Klobuchar: Prosecute peanut case
Source of Article: http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/congress/39675512.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUss At a panel
discussion at the U on the rash of salmonella cases, the senator urged action
against a peanut company executive and changes in It's more
important to the righties that they throw a smokescreen up to invent a reason
to criticize Klobuchar than it is for them to have … read more one ounce of
compassion for the families of people killed through salmonella poisoning.
While I agree with you about the investment banks there is a lot more blame
than that to go around. The Graham Leach Bliley act passed with flying colors
in 1999, so all of that Congress, left and right, has culpability. Bill
Clinton urged Freddie and Fannie to relax down payment requirements for low
income mortgages. George Bush ignored countless warnings, including some from
the FBI, that fraudulent underwriting and a lack of oversite
would result in a housing crisis. This has all been debated ad nauseum, and has nothing to do with salmanella.
But the righties aren't happy if they can't complain.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/01/national/main4641772.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4641772
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/397690_fbiweb28.html U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar said Monday that the owner of a
peanut-processing company should be prosecuted for the salmonella poisoning
of more than 600 people and federal laws should be changed in the hope of
preventing future outbreaks of food-borne disease. "Based on my review of the
evidence, there should be a criminal prosecution here," said Klobuchar, D-Minn., after
hosting a two-hour panel discussion on food safety at the Peanut Corp. of America, which
has filed for liquidation in bankruptcy court, is the subject of a federal
criminal investigation over the shipping of adulterated peanut products from
its now-closed Blakely, Ga., processing plant. Last week, the company's president,
Stewart Parnell, refused to testify in Congress, citing his Fifth Amendment
right against self-incrimination. Klobuchar, flanked by the sons of two Minnesotans
who died after eating tainted peanut butter, pledged to push for major change
in the nation's food safety net, including improving the disease-tracking
efforts by states and giving government agencies power to order mandatory
recalls. On the panel were Jeff Almer and Lou Tousignant, who
each had a parent die after being infected with salmonella from peanut butter
served in More than 2,200 products have
been recalled because they contained peanut butter or other products shipped
from Peanut Corp. plants. The list, posted at www.fda.gov,
includes snack bars, nut mixes, cookies, candies and other foods. Popular
peanut butter products sold in jars, such as Jif and Peter Pan, are not
affected by the recall. Klobuchar, who is a former prosecutor, said she
was outraged by disclosures that the company shipped batches of peanut
products after they tested positive for salmonella. She said that if the
company president is charged and found guilty, "I would hope that he
would go to jail." Criminal charges are rarely
brought in food contamination cases, however. Klobuchar
said she wants to review what tools are available to prosecutors and possibly
improve them. She said several legislators
are working on bills to change how the government regulates food safety -- a
job now split mainly between the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S.
Department of Agriculture. She said she intends to play a key role in that
effort. She serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which has partial
oversight of food safety. Klobuchar said the first step is to pass
legislation this year focused on "what went wrong" in this case.
Over the next two years, she said, after President Obama has appointed a new
head of the Food and Drug Administration, Congress needs to consider
revamping federal regulation of food. Panelists suggested creating a single
food protection agency or assigning the FDA to regulate processing plants
while the USDA monitors food coming off farms. Klobuchar recognized two epidemiologists from the
Minnesota Health Department, Steph Meyer and
Carlota Medus, for their work in tracing the
outbreak to peanut butter. The senator said Klobuchar, who is a former prosecutor, said she was outraged by
disclosures that the company shipped batches of peanut products after they
tested positive for salmonella. She said that if the company president is
charged and found guilty, "I would hope that he would go to jail." Criminal
charges are rarely brought in food contamination cases, however. Klobuchar said she wants to review what tools are
available to prosecutors and possibly improve them. She said
several legislators are working on bills to change how the government
regulates food safety -- a job now split mainly between the Food and Drug
Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. She said she intends
to play a key role in that effort. She serves on the Senate Agriculture
Committee, which has partial oversight of food safety. Klobuchar said the first step is to pass legislation this year
focused on "what went wrong" in this case. Over the next two years,
she said, after President Obama has appointed a new head of the Food and Drug
Administration, Congress needs to consider revamping federal regulation of
food. Panelists suggested creating a single food protection agency or
assigning the FDA to regulate processing plants while the USDA monitors food
coming off farms. Klobuchar recognized two epidemiologists from the Minnesota
Health Department, Steph Meyer and Carlota Medus, for their work in tracing the outbreak to peanut
butter. The senator said |
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