Foregoing Peanut Company Executive Sentenced Life In Prison — Salmonella News

Before federal marshals led him from the courtroom en route to prison, possibly for the rest of his life, Stewart Parnell apologized years after his company’s peanut butter spawned a deadly outbreak of salmonella poisoning.

Tom Bondurant, one of Stewart Parnell’s attorneys, said 28 years would amount to a life sentence for his client.

Parnell is expected to file an appeal according to his defense lawyer Thomas Bondurant Jr.

“This sentence is going to send a stiff, cold wind through board rooms across the U.S”.

The two Parnell brothers were taken into custody after the sentencing and not allowed bond, as they were considered a flight risk. Still, the day was filled with mixed emotions. “I could be charged with a crime?’” he said. “But less so in that all this could have been avoided”.

The salmonella outbreak in 2008 and 2009 triggered a massive food recall.

Suddenly, one of America’s favorite foods had turned into a killer. His family members also testified Monday on behalf of his character and asked for mercy. “We all ate it”. Frankly, though, a state attorney in one of the states where those people died could charge Parnell with murder or manslaughter. He said he has grown tired from constant talk of his mother’s death for nearly seven years.

However, it is not the first food safety case to be very publicly tried. Although U.S. District Court penalized the former executive with 28 years in prison, it is most likely to be more of life imprisonment as the accused is already 61-years-old.

“Today was a victory”, said Almer’s son Jeff.

This the harshest punishment ever given to a producer in a food illness case. The product killed nine people and sickened 714. Even after Salmonella had been detected numerous times, the company continued to claim that their products were safe and sell them to customers. “The sentence was appropriate and maybe it should have been stiffer”. It’s just bad food handling practices.

Marler has become nothing short of a force of nature when it comes to food safety. “It’s been six years of utter hell”. More than 100,000 people are hospitalized and about 3,000 die from infections the federal government says are largely preventable.

Two other former PCA employees were also sentenced. The company went bankrupt following the salmonella outbreak. But he said more needs to be done on the front end – before tragedy strikes. “I’m truly sorry for what happened”. Parnell was convicted a year ago of knowingly shipping peanut butter tainted with salmonella and for faking results of lab tests meant to screen for contaminants.

Parnell was different. There’s loads of evidence that he knowingly shipped contaminated products out of his plant into the marketplace: there are emails, testimonies from other workers. Why this guy, and why not others?

Bill Marler: He was never charged with murders or manslaughter. Prior cases involved misdemeanors. The Arizona Daily Star reported the death of a woman after eating a tainted cucumber.

During a raid at the PCA plant in Georgia, inspectors from the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) found unsanitary conditions with cockroaches, mold, bird droppings and dirty equipment. His processing facilities were infested with mold and cockroaches.

Marler also provided coverage of civil actions, some of which his firm handled, and congressional hearings investigating the Parnells and their company. She was an office manager and quality assurance manager.