On Thursday, Texas ordered the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) to recall all products shipped from its plant in Plainview, Texas. The order came after Texas Department of State Health Services discovered dead rats, rat droppings, and bird feathers in a crawl space that was connected to the plant’s ventilation system.

As with the PCA plant in Blakely, Georgia, the products were sold to other manufacturers, so apparently our national pb-in-a-jar supply is still safe, if you’re feeling brave and peanut hungry.

Officials at the plant, which opened in March 2005 and produced oil-roasted peanuts, dry-roasted peanuts, peanut meal and granulated peanut, voluntarily stopped operations Monday night.

“Our understanding is that the bulk of their products go to other food manufacturers,” McBride said. “We’re not aware of any direct sales to consumers.”

Of course, the big difference between the Plainview plant and the Blakely plant is that no sickness or death has been reported so far from any batches of the Texas-produced product. We suspect the investigation was triggered by the sudden spotlight on PCA’s lax health practices, and public demand that Texas make sure PCA was doing a better job in the Lone Star State. (Turns out it wasn’t.)

What we’re wondering now is, how do the employees of the Plainview plant feel knowing that PCA’s negligence allowed them to breathe in dead animals and poop every day? They’d better jump on any lawsuits quickly before PCA ceases to exist.

“Dead rodents, excrement in peanut processor lead to recall “ [CNN]
“Texas orders peanut recall from company’s 2nd plant” [Reuters]
(Photo: stevendepolo)