ConAgra Foods has revealed the measures it will take to reopen the Georgia production plant where its recalled peanut butter products were produced.
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According to estimates from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, some 425 people fell ill during an outbreak of salmonella linked to the peanut butter production facility in the town of Sylvester.
ConAgra plans to reopen its Georgia facility in August after it has addressed all possible causes of the salmonella outbreak. The company believes that moisture inadvertently entered the production process and allowed the growth of low levels of dormant salmonella in the environment. New machinery and technology will also be introduced to the plant, the company said.
“We are truly sorry for any harm that our peanut butter products caused and intend to resolve claims related to peanut butter fairly and expeditiously,” said Gary Rodkin, ConAgra Foods’ chief executive officer. “We will make significant investment in and changes to the manufacturing environment to ensure this situation does not occur again.”
While these plant-wide upgrades are being put in place, ConAgra will partner with a third-party co-manufacturing facility that will produce the Peter Pan and Great Value brands. ConAgra will begin shipping Peter Pan Peanut Butter to retailers this summer, the company said.
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By GlobalDataUnveiling these measures, ConAgra was at pains to point out that it is working to continuously improve safety standards for all its food products.
ConAgra added that it would appoint a food safety expert to the newly created leadership position of vice president of global food safety. Paul A. Hall, a former Kraft food safety expert, will take the position.
