FDA uses new power to suspend operations at peanut butter plant
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration is cracking down on a New Mexico peanut butter plant that had repeated food safety violations over several years, using new authority to halt operations at facilities that may be producing unsafe food.
The agency on Monday suspended the registration of Sunland Inc., which is the country's largest organic peanut butter processor. FDA officials found salmonella in numerous locations in Sunland's processing plant after 41 people in 20 states, most of them children, were sickened by peanut butter manufactured at the Portales, N.M., plant and sold at the Trader Joe's grocery chain. The company had announced plans to reopen its peanut processing facility on Tuesday after voluntarily shutting down earlier this fall.
The FDA gained the new authority to suspend companies' registrations in a food safety law signed by President Barack Obama in early 2011, and this is the first time the agency has used it. The ability to shut down the company's operations is a step forward in an FDA effort to stem a growing number of widespread outbreaks like the salmonella illnesses linked to the peanut butter, said Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods.
Before the food safety law was enacted, the FDA would have had to go to court to suspend a company's registration.
"We would have had to go to court and build a case," Taylor said, stressing that the burden will now be on the company to prove it is safe.
Sunland had closed its peanut processing facility after the September outbreak. It planned to reopen this week with hopes of selling peanut butter again by the end of the year. Sunland spokeswoman Katalin Coburn said the FDA's decision to suspend the registration was a surprise to the company and Sunland officials had assumed they would be allowed to resume operations.
The company now has the right to a hearing and must prove to the agency that its facilities are clean enough to reopen. Coburn said Sunland is cooperating with the FDA and company officials hope they can be operating again soon.
Besides organic peanut butter, Sunland also produces many non-organic products. The company recalled hundreds of organic and non-organic nut butters and nuts manufactured since 2010 after Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Peanut Butter was linked to the salmonella illnesses in September.
In addition to Trader Joe's, Sunland sold hundreds of different peanut products to Target, Safeway, Whole Foods and other large grocery chains. Many of the grocery stores repackaged Sunland products and sold them under their own names.
After the outbreak linked to Sunland and to Trader Joe's, FDA inspectors found samples of salmonella in 28 different locations in the plant, in 13 nut butter samples and in one sample of raw peanuts.
The agency also found improper handling of products, unclean equipment and uncovered trailers of peanuts that were exposed to rain and birds outside the facility.
The FDA said that over the past three years, the company shipped products even though portions of their lots, or daily production runs, tested positive for salmonella in internal tests. The agency also found that the internal tests failed to find salmonella when it was present.
FDA inspectors found many of the same problems, including employees putting their bare fingers in empty jars before they were filled, open bags of ingredients, unclean equipment and many other violations, in a 2007 inspection. Similar issues were recorded by inspectors in 2009, 2010 and 2011, although government officials didn't take any action or release the results of those inspections until after the illnesses were discovered this year.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Sunland's president and chief executive officer, Jimmie Shearer, denied the company knowingly shipped tainted products.
"At no time in its 24-year history has Sunland Inc. released for distribution any products that it knew to be potentially contaminated with harmful microorganisms," Shearer said in a statement posted on the company's website. "In every instance where test results indicated the presence of a contaminant, the implicated product was destroyed and not released for distribution."
A separate peanut butter outbreak in 2009, not related to Sunland, was linked to hundreds of illnesses and nine deaths.
The agency on Monday suspended the registration of Sunland Inc., which is the country's largest organic peanut butter processor. FDA officials found salmonella in numerous locations in Sunland's processing plant after 41 people in 20 states, most of them children, were sickened by peanut butter manufactured at the Portales, N.M., plant and sold at the Trader Joe's grocery chain. The company had announced plans to reopen its peanut processing facility on Tuesday after voluntarily shutting down earlier this fall.
The FDA gained the new authority to suspend companies' registrations in a food safety law signed by President Barack Obama in early 2011, and this is the first time the agency has used it. The ability to shut down the company's operations is a step forward in an FDA effort to stem a growing number of widespread outbreaks like the salmonella illnesses linked to the peanut butter, said Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for foods.
Before the food safety law was enacted, the FDA would have had to go to court to suspend a company's registration.
"We would have had to go to court and build a case," Taylor said, stressing that the burden will now be on the company to prove it is safe.
Sunland had closed its peanut processing facility after the September outbreak. It planned to reopen this week with hopes of selling peanut butter again by the end of the year. Sunland spokeswoman Katalin Coburn said the FDA's decision to suspend the registration was a surprise to the company and Sunland officials had assumed they would be allowed to resume operations.
The company now has the right to a hearing and must prove to the agency that its facilities are clean enough to reopen. Coburn said Sunland is cooperating with the FDA and company officials hope they can be operating again soon.
Besides organic peanut butter, Sunland also produces many non-organic products. The company recalled hundreds of organic and non-organic nut butters and nuts manufactured since 2010 after Trader Joe's Valencia Creamy Peanut Butter was linked to the salmonella illnesses in September.
In addition to Trader Joe's, Sunland sold hundreds of different peanut products to Target, Safeway, Whole Foods and other large grocery chains. Many of the grocery stores repackaged Sunland products and sold them under their own names.
After the outbreak linked to Sunland and to Trader Joe's, FDA inspectors found samples of salmonella in 28 different locations in the plant, in 13 nut butter samples and in one sample of raw peanuts.
The agency also found improper handling of products, unclean equipment and uncovered trailers of peanuts that were exposed to rain and birds outside the facility.
The FDA said that over the past three years, the company shipped products even though portions of their lots, or daily production runs, tested positive for salmonella in internal tests. The agency also found that the internal tests failed to find salmonella when it was present.
FDA inspectors found many of the same problems, including employees putting their bare fingers in empty jars before they were filled, open bags of ingredients, unclean equipment and many other violations, in a 2007 inspection. Similar issues were recorded by inspectors in 2009, 2010 and 2011, although government officials didn't take any action or release the results of those inspections until after the illnesses were discovered this year.
In a statement issued earlier this month, Sunland's president and chief executive officer, Jimmie Shearer, denied the company knowingly shipped tainted products.
"At no time in its 24-year history has Sunland Inc. released for distribution any products that it knew to be potentially contaminated with harmful microorganisms," Shearer said in a statement posted on the company's website. "In every instance where test results indicated the presence of a contaminant, the implicated product was destroyed and not released for distribution."
A separate peanut butter outbreak in 2009, not related to Sunland, was linked to hundreds of illnesses and nine deaths.
The really sad thing is that this is an organic peanut butter plant, how many of us buy organic to protect our children and make sure they dont get crappy chemicals? I actually feel betrayed.
@Susabelle You can easily make your own peanut butter. I do. Put your peanuts in a food processor and let it go until it is smooth. Very good!
 @Gottadance  @Susabelle I know, but I'm lazy......cleaning out of the food processor is a pain........ oh well I guess I dont have much of an option anymore. Very mad at these people right now.
@Susabelle I do all of the cooking and so my better half is in charge of cleanup. I use the food processor all of the time. As he chose the one we have, he never complains. Maybe you can make the same deal!
After reading this story it seems that this manufacturer is totally negligent in its handling an manufacturing of foods. It needs to be shut down till it can get things right, clean and employees retrained in the safe handling of foods. I for one do not want to have a trip to the hospital or worse from eating a peanut butter sandwich. Â
@LongBeachBum - I believe it is shut down
 @LongBeachBum Considering the majority of peanut butter that is consumed in this country is eaten by children it's not much of a stretch to say lives were at risk.
"The FDA said that over the past three years, the company shipped products even though portions of their lots, or daily production runs, tested positive for salmonella in internal tests."
Â
If that's the case then they deserved to be shut down. There is no excuse for sending a tainted product out the door.
No this is not the first time the agency has used it. they used it against a local creamery in Grays harbo county. it was like swat teams and feds with M16's showed up to close a creamery down that did nothing wrong but was shut down because of suspected food problems.
@wynooheemanThe new law was effective in 2011. TheEstrella Farm debacle occurred in 2010. It was still a case of the feds running a muck.
Â
http://o.seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2013257593_cheese26m.html
 @al_wa  @wynooheeman that was a case of repeated positive tests for listeria and the farms refusal to voluntarily recall it's cheeses for monetary reasons. They should have called the cheese in, cleaned house (literally) and started with a fresh slate. The feds acted in a worst case scenario in which the cheese could have caused an outbreak. Would it have been better if they did it after people died or were sickened?
@chandler @al_wa @wynooheeman FYI They live a few miles from my home they are my neighbors. They complied with everything the FDA said for the to do. The FDA came in with FBI the ATF and the US Marshals loaded for bear like it was ruby ridge or David korish and told them they are the governemnt and we can shut you down anytime we want. they had to sue the FDA to repoen their creamery. KOMO Never told you that side of the story did they?