Peanut Plant Salmonella Horror: Worker Says Rat Dry-Roasting In Peanut Area (VIDEO)

CBS has an extremely disturbing report about the peanut plant at the center of the nation-wide salmonella outbreak that is being blamed for at least eight deaths and has sickened hundreds of people. CBS interviews a former worker, Jonathan Prather, at the plant who describes some truly horrifying working conditions. Prather says that roaches were a constant problem, and that he spotted rat droppings on the floor and huge holes in the roof. The worst event that Prather witnessed, however, was a dead rat dry-roasting in a peanut area.

Watch the CBS News report below.

Comments

[MovingtoNorway]

Now that's good eatin - peanut encrusted sewer rat.

[GracieBoy]

Best is not to 'see how sausage is made'. My bet is that this sort of thing happens everywhere.

[SOLERSO68]

Not true.. It happens where there is lax oversight.­..obivious­ly food production is not going to be a sterile environment, but these are the GROSS, glaring,and, utterly predictable result of deregulation and "getting governmet off of the backs of businesses"...as you reap so shall you sow, but in this case, so will we, and our children, our elderly parents, hospital patients, and on and on...

[woodnthrifty]

The invisible hand turned out to be Wizzard of OZ.

This country began without any regulation­s......the­y were installed BECAUSE self-regulation didn't work! Read your history people.......I mean repugnicant's.

[usaf1970]

I worked as a CSI (consumer safety inspector) for the USFDA many years ago. I heard they ended that job classification when HACCP was initiated. I have not seen any job posting for food inspector in years, actually for about as long as Bush Jr. was in office. Why is this important well rather than try to explain the reasons for the CSI position I will give you a web address. I am very sure that each of you who visit will then understand that food safety is now more of a consumer responsibility. http://www.fda.gov/ora/fiars/ora_import_alerts.html . I hope this link will help all of you decide what you will feed yourself and your family tonight...good reading my friends.

[swift goat pet for truth]

FOOD INSPECTOR????

That is just useless government regulation.
Industry is self-regulating. It can take care of policing itself.

And any problems that might be encountered can be easily solved with a tax cut.

[walk0nwalls]

Upton Sinclair, eat your heart out.

[Cambridge9]

"Let businesses oversee themselves!" was the cry of the last administration. Is this another trickle down success story.

[johnnygoodwud]

gives new meaning to the word 'crunchy'. YUK

[newdreams]

This place needs to be shut down.

[Cambridge9]

And the whole management team jailed. Maybe murder charges filed!

[DCB]

or maybe the management team should do what those guys did in China, when their plant was the source of the poison-milk fiasco?

[marm]

I assume peanuts still in their shells are safe to eat? Anybody know?

[berryessence]

YES!!!

[frantaylor]

I used to work for a grocery wholesaler. Imagine 300 grocery stores worth of food in one building. It's just a few crumbs compared to the amount of food that is being thrown out here. We have no idea what is contaminated, and what isn't, so we had to throw it ALL away. If there were a system in place that actually kept track of food, the amount of waste could have been minimized.

[robin50]

Welcome to our food chain. To all who say they will not eat another peanut butter anything, do you really think any other types of processed food are any better? These jobs are the bottom of the barrel. And while the bottom of the barrel may make some great beer, this is not what we want in our food chain. The whole food process, from planting to the store shelf is just one long accident waiting to happen. And when it does happen it takes months before the FDA can even open it's mouth to ask, yes ask not demand to get something off that shelf!

[1liberalconspirator]

It's quite scary and for eight years the issue was ignored and made worse by a group of people that thought it would literally fix itself.

[hey0there]

like when banquet pot pies had salmonella and the FDA asked conagra to take them off the shelf and conagra refused, haha. remember that? they were like 'well, people just need to fully cook them!" as if dead salmonella was like an ingredient people would enjoy eating after cooking.

Salmonella, it adds ZEST!

[ndnndpendent]

I will never eat another peanut or peanut product as long as i live.

[KillgoreTrout43]

I just had a great PB and J. Don't be a wuss.

[MovingtoNorway]

Any hair stuck between your teeth?

[instarx]

Rats, mice, roaches and other vermin are a part of the food-supply chain. Get over it - it is a fact of life. Surely no one thinks their food is free from all contamination. Vermin can be controlled to a low and acceptable level, but cannot be eliminated. In fact, there is an actual Federal standard for the number of insect parts per cubic centimeter allowed in peanut butter (and other products).

Do you think jelly is any different? It comes from fruit. Do you think vermin don't get in that? Corn flakes? Canned vegetables? Anything with grain? Meat?

Bacterial contamination is another matter, and CAN be prevented. As bad as a dead rat looks, it is nowhere as bad as the actual salmonella contamination.

Get real people. Your food does not magically grow in plastic bags on store shelves.

[RedWhiteandBlueState]

This same worker has two cases of peanut butter in his pantry.

[RoseMerry]

The thing is Salmonella is from reptile or bird poop. Still rats bring their own stuff to the mix. Yuck.

[Carrie-On]

Oh lovely, rats and mice carry poliomyelitis virus. Any one notice the news tonight about the peanut company in Texas just outside of Lubbock? It's been operating without a license for "over 4 years." Guess where the south plains local groceries buy their peanuts?

And to think we eat whole, raw peanuts for the folic acid, etc. Now it also to die!

[jazzybo]

Jayzus! Just jelly no peanut butter please!