WASHINGTON (AP) - The Agriculture Department shipped possibly contaminated peanut butter and other foods to schools in at least three states under a contract with the Georgia company blamed for a nationwide salmonella outbreak.

The government abruptly suspended all business with the company Thursday, as officials defended their efforts to halt the outbreak that has sickened at least 575 people in 43 states. At least eight have died. It's become one of the largest food recalls ever, including more than 1,300 products.

The potentially contaminated products went to school free lunch programs in California, Minnesota and Idaho in 2007, the Department of Agriculture said Friday. Peanut butter and roasted peanuts processed by the Peanut Corp. of America were sent to the schools.

None of the states reported illnesses as a result of students eating the recalled peanut products.

Jim Brownlee, a spokesman for the Agriculture Department, said there have been no potentially contaminated shipments from the company in the last year. It was unclear how much of the suspect food might still remain uneaten at the schools.

Despite ongoing reports of illnesses linked to the company, the Agriculture department only Thursday suspended Peanut Corp. from participating in government contract programs, for at least a year. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack also removed Stewart Parnell, president of the company, from USDA's Peanut Standards Board.

The company's actions indicate that it "lacks business integrity and business honesty, which seriously and directly hinders its ability to do business with the federal government," said David Shipman, acting administrator of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, said in a statement.

The recalled foods used ingredients from the Peanut Corp. processing plant in Blakely, Ga. While the outbreak appears to be slowing down, new illnesses are still being reported.

School officials across the country have been checking cafeterias and vending machines for the recalled products, and some have stopped serving any peanut-related products at all, out of an abundance of caution.

The Food and Drug Administration learned only weeks ago that the Peanut Corp. of America had received a series of private tests dating back to 2007 showing salmonella in their products from the Georgia plant, but later shipped the items after obtaining negative test results.

The Agriculture Department initially said that school meal programs were not affected by the large-scale recall. But that changed when Peanut Corp. expanded its recall to all peanut products made at the plant since Jan. 1, 2007.

At a Senate hearing Thursday on the salmonella outbreak, lawmakers reacted angrily when told that food companies and state safety inspectors don't have to report to the FDA when test results find pathogens in a processing plant, leaving the federal government in the dark.

Death Sentence for melamine food contaminators in China.

The Chinese kill their food poisoners. What about the U.S. peanut butter execs who know salmonella was present 12 times.

Accidents happen, but the FDA has determined that the producer of the peanut butter that has sickened more than 500 people, hospitalized 127 and killed eight has a history of knowingly selling food contaminated with salmonella.

The FDA has identified approximately12 instances in the past two years when Peanut Corporation of America, in its own internal testing, identified some type of salmonella in the food and eventually released peanut butter for sale, said Michael Rogers, who heads FDA’s Division of Field Investigations in the Office of Regulatory Affairs.

Several of you have already reminded me that just last week, a Chinese court ordered the death of two men and a life sentence for a dairy executive for their roles in knowingly producing and selling milk poisoned with melamine. The tainted milk has killed at least six children and made almost 300,000 sick. The presence of the melamine, a chemical used in plastics, forced a world-wide recall of dairy and other products.

Fortunately, the numbers of unfortunates sickened in the U.S. was far, far lower, but, according to FDA’s Robert Tauxe, half of those brought down by the bad peanut butter are children.

Nevertheless, I can’t see the government demanding the death penalty for the gang at the Georgia peanut plant, but if they really knew it had salmonella and still sold it, that sounds criminal to me.

Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in Washington, says that if further investigation show the action of the peanut executives violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act ?then that is technically a
violation of the law.

FDA’s regulations have “the force of law,” Sundlof says. “Whether or not there was any criminal activity involved is a different issue. We’re looking.”

Meanwhile, the American Peanut Council tossed its Georgia member to the wolves, saying the trade group was shocked and dismayed at the findings that the company “knowingly released a product with potential salmonella contamination into the food supply.”

“The findings of the FDA report can only be seen as a clear and unconscionable action of one irresponsible manufacturer?,” Patrick Archer, peanut council present, said in a statement.

Death would seem like a good deterrent to putting out dangerous foods!

Kelloggs Recalls more products tainted with salmonella from peanut butter

WASHINGTON (AP) – What began as an investigation of bulk peanut butter shipped to nursing homes and institutional cafeterias has broadened with the Kellogg Co. (K) recalling 16 products and federal officials confirming salmonella contamination at a Georgia facility that ships peanut products to 85 food companies

Kellogg had asked stores earlier this week to pull some of its venerable Keebler crackers from shelves as a precaution. But in a statement late Friday the Battle Creek, Mich., company announced it was voluntarily recalling the crackers and other products in light of the problems in Georgia.

The nationwide salmonella outbreak has sickened hundreds of people in 43 states and killed at least six.

“The actions we are taking today are in keeping with our more than 100-year commitment to providing consumers with safe, high-quality products,” said David Mackay, Kellogg’s president and CEO. “We apologize for this unfortunate situation.”

Recall Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies

The recall includes Austin and Keebler branded Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers, as well as some snack-size packs of Famous Amos Peanut Butter Cookies and Keebler Soft Batch Homestyle Peanut Butter Cookies.

Sandra Williams, a compliance officer with the Food and Drug Administration in Detroit, advised consumers not to eat the products and to contact a doctor if they have any symptoms. She also urged careful disposal of the tainted products to avoid the risk of homeless people finding and eating them.

“Kellogg reacted promptly to this potential public health risk after receiving notification of the potential problem from their supplier,” Williams said.

On Capitol Hill, the House Energy and Commerce Committee requested records as it opened its own inquiry.

Although the investigation has gone into high gear, FDA officials say much of their information remains sketchy. And new cases are still being reported.

“This is a very active investigation, but we don’t yet have the data to provide consumers with specifics about what brands or products they should avoid,” said Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA’s food safety center. Although salmonella bacteria has been found at the Georgia plant, for example, more tests are needed to see if it matches the strain that has made people sick.

The investigation includes not just peanut butter, but baked goods and other products that contain peanuts and are sold directly to consumers. Health officials say as many as one-third of the people who got sick did not recall eating peanut butter.

“The focus is on peanut butter and a wide array of products that might have peanut butter in them,” said Dr. Robert Tauxe, director of the foodborne illness division at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Officials said they are focusing on peanut paste, as well as peanut butter, produced at a Blakely, Ga., facility owned by Peanut Corp. of America. The concern about peanut paste is significant because it can be used in dozens of products, from baked goods to cooking sauces.

Federal officials said they are focusing on 32 of the 85 companies that Peanut Corp. supplies, because of the time period in which they received shipments of peanut butter or paste. The companies are being urged to test their products, or pull them from the shelves as Kellogg did.

The government is also scrutinizing a grower, raising the possibility that contamination could have occurred before peanuts reached the processing plant, which passed its last inspection by the Georgia agriculture this summer.

Peanut Corp. has recalled 21 lots of peanut butter made at the plant since July 1 because of possible salmonella contamination. The company, which suspended peanut butter processing at the facility, said none of its peanut butter is sold directly to consumers but is distributed to institutions, food service industries and private label food companies.

But Kellogg Co., which gets some peanut paste from the Blakely facility, asked stores late Wednesday to stop selling some of its Keebler and Austin peanut butter sandwich crackers. The company said it hasn’t received any reports of illnesses.

Peanut Corp. said it is cooperating with federal and state authorities. On Friday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee wrote the company requesting inspection and internal records dating back four years.

Health officials in Minnesota and Virginia have linked two deaths each to the outbreak and Idaho and North Carolina have reported one. Four of those five were elderly people, and all had salmonella when they died, though their exact causes of death haven’t been determined. But the CDC said the salmonella may have contributed.

The CDC said the bacteria behind the outbreak – typhimurium – is common and not an unusually dangerous strain but that the elderly or those with weakened immune systems are more at risk.

The salmonella outbreak is the second in two years involving peanut butter. Salmonella is the nation’s leading cause of food poisoning; common symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.

Kellogg recalls 16 products due to salmonella risk- Peanut Butter Cookies and Crackers