Former peanut company CEO sentenced to 28 years for United States salmonella outbreak

Parnell, the former CEO of the peanut processing company Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), could have gone to prison for life, according to federal calculations.

Parnell’s trial was groundbreaking: Never before had a corporate executive been convicted of federal felony charges related to food poisoning.

Parnell’s own family pleaded with the court, which was filled with the families of elderly people who had died of salmonella or children who had become ill, to be lenient. “All I can do is come before you and ask for forgiveness from you and the people back here. I’m truly sorry for what happened”.

He had been seeking justice for his mother, Shirley Mae Almer, who died in late 2008 after eating salmonella-tainted peanut butter. “And they call out for a harsh penalty”, said U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia Michael Moore. Several victims said the Parnell brothers’ long silence has made it hard to forgive them. The outbreak was also responsible for the largest food recalls in the history of the US.

Relatives of Americans whose passings were connected to salmonella-corrupted nourishment from a Georgia nut plant are commending hardened jail sentences forced on the plant’s proprietor and two others. 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.

Mary Wilkerson, 41, a former quality control manager at the now-defunct peanut firm, drew a five-year prison term for her conviction on obstruction in the tragedy disaster.

Sands also ordered both Parnells to surrender, rejecting defense arguments that the two should be allowed to remain free on bond pending appeals.

Further, Tolley notes that this criminal prosecution under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is a landmark case for the food industry and that the lack of direct precedent raises substantial questions of law and fact.

The sibling of a previous shelled nut organization official has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for his part in a unsafe salmonella episode.

Salmonella is America’s most common cause of food-borne illness and sickens up to 1.4 million people every year.

Food company executives who play a role in outbreaks that sicken and kill consumers now face the prospect of decades in prison because of a recent precedent-setting case and a crackdown by federal prosecutors.

The salmonella infected peanut butter was manufactured and sold to the public in 2008 and 2009, and after series of investigations against Parnell and his company, the court has proven that Parnell is personally aware of the issue and deliberately approved the delivery of the contaminated goods. They also uncovered emails and records showing food confirmed by lab tests to contain salmonella was shipped to customers anyway. Soon after an employee sent an email saying that some peanut totes were “covered in dust and rat crap”, to which Parnell responded “Clean em all up and ship them”.

A total of eight people representing the victims and family members spoke in court about how the salmonella outbreak affected them.

Parnell’s company filed for bankruptcy shortly after it was shut down in 2009.