New Web Series Explores the Unsavory World of Food Crimes
It was one of the biggest federal cases of food-borne deaths is explored in a new episode of the web series “Food Crimes.”
All told, there were nine dead, hundreds sickened, and about $1 billion in financial fallout thanks to tainted peanut butter and paste, which found its way into numerous food products in 2008 and 2009. It was one of the biggest federal cases involving food-borne deaths in U.S. history, and it ended last year with the conviction of Stewart Parnell, former owner, president, and CEO of Peanut Corporation of America, on 71 counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and wire fraud, among other charges.
Prosecutors say Parnell was aware that the product the company sent out – some of which was covered in “dust and rat crap,” according to trial testimony – had tested positive for salmonella, according to The Washington Post.
The investigation revealed an attempt to cover up the misdeeds, including faking test results, and lying to investigators. All told, the salmonella outbreak hit 46 states and Canada, and many of the victims were children. On September 21, Parnell is going to be sentenced in federal court in Georgia and is facing the possibility of life in prison.
The ins-and-outs of this case are examined in the third installment of Food Crimes, a new web series from Zero Point Zero, the production company behind Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, among other projects. The episode, aptly titled “PB & Jail” premieres today on their Food Republic website. Here’s the trailer:
The show has already tackled saffron smuggling and illegal seafood since it premiered in June. The idea for the series came from Zero Point Zero’s senior investigations editor, Christine Haughney, a former reporter for The New York Times. “There’s just an extraordinary amount of crime and food that I never dreamed of, and it’s great reporting-wise, although probably not great for our food supply,” Haughney told the New York Business Journal.
The monthly series is set to explore such disparate subjects as “weirdo fraudsters crafting beautiful illegal wines” and “the horrors found inside the world of diseased agriculture” and is filming in a number of far-flung locales around the world, according to a blog post on Food Republic.
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by Andrew Amelinckx, Modern Farmer
September 16, 2015
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