Tag Archives: Stewart Parnell

Food Safety Tech

Most Popular Stories of 2015

By Food Safety Tech Staff
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Food Safety Tech
Darin Detwiler of STOP Foodborne Ilness, PCA sentencing
“When Someone Dies, It’s Not Business as Usual”: Darin Detwiler of STOP Foodborne Illness discusses the impact of the PCA sentencing on the food industry.

5: FSMA’s FSVP: Clearing the Confusion of Importing Rules

Instead of action against violative food, FDA is now equipped to take regulatory action against importers that fail to provide necessary assurance of food safety.

4: When Someone Dies, It’s Not Business as Usual

“His actions resulted in technically more deaths than that of Charles Manson,” said Darin Detwiler, senior policy coordinator for food safety at STOP Foodborne Illness.

3: Marijuana Edibles: Update on a Rapidly Developing Market

Marijuana has catapulted into mainstream thinking via activism, state decriminalization, and medical reforms while investors and banks are beginning to trust the market more, further legitimizing the nascent industry

Steward Parnell, PCA, salmonella outbreak
Stewart Parnell sentenced to 28 years in prison.

2: Food Safety Culture: Measure What You Treasure

A renewed recognition of the importance of individual employee behavior within food processing and manufacturing organizations is shining a spotlight on awareness and accountability, but a standardized measure of food safety culture must be defined.

1: PCA Executives Sentenced: Stewart Parnell Gets Virtually Life in Prison

The landmark case sets a precedent for the food safety industry.

Steward Parnell, PCA, salmonella outbreak

PCA Executives Sentenced: Stewart Parnell Gets Virtually Life in Prison

By Maria Fontanazza
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Steward Parnell, PCA, salmonella outbreak

In what is being called a groundbreaking decision, a federal judge sentenced three executives from the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) to a combined 53 years in jail for their role in the 2008-2009 Salmonella outbreak. Stewart Parnell, former CEO of the no-longer-operating PCA, has been sentenced to 28 years; his brother, Michael Parnell, was handed 20 years; and Mary Wilkerson, quality assurance manager of the plant, was given 5 years. Convicted last year on 71 counts, Stewart Parnell was facing up to 803 years in prison, but at the age of 61, 28 years is essentially a life sentence.

The culprit of the fatal 2008 Salmonella outbreak was tainted peanut butter paste manufactured by PCA. Nine Americans died, and more than 700 people across 47 states were sickened. The outbreak led to the recall of more than 2,100 products. It was one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history, and the case has garnered national attention.

During yesterday’s sentencing, victims and their families asked U.S. District Court Judge W. Louis Sands to deliver a life sentence to Stewart Parnell; his daughter, Grey Adams, addressed the room, “My dad’s heart is genuine…” and said that her father and their family are “profoundly sorry” for the deadly outbreak. As Parnell addressed the victims in the Georgia courtroom, he made mention of the problems at the plant but did not comment on the emails and company records that indicate he had knowingly shipped tainted product or tampered with any lab records.

Earlier this year STOP Foodborne Illness’ Darin Detwiler commented on the significance of the sentencing in a video interview with Food Safety Tech, stating, “His actions resulted in technically more deaths than that of Charles Manson.”

Moving forward, the bar for accountability at the executive level has been set much higher. Victims, their families, and food safety advocates are applauding the sentencing. What do you think about the decision and its impact on the industry?

When Someone Dies, It’s Not Business As Usual

By Maria Fontanazza
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Next month Stewart Parnell, the former CEO of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA), is scheduled to be sentenced for his role in a deadly salmonella outbreak involving shipping contaminated peanut products nationwide. Parnell, who could spend the rest of his life in jail, was found guilty on 71 counts, including conspiracy, obstruction of justice and wire fraud. This landmark case sends a strong message about accountability to both industry and consumers, said Darin Detwiler, senior policy coordinator for food safety at STOP Foodborne Illness, at the IAFP 2015 conference in July.

“His actions resulted in technically more deaths than that of Charles Manson,” said Detwiler, who indicated that Parnell is still very much in denial over his role in the salmonella outbreak. “This might be one snapshot—one look at one person in one industry, in one business—but think about how many companies are out there [and] of this mindset—the idea that they’ll never get caught.”

Food companies should be held strictly liable when it comes to consumer safety, ensuring that they take preventive measures so that illness and death never happen. The sentencing of Parnell next month could set a precedent for how future cases involving companies responsible for foodborne illnesses and outbreaks are handled.