When an outbreak of salmonella food poisoning struck thousands of Americans last fall, federal investigators spent months seeking the proverbial “smoking gun.” In short, they spent months trying to pinpoint the origin and responsibility of an onslaught which sickened and even killed.

First they targeted tomatoes, and eventually jalapeno peppers, then Serrano peppers. Finally the “smoking gun” turned out to be a Mexican farm from which the corrupted Serrano peppers entered the food supply.

But with this year’s outbreak of salmonella food poisoning, the smoking gun’s location has been known virtually from the start: It’s a peanut plant in Georgia owned by Peanut Corp. of America. And some digging into that plant’s past shows there’s good reason why it’s just been shut down as the primary if not only source of today’s salmonella food poisoning via peanut butter, peanut paste and related products.

It turns out that Georgia’s State Agriculture Department repeatedly cited the plant for health lapses after making inspections. Such inspections revealed that food-contact surfaces weren’t properly sanitized and cleaned; that gaps in plant doors were large enough to admit rodents; that areas of rust could flake into food; and that clean peanut butter containers were stored uncovered.

Inspections in 2006 and 2007 also cited dirty surfaces, grease residue and dirt buildup throughout the plant. Yet since no salmonella was found, it was allowed to remain open — until too late.

Such violations were reported in the New York Times this week after the newspaper demanded that the reports become available under Georgia’s open-records act. Now the dirty laundry — or dirty peanut butter — has been exposed for all to perceive, and at least we have a chance to stop this salmonella outbreak before it gets much worse.

But if you or family members haven’t been so lucky, rest assured you have legal options. Contact a peanut butter salmonella food poisoning lawyer with Jim S. Adler & Associates to explore how you can gain fair compensation for your loss due to salmonella, perhaps via a salmonella lawsuit or peanut butter lawsuit. Fill out our free case review form on this page or call 1-800-505-1414 to speak to a salmonella lawyer or legal representative, and rest assured that the path to legal responsibility — the proverbial “smoking gun” — is clearly evident.

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