Stewart Parnell is a monster. He is the owner of the Peanut Corporation of America. It's the company that has been distributing peanut products causing salmonella poisoning nationwide. Hundreds of people have become seriously ill. And today we find out he knew all the time.
A U.S. House committee today released emails from the company that reveal Parnell ordered his employees to send tainted shipments of product because he was concerned about lost sales. From MSNBC.com:
"At one point, Parnell said his workers "desperately at least need to turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money," and at another point told his plant manager to "turn them loose" after learning some peanuts were contaminated with salmonella."
"In a June 6, 2008 e-mail from the company owner responding to being notified that some of Peanut Corp. of America's products that tested positive for salmonella had been shipped, Parnell wrote, "I go through this about once a week. I will hold my breath again."
It is absolutely impossible to get your head around thinking and actions that are this inhuman. Imagine being a parent of a child sickened in the past months from these products.
From a business standpoint, a second plant was shut down yesterday. More than 1,500 products have been recalled thus far. This company will be out of business soon. And now we know it is all because of one man's concern for the bottom line. And there is a domino impact on other, better known brands who use products from Peanut Corp in their products.
Let's hope some good can come of this. We should identify those companies who are ethical in all their actions and celebrate them. And we should hold up people like Stewart Parnell and punish them.
There endeth the lesson.
Just saw on Twitter that they've declared bankruptcy. That didn't take long.
Posted by: Average Jane | Friday, February 13, 2009 at 02:09 PM