Government Knew Peanut Butter Was Tainted

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Associated Press has learned that the
government found tainted peanuts -- from the same plant now linked
to a salmonella outbreak -- well before illnesses hit.
The government is acknowledging that a shipment containing a
"filthy, putrid or decomposed substance" was returned to the U.S.
in April -- months earlier than reflected in a federal tracking
database.
According to government records, the rejected shipment came
across a bridge between New York and Canada. It was logged by the
Food and Drug Administration, but never tested by federal
inspectors. The peanuts were eventually destroyed after
back-and-forth efforts between the FDA and Peanut Corp. broke down
and after the FDA rejected as "unacceptable" the findings by a
private lab the company hired to analyze its peanuts.
The FDA's explanation raises new questions about the adequacy of
food-safety tests arranged by Peanut Corp. on its own products.