28 years in prison after Salmonella deaths in peanut products

Factory owners in the US sentenced to 28 years in prison
A 61-year-old US factory owner was sentenced to 28 years in prison. He had knowingly sold salmonella contaminated peanut products. The businessman supplied large food corporations like Kellogg. The incident triggered a salmonella outbreak in 2008 and 2009. This had the consequence that Kellogg and other manufacturers had to perform one of the largest recalls in US history. The Salmonella-contaminated products killed nine people and 714 more people fell ill.
Long prison sentences and zero tolerance should force other manufacturers to stricter controls
A judge sentenced Monday the 61 year old Stewart Parnell to a prison sentence. Parnell was president of the Peanut Corporation of America. This was responsible for the 2008 and 2009 salmonella outbreaks. 28 years imprisonment is the toughest criminal sanction ever imposed on a US manufacturer for foodborne illness. The factory owner, however, missed the maximum penalty of 803 years. The relatives of the victims applauded as the sentence was read. Among them was Randy Napier, whose 80-year-old mother died in Ohio from salmonella poisoning. Napier told the Associated Press after the sentence was pronounced, "It should be enough to send a message to the other manufacturers. It should be clear to them that there is no tolerance in such cases and that stricter food controls are needed. "

Because of deadly salmonella infections 28-year detention for US manufacturers. (Image: fotoliaxrender / fotolia.com)

Factory owners faked lab tests and knowingly shipped Salmonella contaminated products
The salmonella outbreak of 2009 cost peanut product producers estimated at $ 143 million. The court deliberately denounced Parnell for shipping contaminated peanut butter. He was also shown to have faked laboratory tests. In total, the businessman was convicted for 67 crimes. His brother, grocer Michael Parnell, was also found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Quality control manager of the facility, Mary Wilkerson, got five years.

Peanut scandal is not an isolated case
Tom Bondurant, one of the Parnell lawyers, mentioned that 28 years was equivalent to life imprisonment for his client. In his opinion, the penalty is too high compared to other food safety criminal proceedings. It was not until April that two egg industry executives were sentenced to three months in prison. These were involved in the Salmonella scandal of 2010. The incident triggered 1,900 illnesses. In 2007, ConAgra Foods delivered Salmonella-spoiled Peter Pan peanut butter, infecting at least 625 people. ConAgra Foods paid a fine of $ 11.2 million in May. (As)