Personal Injury Law

The USDA does have its hands in the peanut jar

By Bill Marler, Esq.

In yet another indicator of the confusion of who is in charge over what food - FDA or USDA - Local, State or Federal Regulators, hat tip to Bob Keefe for his story today - Troubled peanut firm’s chief also an industry quality adviser - in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  According to Mr. Keefe:

The president of the peanut company linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak serves on an industry advisory board that helps the U.S. Department of Agriculture set quality standards for peanuts. Stewart Parnell, president of Peanut Corp. of America, based in Lynchburg, Va., was first appointed to the USDA’s Peanut Standards Board in July 2005 and was reappointed in October for a second term that runs until June 2011....

In a Press Release from 2002, the USDA announced that it was moving “to implement a new peanut quality program as outlined in the new Farm Bill.”  This included that “all peanuts marketed in the United States must be officially inspected and graded by federal inspectors or federally licensed state inspectors.  Imported peanuts will be subject to the same quality and handling standards as domestically produced peanuts.  The new Farm Bill … requires [the] USDA to appoint a new Peanut Standards Board comprised of members of the peanut industry. [The] USDA will consult with the board before establishing or changing quality and handling standards for domestically produced and imported peanuts."

I wonder what input Mr. Parnell had on “quality and handling standards?”

Full post as published by Marler Blog on January 31, 2009 (boomark / email).