Conditions at the Sunland, Inc. in Portales, New
Mexico, may have been the cause to the contamination of their peanut
butter and almond butter products with salmonella bredeney, according to the observations
posted on the Food and Drug Administration. These terrible conditions
of the factory were observed during inspections of the facility that took
place between September 17 and October 16.
Federal investigators determined that between June 2009 and August 2012,
Sunland cleared - and in some cases distributed - peanut or almond butter
products from 11 different lots, even though internal testing showed the
presence of the salmonella bacteria samples analyzed by the FDA also found that
salmonella was not present in Sunland's internal testing. FDA inspectors
found the bacteria within about 30 environmental samples. Investigators had come to the conclusion that
Sunland employees did not properly handle equipment, utensils and containers, which
were used to hold and store food. They claimed that there were no sinks in
order to wash their hands in the production or packaging area. They also recorded
that employees handled ready-to-package peanuts with their bare
hands. According to the FDA, they had no
records providing proof that production area and its equipment was cleaned,
and employees would use same bags to store both raw and roasted
peanuts. The raw peanuts that they used were found outside the
facility in open trailers exposed to the wild animals and rain. Initially Sunland first voluntarily
recalled their almond butter and peanut butter on September 24, 2012. On
October 4, the recall grew and they decided to recall all products made in that
plant after March 1, 2010. According to the Center for Disease and
Control, 41 people were infected within 20 different states, most recently New
York, North Carolina and Virginia.
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