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Sunland Asking FDA for Permission to Shell Peanuts
By News Desk
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under increasing pressure to at least allow the shelling of Valencia peanuts grown during the past season that are now mostly stored in Sunland Inc.’s warehouses.
Sunland Inc.’s peanut processing facility in Portales, NM—linked to a 20 state outbreak of Salmonella that has sickened at least 41 people—closed voluntarily on Sept. 26, but then two weeks ago FDA prevented the manufacturing company from reopening by suspending its food plant registration.
Sunland is now requesting permission from FDA to re-open just to shell peanuts as New Mexico’s elected officials are voicing their concerns about the shutdown’s impact on the local economy.
Sen. Tom Udall, D-NM, says he is concerned about the impact that months of closure will have on the people of Portales and the surrounding area. He said his staff is working with FDA and Sunland to get a corrective action plan completed so the plant can re-open for the production of safe and healthy products.
Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, D-NM, says Sunland is dealing with some serious violations, but the company is a big part of the economy of eastern New Mexico, and people need to get back to work.
State Rep. Bob Wooley, R-Roswell, said Roosevelt County needs to “save the plant and save the jobs.”
Sunland could, under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), request an informal hearing, but it has apparently decided only to ask if it can resume shelling peanuts. Sunland views peanut shelling and peanut processing as separate operations, but it is unclear as to whether FDA shares that view.
Sunland, which has millions of pounds of harvested Valencia peanuts in storage, has laid off 28 of 98 employees until it can resume shelling operations. The Valencia peanut-growing area spans the New Mexico-Texas border.
The nation’s largest organic peanut processor plans to clean and re-build areas of its plant and re-open sometime early in 2013 if FDA gives it the green light.
2012-12-08 08:40:40
Source: http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/12/sunland-asking-fda-for-permission-to-shell-peanuts/
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