuel Lysy did arrive in time to testify that afternoon I'm just going to play the whole clip because it's comical. Sit back and enjoy. After it's over, we will review what we've learned. Shall we? And I'll begin. miss Perneell, I want to ask you about an email you sent to your employees at the Peanut Corporation on january twelfth, two thousand nine after public health officials found salmonella and peanut butter from your plant in Georgia Right in front of you right there is our binder tab. It's tab number forty four if you care to look at it In particular, I want to ask you about the following statement you made in that email He said, we do not believe the salmonella came from our facility as you probably know We send hourly PB samples to an independent lab to test for salmanlla during production of peanut butter, and we have never found any salmanlla at all Parneell during its investigation, FDA found on twelve separate occasions between june two thousand seven and september two thousand eight Peanut products produced by PCA and tested by private labs were found to be contained contaminated with salmonella On six of these occasions, the FDA found that you hadd already shipped the product and that you conducted no subsequent testing So your statement that quote, you never found any salmonella at all, and of quote, does not appear to be true. So here's my question and I remind you you're under oath, mister Parnell, did you or any officials at the Peanut Corporation of America ever place food products into the interstate commerce that you knew to be contaminated with salmonella mister Chairman, members of the committee, onn the advice of my counsel, I respectfully decline to answer your question based on the protection afforded to me under the United States Constitution. Okay, mister Pronnell Let me ask you this In the last panel, and you heard the last panel testify, did you not S, mister Chairman, and members of the committee, on the advice of my counsel. I respectfully declined to answer your question based on the protection afforded me under the United States Constitution. Okay. I just asked you if you heard the other panel mister Chairman and members of the committee, on the advice of my counsel, I respectfullly decline to answer your question based on the protection afforded me under the United States Constitution. OkayK, well then let me ask you this question and mis. Parnell Dillor panel, we talked a little bit about money and some of the emails and statements attributed to you about the cost of business, how not Mving product was hurting you hurting your business And that actually you deal with salmonella again from emails once a week. So So the food poison of people, is that just the cost of doing business for your company? mister Chairman, and members of the committee, On the advice of my counsel, Ipect respectfully declined to answer your question based on the protection afforded me under the United States Constitution mister Waldon, I believe you had a question you had alluded to earlier. wouldould you like to ask that question? I would, mister Chairman. mister Parnell, mister Leitzy, let me just cut to the chase then In this container, our products that have your ingredients in them Some of which were on the recall list, some of which are probably contaminated It seems like from what we've read, you were willing to send out that peanut base went into these ingredients, I just wonder W you of you be willing to take the lid off and eat any of these products now? like the people who on the panel ahead of you their relatives their loved ones did Mis. Chairman, and members of the committee, only advice of my councsel, I respectfully decline to answer your question based on the protection afford to me under the United States Constitution. Mrter Leitzy. At this time on advisced cancl. I exercise my rights fififth ammendment of the Constitution mister Parnell, is it your intent to refuse to answer all of our questions today based on your right against self incrimination, forward it against you forward it to you under the fififth Amendment of the Constitution? Yes mister Leitzy, is it your intention to refuse to answer all our questions today based on the right against self incrimination afforded to you under the fififth Amendment of the Constitution? Yes. All right, then, I have no choice but to both of you are dismissed Nothing We've learned nothing The entire subcommittee meeting was a waste of time However, Parnell's response or lack thereof was understandable since he had learned a week earlier that he was the subject of a criminal investigation. No reason to further incriminate oneself in front of the world Besides, the emails were more than enough to reveal the rat shit and blood that was on his hands. day after the subcommittee meeting A ninth person died from the salmonella outbreak for which Peanut Corporation of America was responsible The company's reputation was ruined Texas facility was shut down. The recall was expanded again. One of the most extensive ever. Every product from PCA's Texas facility was returned and destroyed including school lunches bank rations And one hundred sixty eight thousand emergency meal kits that had been distributed in Kentucky after a once in a lifetime winter storm ravaged the state recall did not include brand name peanut butter and peanut products However, a poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health at the time showed that one in four people assumed they were. painted our entire industry said Shelly Nut. perfectly named executive director of the Peanut Producers Board in Texas. Perception is killing us Sales of all brands of peanut butter were down twenty five percent in early two thousand nine guysu like Jiff and Peter Pan even took out advertisements in the New York Times and other major newspapers to alert consumers that their products were not affected There were usually coupons attached as a token of trust. But no peanut company was doing worse than the Peanut Corporation of America in addition to the massive recall. The company had been banned from holding government contracts for at least a year In addition, Stuart Parnell was kicked off the USDA's Peanut Standards Bard In less than four days after the CEO refused to testify publicly ut Corporation of America permanently halted operations and declared bankruptcy Don't wor Food and Dug Adinistration. was receiving its fair share of well deserved criticism too. But the FDA's handling of the case is also under scrutiny for missing possible red flags that might have stopped the outbreak In mid September last year on the US Canadian border, a shipment of chopped peanuts from PCA described as filthy, putrid, decomposing, unfit for food and later shown to include metal fragments was sent to Canada, which rejected it The FDA then flagged it and sent it back to Georgia. The plant eventually destroyed it But the FDA never inspected the facility In the wake of the peanut butter salmonella outbreak President Barack Obama announced his administration's intention of transforming the nation's food safety system by shifting the focus from responding to food borne illness to preventing it He told Matt Lauower on NBC's Today S show, quote I think the FDA has not been able to catch some of these things as quickly as I expect them to catch them So we're going to be doing a complete review of FDA operations at a bare minimum We should be able to count on our government, keeping our kids safe when they eat peanut butter Obama signed the Food Sfety Modernization Act on january fourth, twenty eleven The FDA, which now had the power to suspend a facility's ability to sell food and dain food that may be contaminated The most sweeping reform in food safety laws in seventy years. The new law required food companies to report positive salmonella results to the FDA after which a plant would be subject to federal inspection a few months after the legislation was passed Jensen Farmss cananalope listeria outbreak Heard. Filthy plants are blamed for a salmonella outbreak that killed nine people two years ago. Now that peanut industry executive is back in the business. Fox News is learning Stuart Parnell, former president of the now bankrupt peeanut Corporation of America is back at work now as a consultant to other peanut companies A federal criminal investigation is still hanging over his head As time passed, the financial and epidemiological impact of the two thousand nine salmonella outbreak became more clear More than three thousand nine hundred products manufactured by more than three hundred and sixty companies using Peanut Corporation of America's ingredients were recalled. The outbreak was responsible for nine deaths and more than seven hundred reported illnesses in forty six states. The CDC estimates based on projections that in reality, there were probably more than twenty two thousand total cases half of them probably children including L Jay Curley Nine people died. hundredundreds of people were sickened, including Little Jake Hurley Jake. This happened almost two years ago. I know that's almost half a lifetime for you, but do you remember being sick? No Don't really remember it, But how are you feeling today, Jake Good You playing around the playground and having fun at school and all that No In august twenty ten, a federal judge awarded victims and their families twelve million dollars in settlement money to be paid out of PCA's insurance policy For most, the money was little consolation for the ones they lost In my mind, they are murderers Jeff Amer told the Atlanta Journal Constitution Many victims wanted to see Stuart Partnell and his cronies face criminal charges The U. S. Department of Justice was happy to oblige The salmonella outbreak had major ramifications on the peanut market and caused a significant impact on the public's perceptions of food safety and government regulation In addition to the prosecution of the Jensen Bothers. The federal government needed to send another message that it was serious about cracking down on food born crimes Stuart Parnell was indicted on february fifteenth, twenty thirteen Almost four years to the day, the Peanut Corporation of America shut its salmonella infected doors The sixty one year old former CEO was charged with a conspiracy Introduction of misbranded food into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead mail fraud, wire fraud, and obstruction of justice Stuart Parnell's younger brother Michael, a food broker who worked on PCA's behalf. was also brought up on similar charges Both pleaded not guilty PCA's quality Assurance Manager, Mary Wilkerson was charged with two obstruction counts The government alleged that the forty one year old was aware that products were produced and shipped on the same day Despite knowing that salmonella testing takes two to four days to complete according to the indictment Wilkerson played a major role in the cover upp Wilkerson claims she was innocent She also pleaded not guilty The investigation also charged former PCA plant manager Samuel Leitzy and operations manager Daniel Kilgore with conspiracy and fraud Both Leysy and Kilgore pleaded guilty to multiple federal felony counts and became cooperating witnesses. They were sentenced to three years and six years in prison, respectively Parnell Brothers and Mary Wilkerson were tried together on july thirty first, twenty fourteen The prorosecution featured forty five witnesses and thousands of pages of emails, lab results, and financial records. prove that Peanut Corpse executives intentionally misled inspectors and customers by knowingly introducing contaminated product into the food chain The defense arguue that Stuart Parnell had ADHD which affected his ability to read and understand the emails he had sent received They even tried to introduce a Virginia neuropsychologist as an agreeable expert witness But U. S. district Judge Louis Sands ruled the testimony inadmissible and wrote, The allegations in this case involve a complex scheme to defraud and allegations of willfulness not errors and mistakes in processing, emails and phone calls The defense also tried to convince the jury that the Parnell brothers and Mary Wilkerson were just pawns in a quote government conspiracy game federal government was picking on the little guy instead of going after someone like Kellogg's If Stuart Parnell knew that the peanut butter was dangerous, his attorney posed Why would he have a jar of this dangerous peanut butter in his own home And then he held up a photograph of peanut butter That was the best the defense could muster. It was a tough kick documents and witness testimony was too inexcusable to overcome It is important to note that the PCA executives were not charged with killing anybody In fact, the death toll from the salmonella outbreak was not even mentioned in court So again, like the cantalouope case before it proroving that Stuart Parneu and PCA intended to hurt people. was next to impossible This was not a story about murder This was a story about greed. death. was just a byproduct From one corporate consumer related scandal to another. Stuart Parnell, he is the top ranking exec of the peanut cororporation of America. He was sentenced yesterday to twenty eight years behind bars. It is the toughest penalty ever for a corporate executive in a food poisoning outbreak. He is sixty one years old, unless he wins an appeal, he will die in prison Cpts are now holding food company executives and even farmers responsible for dangerous outbreaks. In April, two egg company executives got three month sentences after a twenty ten salmonella outbreak. Last year, two cantalouope farmers were sentenced to five years probation and six months home detention for a listeria outbreak in twenty eleven After seven week trial. in september twenty fourteen Stuart Parnell and his brother were convicted of seventy one criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud. Bry Wilkerson was found guilty of one count of obstruction of justice The guilty verdicts marked the first federal felony convictions of company executives in a food safety case. before Parneu and compompany were sentenced Nine victims testified about the terror and grief caused by tainted peanut butter produced by peeanut Corporation of America you My mom Jeff Armer was finally able to say to Stuart Parnell's face right off the cliff year old Jacob Hurley, who was just three when he was sickened from eating peanut buttercackers, was direct as usual He told the judge, quote I think it's okay for him to spend the rest of his life in prison The judge did too Stuart Parnell was sentenced to twenty eight years in prison firstirst time forormmer CEO apologized publicly personally embarrassed humiliated and morally disgraced by what happened. He told the judge, It's been a seven year nightmare for me and my family All I can do is come before you and ask for forgiveness from you and the people back here I'm truly sorry for what happened This is Jeff Amer. This kind of came a blur after about T or twelve of them were read guilty. All I could think about was, you know my mom and how hard she struggled at the end of her life and the battle that she went through to beat cancer. And then this was the culmination of you know, the cause of her death. This was You know, the resolution to that Stuart Parnell's coefendant, his brother Michael Parnell, was sentenced to twenty years in prison Mary Wilkerson, the quality Asurance mananager, was sentenced to five years in prison As of september twenty twenty one. of the PCA executives convicted Only the Parnell brothers remain behind bars Both men have pending motions to vacate their sentence Stewart and Michael Parnell claim they received quote ineffective assistance of counsel They say their defense teams fail to seek a change of venue for the trial failed to block corrupted jurors from serving. Will our villains be set free O will justice prevail as they continue to rot away in prison findind out next time onswindled We have to get the expectation out to the private sector that when these kinds of things happen, it may not only cost them financially, but also with prison time. Because if not, they say it's not a question of if the next outbreak happens, but when This Window is written, research, produced and hosted by me A concerned citizen with the original music by Trevor Howard AKA deformer A K a King nut For more information about Swindled, you can visit swwindledpodcast. com. foollow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter at Swindled podcast. Or you can send us a postcard at PO boox six zo four four Austin, Texas seven eight seven six two please no packages. 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My name is Tiffany Lawson from Ann Arbor, Michigan. My name is Devon, and I'm from California. My name is Vina from Greensboro, North Carolina. and a concern citen and a of thisland