– NOTICE –
This is the last episode of a three -part series marking the 10th anniversary of the historic conviction in the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) case. To read part 1, click here. To read part 2, click here.
The 2015 condemnation of the leaders of Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) was a seismic event in the food industry – a moment that many thought of inaugurating a new era of business security responsibility. A decade later, I asked a variety of food security experts: “Is it?”
The answers make you think. While some have seen him as an alarm clock, most of them consider him an aberrant value, not as a previous one.
Executive responsibility: an unprecedented sentence
Tyler WilliamsThe Director of Strategy, ASI – “The PCA affair broke the illusion that leaders were isolated from criminal responsibility. But that did not inaugurate a new era. Criminal proceedings remain rare. Improvements from the PCA came from the FSMA, third -party audits and consumer pressure – not to fear from prison. ”
Tatiana Miranda-AbaunzaResponsible for the AQ, auxiliary lecturer – “Despite the FSMA and the regulatory reform, no senior manager has served time for the main failures of food security who followed PCA – Blue Bell, JM Smucker, Boar’s Head, Abbott Nutrition. The signature of the senior executive is symbolic, not and not for students in food security?
Eric BradleyFood security expert – “It should have changed everything.
Melanie NeumannConsultant in food law and risk – “The PCA case intended to point out that managers must take food security seriously. But this impact was short -lived. The prison for each CEO is not the answer – but none is continuous inaction. ”
Injected denunciation warnings
Bonna CannonConsultant, Bonnafide LLC – “We always have black denunciators. I laughed at conference rooms to quote the ACP, threatened from having prevented dangerous expeditions and I saw the leaders of the FSQA rewarded while consumers paid the price. Companies are investing today in public relations than prevention. ”
Tatiana Miranda-Abaunza (On FSVP gaps) – “In the lead contamination crisis for food for toddlers, no one was held responsible – not even FSVP importers based in the United States.
Systemic gaps persist
Tatiana Miranda-Abaunza (On Abbott, the wild boar head, Smucker) – “These are not isolated events. From Listeria to Deli Meat to Salmonella in peanut butter – once again – these cases highlight a failure to apply significantly FSMA.
Forgotten lessons – or never learned
Elena MontoyaFood security educator – “This case was my awakening at the start of my career – a moment that made me want to protect public health. But 10 years later, we have still not built the coherent responsibility that PCA promised. Most consumers do not even know that the case has occurred. handcuffs. “”
Bonna Cannon – “What we call food safety
is often just a more polished messaging. If the boar’s head affair ends like the others, without criminal accusations, this will strengthen what families in mourning already suspect: that justice in food security is only luck. »»
Which must change
While we are thinking about the PCA’s birthday, this is what leaders and defenders say regularly must happen:
- Strengthen the doctrine of the park as a deterrent and apply it regularly
- Protect denunciators thanks to stronger federal guarantees
- Develop executive responsibility beyond financial regulations
- Educate food security students on ethical and regulatory obligations
- Treat food of food as a problem of criminal justice, not just public health
A warning, not a awakening
From Blue Bell to the head of Boar, snacks for toddlers with a baby formula, the model is undeniable: massive damage, civil colonies and intact leaders by criminal justice.
In 2015, the APC’s sentences offered me to hope that these “bad acting” business leaders could no longer ignore the consequences of a life knowingly endangered. In 2025, this hope remains dissatisfied.
The system always prioritizes benefits on people. Families are still suffering. Justice – when it comes – is still too rare, too late and too easily forgotten.
(To register for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here)
