Nation/World Briefly: Every peanut product from Ga. plant recalled
Published 10:04 pm Wednesday, January 28, 2009
WASHINGTON — In one of the largest food recalls in history, the Food and Drug Administration Wednesday asked retailers, manufacturers and consumers to throw out every product made in the last two years from peanuts processed by a Georgia plant at the heart of a deadly nationwide outbreak of salmonella illness.
The action came after federal officials discovered this month that the company, Peanut Corporation of America, knowingly shipped products contaminated with salmonella 12 times in 2007 and 2008, prompting a congresswoman to call Wednesday for a criminal investigation by the Justice Department.
In all, about 500 people in 43 states, including Washington, and Canada have become ill. Eight deaths have been recorded.
Major-label peanut butter is not suspected to be contaminated with salmonella and is considered safe to eat, according to the FDA.
To learn which peanut butter products have been recalled, visit www.fda.gov or call the CDC’s 24-hour hotline, 800-232-4636. For more information, including symptoms of salmonella infection and advice for consumers, visit www.cdc.gov.
Army orders body armor recall
Army Secretary Pete Geren has ordered the recall of more than 16,000 sets of body armor following an audit that concluded the bullet-blocking plates in the vests failed testing and may not provide soldiers with adequate protection. The audit by the office of the Defense Department inspector general faults the Army for flawed testing procedures before awarding a contract for the armor. Despite his insistence that the armor was not deficient, Geren said he was recalling the sets as a precaution.
Judge OKs holding Taliban cook
A Guantanamo Bay prisoner who says he merely cooked meals for Taliban forces and never fired a shot in battle lost his petition to be released Wednesday after being held for more than seven years. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said that Ghaleb Nassar Al Bihani’s work as an assistant cook with Taliban fighters made him an enemy combatant of the United States, nevertheless, and is reason enough for the U.S. military to continue holding him. “After all, as Napoleon himself was fond of pointing out, ‘An army marches on its stomach,’” Leon said in issuing the ruling.
New Mexico: Beryllium contamination
A spokesman for the Los Alamos National Laboratory said Wednesday that employees and visitors have a low risk of becoming sickened by a contamination of beryllium, a substance that can cause lung disease. Kevin Roark, a lab spokesman, said nearly 1,900 people were being notified about the possible exposure. He said no one at the lab had become ill from the substance, which is hazardous in a particulate or finely powdered form. Los Alamos uses the extremely light, nonradioactive metal in nuclear weapons research.
California: Electrician pleads guilty to hiding cameras in bathrooms
A Riverside electrician pleaded guilty this week to a burglary charge for installing spy cameras in the bathrooms of strangers, a prosecutor said. David Mitchell Clark, 35, told San Bernardino County sheriff’s investigators that he had hidden a camera in the home of a Rancho Cucamonga resident “because the wife was hot.” Clark returns for sentencing in San Bernardino County Superior Court on Feb. 26. He faces nine months in jail and three years probation.
Mississippi: Mayor’s alleged Katrina fraud
The mayor of Gulfport, which was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina, has been indicted after federal officials say he filed a false claim for disaster assistance. The indictment alleges Mayor Brent Warr and his wife, Laura, sought a grant for a hurricane-damaged beachfront house they did not live in.
Russia: Backs off missile threat
A Russian military official said Wednesday that Moscow was backing off a threat to deploy Iskander missiles near Poland, according to a report that may have been aimed at testing President Barack Obama’s intent to build a European missile shield. A Kremlin official reiterated that President Dmitry Medvedev has said Russia would only send Iskanders there if the U.S. presses ahead with plans for missile interceptors in Poland and a radar in the Czech Republic.
Israel: Talks with U.S. envoy
As Israeli-Hamas violence flared, President Barack Obama’s new Mideast envoy promised on Wednesday a vigorous push for peace, saying Gaza militants must end their weapons smuggling and the blockaded borders must be pried open if a cease-fire is to take hold. George Mitchell held his first round of talks with regional leaders to determine the next steps the Obama administration would take toward reviving peace negotiations following Israel’s military offensive against Gaza’s Islamic Hamas rulers. Israeli warplanes pounded Gaza smuggling tunnels Wednesday in reprisal for a Palestinian bombing on Tuesday that killed an Israeli soldier. Militants fired a rocket into Israel and the military responded with another airstrike.
From Herald news services
