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    Staples' Plainview Memo

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    Staples' Plainview Memo

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    Staples' Plainview Memo

    Uploaded by

    CapitolAnnex

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    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
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    TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE TODD STAPLES COMMISSIONER March 6, 2009 Dear Fellow TDA Team Member: If you are not aware, the attached article discusses a recent serious situation which occurred. Our news clipping service tracked 150 placements of this story around the state, nation and globe. For all TDA employees, itis important to understand that first and foremost we value the work that you do and support you in ensuring you are able to accomplish your goals, It is also extremely important to constantly be reminded that each decision be made wisely and in accordance with all established protocols, At the Texas Department of Agriculture, we are committed to having the highest quality and unquestionable standards and, most importantly, trust in each other and the trust of the citizens of the state of Texas. We all face difficult decisions everyday, and we all must take these responsibilities very seriously. It is unfortunate and unacceptable this situation occurred, and we all must leam from every challenge that faces our team. Now is the time to focus on the future and continue to serve the producers, public and taxpayers of Texas in a manner which leaves no question unanswered as to the commitment, integrity and excellence of TDA. ‘Thank you for the job you do and we appreciate your dedication and service to the State of Texas, Attachment RO. Box 12847 Austin, Texas 78711 (512) 463-7476 Fax: (888) 223-8861 For the Hearing Impaired: (800) 735-2989 (TTY) ‘worw.tda.state.tx.us Inspector failed to flag salmonella-linked plant | Business news | Chron.com - Houston C... YC CHLON com | where Houston ves Page 1 of 2 Inspector failed to flag salmonella-linked plant By DANNY ROBBINS Associated Press Writer © 2009 The ‘Associated Press March 8, 2009, 5:28PM DALLAS — A Texas agriculture inspector failed to note that a peanut plant at the center of a national salmonella outbreak was operating without a state health department license despite at least three visits in the years before hundreds of people got sick, according to interviews and documents obtained by The Associated Press, ‘The inspector responsible for certifying the plant to process organic products noted after each visit that the plant had such a license when it didn. Health officals said problems at the plant ‘operated by Peanut Corp. of America might have been flagged years ago had the inspector, who has since been fired, reported the plant's failure to obtain the required license, When the plant was finally inspected earlier this year, Texas health officials found dead rodents, rodent excrement and bird feathers in a craw! ‘space above a production area, leading them to ‘order a recall of all products the plant had shipped since 2005, ‘Tests have since shown that ground peanuts at the Plainview plant were contaminated with the same strain of salmonella that sickened more than 650 people, is suspected of causing at least Advenisement PrinterStital” ads by Format Dynamics rine deaths, and led to one of the largest product recalls in U.S. history. Salmonella has also been detected in peanut samples from a Georgia plant operated by Peanut Corp, which has filed for bankruptey amid fallout from the outbreak. ‘Texas Department of Agriculture spokesman Bryan Black said if the lack of a license had been properly noted, the department would have denied it organic certification and notified the Department of State Health Services. The inspector, Gaylon Amonett, was fired on Feb. 13, the day after state health officials ordered the recall. "We trust our inspectors to do their jobs," Black said. “Any time they do not follow the protocol, it is inexcusable." Because the Plainview plant was not licensed, state health officials have said they had no record it existed and never sent their own inspectors to the facility to check for possible {food safety problems. All food manufacturers in the state are required to obtain a license from the state health department, ‘Amonett, a 22-year TDA employee who worked ‘out of the agency's Lubbock offi acknowledged that he checked "yes" to the question of whether the Plainview plant had records showing it was in compliance with health codes on worksheets he completed for inspections in 2005, 2006 and 2008. The reason he checked "yes" the first time, he Said, was because a plant manager told him an Dynamics http://www.chron.comi/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/6296144.htm! Print Powered By (Fal Dynamics 3/6/2009 Inspector failed to flag salmonella yrchron .COM | Where Houston lives inked plant | Business news | Chron.com - Houston C. Page 2 of 2 application for state health department licensing had been completed and was in the hands of Peanut Corp. officals at the company's headquarters. He said he continued to check *yes' in succeeding years because he assumed that the license was granted. ‘Amonett said the matter was his “only mistake" in his years as an inspector. Agriculture

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