Recent news shows that a congressional committee will hold hearing into the cause of the tainted peanut product that as of Wednesday had sickened 530 people in 43 states, including 20 in New York, and one Canadian province, and has been linked to eight deaths so far. Rep. Henry Waxman will conduct the hearings, as the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

The salmonella outbreak started on the week of February 11. Other news shows that many companies began recalling products, and the US Army was also removing some peanut butter items from warehouses in Europe. The move does not affect Meals-Ready-to-Eat, but another kind of military grub called Unitized Group Rations-A, which provide a complete 50-person meal.

The expansion, which was announced on Wednesday, will now cover peanut butter, peanut paste, peanut meal and granulated products, as well as all peanuts, dry and oil roasted, shipped from the factory, dating as far back as January 2007. Unfortunately, more than 430 kinds of cakes, cookies, candy, ice cream, pre-prepared dinners and other goods have been pulled from store shelves before what the FDA called one of the largest product recalls in memory.

At the hearing, Waxman expects victims of the outbreak to tell their stories, as well as put under oath the owners of the Peanut Corp. of America. Two private labs are also expected to be called to testify.

Many lawsuits have been filed so far on behalf of victims of the outbreak, and they were filed against Peanut Corp. of America (PCA).  For example, one couple in Vermont whose 7-year-old was sickened and tested positive for the strain filed a suit against PCA.