Salmonella...come and get your salmonella

Imagine, you go are going about your normal routine. You feed the dog. Then you feed the kids; they've been extra good today, so it's ice cream and brownies for desert. Sounds like a normal day, right?

Now imagine a food manufacturing plant with live roaches, mold and slimy residue on floors and equipment, and improper sanitation procedures. Disgusting, right?

Now you may be asking what your normal routine has to do with this food plant. In short, Peanut Corporation of America knowingly shipped products that had tested positive for salmonella. This product ended up in your dog's food and in your kids' ice cream and brownies. Now, they are among more than 500 illnesses and eight deaths caused by this contamination. You know that it's not your fault; you had no way to know. However, there must be someone to blame.

Federal officials have begun a criminal inquiry of Peanut Corporation of America after learning that it knowingly shipped products that had tested positive for salmonella. This bit of knowledge would leave you to believe that the plant is entirely to blame; however, it is not as straightforward as that.

The plant was subjected to regular visits and inspections by federal, state, and private inspectors; and most of these inspectors found the plant to be in tip-top shape. Now, food manufacturers and public health officials are trying to determine how so many inspectors missed what some have said were obvious problems at the plant.

Kellogg, one of the companies that recalled peanut products, received reports of third-party independent audits of Peanut Corporation of America. These audits were supposed to review the supplier’s food safety program, microbial test results, and internal audit results. Kellogg is now looking into whether the third-party auditor actually reviewed state inspection reports or the plant’s test results.

The salmonella outbreak at Peanut Corporation of America shows the illusion of independent audits. Auditors rely on tangible facts, but when it comes down to it, they are also relying on trust.

For example, the president of the third party auditor, Jim Munyon, said the company would not have received a superior rating if his auditors had seen the filth the federal government described. “It would mean that we didn’t see it on the day we were there,” he said of the rating. “What goes on the rest of the time, we don’t know.”

As consumers, we trust Kellogg when we buy and eat their products; Kellogg trusts their auditors; the auditors trust Peanut Corporation of America; and Peanut Corporation of America trusts its workers.

So who's to blame; the workers, Peanut Corporation of America, the auditors, or Kellogg? You can be sure that your kids aren't thinking about that as they are standing over a toilet vomiting. However, maybe each entity (the worker, the corporation, the auditor, and Kellogg) should take each step in their daily routines, from manufacture to marketing, with the visual of your kids in mind. Better yet, maybe they should take each step as if the product is specifically for themselves. Then, just maybe, we could feel comfortable relying on trust…oh yeah, and audits.