Texas Peanut Plant Update

Beth Janicek

Attorney
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I posted a blog, Peanut Plant in Texas Closes, about the ongoing investigation at the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) processing plant in Plainview, Texas. I have since learned new information, and wanted to post an update on new reports.

On Thursday Texas health officials ordered the mandatory recall of all products ever shipped from its plant in Plainview after the Texas Department of State Health Services found dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers in a crawl space above a production area. In addition, investigators found that the air handling system was pulling debris from the infested crawl space into production areas. Private lab tests showed likely salmonella contamination at the plant, but thankfully it does not appear that the potentially tainted products made it to the consumers.

It is not completely sure whether the company is complying with the mandatory recall yet, but even before the order many customers of the Texas plant began pulling products from the shelf or even running their own tests. Robert Grauer, President of In a Nut Shell, a company in San Leandro, CA., said his company decided to hold back 200 cases of peanuts from the Texas plant before the order was ever issued. He said,

“We’re not going to take a chance risking our customers – not over some peanuts.”