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Peanut officials draw prison sentences for 2008-2009 Salmonella outbreak
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Two former officials and one broker for the Peanut Corporation of America were sentenced to prison for distributing contaminated peanut butter products that led to a nationwide outbreak of Salmonella typhimurium, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
During the Salmonella outbreak, nearly 4,000 products were recalled and more than 700 people were infected between September 2008 and April 2009. However, the CDC estimated there were 22,000 cases based on epidemiological projections. Nine deaths were reported.
The defendants were sentenced by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia for conspiracy to defraud after shipping salmonella-positive peanut products before the results of microbiological testing were received and for falsifying those results.
The former owner and president of the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), Stewart Parnell, was sentenced to 336 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. His brother, Michael Parnell, a former food broker who worked on behalf of PCA, was sentenced to 240 months followed by a 3-year supervised release. Mary Wilkerson, who held several positions at PCA, was sentenced to 60 months followed by 2 years of supervised release for obstruction of justice.
Both Parnell brothers, along with former PCA operations managers Samuel Lightsey and Daniel Kilgore, both scheduled for sentencing on Oct. 1, fabricated certificates of analysis that stated their products were free of pathogens even though no testing had been done or tests revealed the presence of pathogens. They also provided the FDA with false statements during the investigation.
Stephen Ostroff
“Americans expect and deserve the highest standards of food safety and integrity,” Stephen Ostroff, MD, acting commissioner for the FDA, said in the release. “Those who choose profits over the health and safety of U.S. consumers are now on notice that the FDA, working with the Department of Justice, will strive to use the full force of our justice system against them.”
The Parnell brothers were convicted by a federal jury in September 2014. Stewart Parnell had 68 felony counts against him, and he was found guilty on all but one count.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, the court decided that Stewart Parnell and Wilkerson should be held accountable for more than $100 million but less than $200 million in losses and for harming more than 250 victims. Michael Parnell should be held accountable for more than $20 million but less than $50 million in losses and for harming more than 50 victims.