Tainted Love

Every few months I get a craving for a special guy. He’s sweet, satisfying and most recently…. the subject of many news stories. That’s right – I’m talking about the creamy and chunky goodness that is Peter Pan Peanut Butter. As one of the lucky lottery winners of the Salmonella Special Edition of this tasty treat, I was fortunate enough not be sickened by the product itself, but nauseated by the fact that this happened at all.

Why is it that lately when something goes wrong with a food product it invariably comes back to Con Agra? I’ll tell you why… they own an astounding array of brands and packaging plants.

2002 was a banner year for them:

• E-Coli in their beef
• Turkeys produced at a ConAgra turkey packing house in Colorado are the most contaminated in the country, according to government test results obtained by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) under the Freedom of Information Act. Nearly half of the turkeys processed at ConAgra’s Longmont, Colorado, facility are contaminated with harmful Salmonella bacteria, as are almost one-third of the turkeys produced at four other plants. The nickname for this episode – “The Filthy Five”

Not only are there a plethora of health violations, but apparently the health and well being of their employees is not all that spotless either.

2004 – from the CDC

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/hhe/reports/pdfs/2003-0112-2949.pdf

From their website: “As a leader in multiple segments of the food business, ConAgra Foods understands what consumers want: familiar brands, favorite foods and innovative products that make meals and snacks great-tasting, convenient and affordable” .ConAgra Foods Centers of Excellence: innovating to create new food products, and renovating to make your favorites better.

(Not to mention a public health hazard.)

Here is a sample list of some consumer favorites….

Banquet
Chef Boyardee
Egg Beaters
Guldens
Snack Pak
Libbys
Slim Jim
Van Camp
Healthy Choice (ironic)
Orville Reddenbachers
Jiffy Pop
Reddi Whip
Wesson
Blue Bonnet
La Choy
Hebrew National (they will have to answer to a different “higher” authority if something goes wrong with this line of products)
Pam
Swiss Miss
Brown and Serve
Fleishmans (see comment for Hebrew National)
Parkay
Hunts
Marie Callenders
And the providers of the special ingredient in Peter Pan.

ConAgra Foods Inc. said its nationwide recall of peanut butter will cost between $50 million and $60 million