Peanut butter: when a company does not care

Peanut Corporation of America caused a nation-wide salmonella outbreak accounting for 600 cases including 9 deaths. The company filed for bankruptcy to avoid being held responsible in court. This is what happens when a company doesn't care HOW it makes money. When a company's values are as infested as its facilities and represent nothing else than the drive to "turn the raw peanuts on the floor into money," that's when you know the company's over.

But the story doesn't end with a company going down. Consumers' trust suffered another serious punch. A lot of people have cut back on their favorite product just to be safe. The Food and Drug Administration and other peanut butter manufacturers are struggling to regain trust while peanut butter sales drop 20%. It might take companies to make their salmonella tests results public before the trust is completely restored.

You'd think that in this age of increased corporate social responsibility and widespread awareness something like this shouldn't happen. You'd think companies are becoming wiser by avoiding taking unnecessary high social risks. But it still happens, even in the US where government oversight and law enforcement is relatively strong. Photo credit: CC @ Ben McLeod