Legal Matters
- Dan Flynn reports for Food Safety News that the trial of 3 former Peanut Corporation of America executives is scheduled to begin July 14 and could take 2 months or longer. The now disbanded company was linked as the source of a 2009 Salmonella outbreak from contaminated peanut butter, and the executives are on trial for negligence and knowingly selling contaminated products. The judge in charge of the case has denied two pre-trial motions on behalf of former CEO Stewart Parnell that would have allowed the defense to claim Parnell’s ADHD impaired his abilities as CEO and to preclude the use of “potentially privileged documents.”
Markets/Trade
- Anne Field reports for Forbes that the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership has launched Acceso Peanut Enterprise Corp. with the aim of improving peanut production in Haiti and boosting the livelihoods of 12,000 small holder Haitian peanut farmers. Haiti currently lacks infrastructure to enable peanut farmers, who work far from markets, to easily sell their crops, forcing them to instead sell to intermediaries who transport the crops to markets. Acceso will buy direct from farmers and store nuts in local warehouses til they can be sold to large buyers who will then sell them to markets. Acceso will also provide cheap, high quality seeds and fertilizer to help farmers boost yields. Haiti currently imports 40% of its annual peanut consumption, but with the help of Acceso it is expected that within 5 years the country will no longer need to import peanuts.
Production
- CarolinaLive.com, an affiliate of Channel 15 ABC News, reports that Rogers Brothers Farm will be opening South Carolina’s first peanut commercial peanut shelling plant in Hartsville, Darlington County. The facility is expected to provide 30 local jobs as well as offering South Carolina peanut growers an alternative, local market to sell their crops.
On the Lighter Side
- CSP Daily News reports that Kraft Foods Group Inc. has “rolled out the NUTmobile” with the start of the Planters NUTmobile Tour this month, featuring three peanut shaped vehicles to ferry Mr. Peanut from coast to coast while making appearances at special events, holding media interviews, and handing Planters peanut samples.
