WASHINGTON — A New Mexico peanut company linked to a recent salmonella outbreak distributed peanut and almond butters after its own internal testing showed the products were contaminated, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
Sunland Inc. is the nation’s largest processor of organic peanut butter and also produces many nonorganic products. The company recalled hundreds of nuts and nut butters manufactured since 2010 after one of its products, Trader Joe’s Valencia Creamy Peanut Butter, was linked to 41 salmonella illnesses around the country in September.
FDA reports released this week show that repeated agency inspections found problems at the plant since 2007, though no action was taken by government officials until this year’s illnesses.
In a month-long investigation in September and October, FDA inspectors found 28 different samples of salmonella in Sunland’s plant.
The FDA said that over the past three years, the company’s tests showed products were shipped even though portions of their lots, or daily production runs, tested positive for salmonella. The agency also found that the internal tests failed to find salmonella when it was present.
Company officials deny that they knowingly shipped tainted products. “At no time in its twenty-four year history has Sunland, Inc. released for distribution any products that it knew to be potentially contaminated with harmful microorganisms,” Sunland President and Chief Executive Officer Jimmie Shearer said in a statement on the company’s website.
Front Section, Pages 3 on 11/16/2012