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Durbin Says Salmonella Outbreak Shows Need for Better Food Regulation, More Frequent Inspections
A peanut processing plant in Georgia is being linked to a nationwide salmonella outbreak, and a federal lawmaker from Illinois says tighter regulations are needed to prevent a similar occurrence.

Peanut Corp. of America is under investigation by the federal government after it shipped allegedly tainted products to dozens of other food companies. Senator Dick Durbin says the salmonella outbreak that's made more than 500 people sick and is believed to have claimed the lives of at least 8 people should be a chargeable offense.

Durbin says a bill that he's already written and plans to introduce in the coming weeks would call for greater regulation from the Food and Drug Administration.

"We've got to send the message to these companies that you can't look the other way when you get test results that say there's something lethal or dangerous in your product," Durbin says.

Illinois' senior senator believes the company knew what was going on. "They hid it, they continued to process, continued to sell and unfortunately a lot of people are getting sick."

The FDA has asked the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation into the Blakely, Georgia plant. National media outlets have reported that the company shipped products that initially tested positive for salmonella after re-testing and getting a negative result.

The outbreak has resulted in numerous product recalls, from peanut butter crackers to ice cream, in several states that include Illinois.
02 02 09 by Newsroom
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