Will this translate into a new era of corporate responsibility? Maybe not, though it's possible that some businesses will start to realize that the days of ignoring problems (self regulation, as the GOP calls it) are on the decline. They're definitely not over as long as the Democrats hold on to the old guard who also thought it was possible to be nice to Republicans, though it's likely the Democrats will show some level of interest in finding a balance between business and consumers. Business needs to do business, but hell, people in the richest country in the world should expect to be able to eat something as simple as peanuts or peanut butter without fear of dying. Dying from food problems is what you expect to see in poor developing countries but not in America. Not the America I used to know, at least.
The peanut processing company at the heart of a national salmonella outbreak is going out of business. The Lynchburg, Va.-based Peanut Corp. of America filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Virginia Friday, the latest bad news for the company that has been accused of producing tainted peanut products that may have reached everyone from poor school children to disaster victims.
"It's regrettable, but it's inevitable with the events of last month," said Andrew S. Goldstein, a bankruptcy lawyer in Roanoke, Va., who filed the petition.
The salmonella outbreak was traced to the company's plant in Blakely, Ga., where inspectors found roaches, mold and a leaking roof. A second plant in Plainview, Texas was shuttered this week after preliminary tests came back positive for possible salmonella contamination. So far, the outbreak has been suspected of sickening more than 630 people and may have caused nine deaths. It also has led to more than 2,000 product recalls, one of the largest recalls in U.S. history.
