A former peanut company executive has been given a 28-year jail sentence for his role in a national salmonella outbreak linked to nine deaths.
Former peanut company executive Stewart Parnell has been given a 28-year jail sentence for his role in shipping out tainted peanuts. Photo: Getty Images
Stewart Parnell, 61, the ex-owner of the Peanut Corporation of America, was convicted last year of knowingly shipping tainted products.
His brother Michael, who worked as a food broker, was given 20 years.
The outbreak made hundreds ill and prompted one of the largest food recalls in US history.
The brothers were charged after investigators traced the outbreak to the company's plant in Blakely, Georgia in 2009.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said those who died had eaten tainted peanut butter, but could not say for certain that salmonella caused the deaths.
Inspectors found a leaky roof, cockroaches, and evidence of rats at the plant.
Prosecutors accused managers of creating fake certificates saying the food was safe when it either had not been tested or had been found to be contaminated.
"These acts were driven simply by the desire to profit," Judge Louis Sands said. "This is commonly and accurately referred to as greed.''
A former quality control manager at the plant, Mary Wilkerson, was also sentenced to five years in prison.
During the trial, Stewart Parnell apologised and asked for forgiveness, saying "I am personally embarrassed, humiliated and morally disgraced by what happened".
The court also heard from victims and their relatives, such as Jeff Almer whose 72-year-old mother died. He told Parnell: "You took my mom."
- BBC
