Salmonella Victims Upset No Prosecutions Yet

GREG BLUESTEIN

ATLANTA (AP) — At the height of the nationwide salmonella outbreak nearly a year ago, FBI agents raided two peanut plants and carried away boxes of evidence. FDA inspectors found roaches, mold and a leaky roof. Then, Congress revealed e-mails from the peanut company's top executive that seemed to suggest the pursuit of profits over ensuring public safety.

Despite the fanfare over the criminal probe of one of the largest product recalls ever, no one has yet been charged in the outbreak, which was linked to hundreds of illnesses and nine deaths.

Federal prosecutions in food-illness outbreaks are rare, but food safety experts and legal analysts say the salmonella investigation seemed as cut-and-dry as any case.

After all, investigators said the head of the company at the center of the probe fired off e-mails to employees amid reports salmonella had been detected in his products to "turn them loose" and said the business "desperately" needed to turn raw peanuts into money.

Nine months after the e-mails were made public by a U.S. House panel, prosecutors have been tightlipped on whether executives with Peanut Corp. of America will face charges, infuriating relatives of those sickened by the salmonella.