Peanut Corp. of America, the company behind the current salmonella outbreak in the United States, has filed for bankruptcy last Friday.

 

Peanut Corp. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy law in Virginia, which means the company will have the right to sell its assets to pay debts.

 

Andrew S. Goldstein, a lawyer representing the peanut firm, said “this bankruptcy filling, while regrettable, will allow for an orderly liquidation of the company.”

 

More than 600 people got sickened and other nine had died after ingesting peanut butter products. Also, nearly 2,000 products containing peanut butter or simple peanuts produced at the company’s two plants were recalled off the market.

 

According to a report on the conditions at Georgia peanut processing plant released by the US Food and Drug Administration, there were roaches, mold on the walls, dirty utensils, filthy equipment used in making the past, holes in the roof and all the necessary conditions for causing such a dangerous salmonella outbreak.

 

Moreover, the FDA said Peanut Corp. knew it was shipping tainted ingredients to hundreds of food manufacturers.

 

“Since June 2007, PCA's products tested positive for salmonella on 12 different occasions,” said Bart Stupak, chairman of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee looking into the case, adding that "the company continued to produce and distribute its peanut butter products without consequence. Peanut Corp. of America knew about salmonella contamination for over a year and a half, but did nothing to address it.”