Cracking the Case of a Multi-State Salmonella Outbreak

An investigation into the foodborne illness that took the life of Betty Shelander tied her Salmonella infection to the consumption of a contaminated peanut product.

Traceback to the Unsuspected Source

Minnesota Department of Health determined that the common denominator between the individuals infected was King Nut creamy peanut butter. FDA officials would soon identify the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) as the only company that produces King Nut brand peanut butter.

Simultaneously, the Connecticut Department of Public Health completed numerous tests on containers of King Nut peanut butter, finding Salmonella in each container. The CDC conducted a second study, finding prepackaged peanut butter crackers as another link in the illnesses. Austin and Keebler brand prepackaged peanut butter crackers, produced at a North Carolina facility, obtained their peanut butter paste from PCA.

Federal inspections of PCA’s Blakely, Ga., processing plant in 2009 revealed problems that would seem to cause all these illnesses and deaths: dirty conditions in the food processing plant, such as mold and grease–along with bird droppings, rats, and roaches. They also noted leaks in the roof. In addition, inspectors found that the PCA plant did not apply high enough roasting temperatures to kill any Salmonella in their product.

Though the FDA shut down PCA’s Georgia plant, Stewart Parnell, PCA’s owner, continued operation of his Suffolk, Va., plant. He stated early on that products were not shipped back and forth between PCA’s various facilities in different states. This statement proved to be false.

Unbeknownst to investigators, PCA also had a peanut processing plant in Plainview, Texas, where Kenneth Kendrick served as assistant plant manager for several months in 2006. Back then, Kendrick observed numerous problems in the Texas plant, including rat infestations, bird nests, and a roof leak—all of which triggered his concern for feces in the product. According to Kendrick, “particularly with water leaking off a roof, bird feces can wash in and drip onto the peanuts.”

Kendrick sent anonymous emails and letters to the Texas Department of Health and to companies that purchased products from his plant—but he never received a response.

In 2006, after only a few months on the job, Kendrick chose to leave his position with PCA because as he stated, “I knew it was a train wreck and something unethical and bad was about to happen.”

When Kendrick learned that the widespread Salmonella outbreak in 2008-2009 traced back to PCA’s Georgia plant, he spent “hundreds of hours” trying to contact the media and federal food or health agencies to get attention placed on the Texas plant as well. The only response he received was from the Chicago office of STOP Foodborne Illness, a non-profit food safety organization. STOP convinced FDA officials to meet with him in January 2009. The organization also connected Kendrick with a reporter at The New York Times and a producer from ABC’s Good Morning America show.

Texas officials had no idea that the Plainview facility even existed. Parnell had not registered his Texas peanut facility as a food processing plant with the state. As a result of Kendrick’s whistleblowing, federal authorities and the Texas Department of Health investigated the Texas plant as another source of the outbreak. His information helped prove that peanut products were being shipped between PCA facilities in different states–contrary to what Parnell had told the public and investigators throughout the outbreak.

On Jan. 28, 2009, Texas authorities ordered PCA to stop distribution and recall their product out of the Texas facility. At the time, its peanuts were ingredients in more than 3,500 products produced by numerous companies, such as King Nut and Austin.