Peanut company closes third—and last—plant

The Peanut Corporation of American closed its third and last plant following the company's implication in the ongoing salmonella outbreak that has stricken 637 people in 44 states and contributed to the deaths of nine. The plant, Tidewater Blanching in southeastern Virginia, was closed on Friday, the same day that PCA filed for bankruptcy. The salmonella outbreak was traced to the company's plant in Blakely, Georgia and a second plant in Plainview, Texas was also found to have sanitary issues.

Citing the salmonella outbreak, one of the largest in the U.S., editorials in today's New York Times and Washington Post called on the Obama administration to reform the nation's food safety system. "What was particularly galling about the latest recall was how federal inspectors had to threaten to use anti-terrorism laws to finally gain access to the Peanut Corporation of America’s testing reports," the New York Times wrote.

"Companies need to be required to test for the hazards that are most likely to occur in their products, and standards for what constitutes a hazard must be devised," urged the Washington Post.

Adding to the wide variety of recalled foods made with PCA-produced peanuts, five varieties of suet wild bird food were recalled by Scotts Co. The company said that salmonella not only can affect animals but can pose a risk to humans who handle products tainted with it.

National brands of jarred peanut butter have not been implicated in the recall. But a growing number of baked goods and processed foods that use peanut butter as an ingredient have ended up in the database of recalled foods being maintained by the Food and Drug Administration.