USDA Moves Swiftly to Contain Contaminated Peanut Products
The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) took the necessary steps Feb. 5, 2009 to suspend all federal contracts with the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) and its partners for one year. PCA is being suspended, and its debarment is proposed, based on reports of evidence obtained by Minnesota and Connecticut state officials, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), that the source of a current outbreak of illnesses caused by Salmonella are peanut butter and peanut paste produced or processed by PCA.
Working closely with FSA and the Food and Nutritional Service (FNS), USDA took immediate action to notify recipient state-run domestic feeding programs they must immediately remove and destroy all PCA products dating back to January 2007. Although the last procurement of PCA products by USDA occurred in December 2007, and the products obtained at that time have past their expiration dates by now, USDA is taking swift action to remove any remaining products.
FSA's Kansas City Commodity Office, based in Kansas City, Mo., is the procurement arm for the FNS domestic feeding programs. FSA procured 32 truckloads of peanut products from PCA during 2007 but has not made procurement since. Due diligence and quick efforts by the USDA agencies ensured products included in the FDA recall were pulled off the shelves at state-run nutrition facilities and immediately destroyed. The agencies took this matter very seriously and strive to ensure only safe, healthy and nutritious products are procured for domestic feeding programs.
The FDA determined that PCA distributed potentially contaminated product to more than 70 consignee firms. Upon confirmation of this report, USDA notified PCA they are excluded from participating in government contracts or subcontracts, as well as federal non-procurement programs. PCA will also be excluded from doing business as agents or representatives of other contractors, including serving as a subcontractor to other individuals or companies doing business with the government.