Blakely hard hit by media, public fallout over peanut contamination

Blakely, Georgia is a small picturesque town struggling in the aftermath of problems at area employer Peanut Corporation of America.[Photo from Blakely City Government website.](Blakely, Ga.)—As I learned more about the salmonella outbreak allegedly caused by products shipped from the Peanut Corporation of America, I realized the impact that might have on a small town economy. If information at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is accurate, those in charge of the plant ignored basic safety rules in dealing with food products.

But the fallout has brought more than bad press to the small town. It’s brought reporters in droves, and naturally, many of them look down on the residents of a small town where signals for certain cell phone networks won’t fly. The hometown newspaper The Early County News, published since 1859, featured an editorial defending the community. The editors also point out the town is a great place to live and they sympathize with the company’s employees and their families. I grew up in a small town, so I know how valuable employers are to these communities.

The editors wrote, “And, while most of the news reporters converging on Blakely with their AT&T wireless devices feel like they are in Mayberry with no signal, we're not in the middle of the ‘boonies!’ While ‘you can't hear me now’ around here on an AT&T phone, the fact is, we're already better connected than most small communities, and all them city folk have to do is "Google" SGRITA to find out that in the near future we will soon be better connected than some of them and most all rural communities.”

The Blakely government website acknowledges the importance of peanuts as a cash crop. The website said, “Early County is the largest peanut quota holding county in the nation. In recognition of this crop's importance, a statue of a peanut was erected on the square in Blakely in 1954.” The city’s nickname is “Peanut Capital of the World.”

The editorial also acknowledges blows to the peanut industry caused by a single company who shipped product far and wide. The FDA said, “…PCA distributed potentially contaminated product to more than 100 consignee firms, for use as an ingredient in hundreds of different products, such as cookies, crackers, cereal, candy and ice cream.” Criticism—and confusion—from media and the public led the American Peanut Council to publish a list of products “NOT affected” by the recall.

Consumers have reason to be wary about peanut products, though. In 2007, contamination at a plant in another Georgia city led to a nationwide recall of top shelf brands of peanut butter.

Hundreds of products are affected by the current recall. People with health problems, the elderly and those with small children should definitely check the product lists of affected brands at the FDA website and cross check products on home shelves at the American Peanut Council website.

Our previous story here at The US Report provides links to information about the recall and to healthcare information.

Sympathy is warranted for anyone made ill by consuming a product in good faith. But there’s also a great deal of sadness in a small community hit hard by practices the community had little control over. We can be reassured that this time, the FDA found the source and took action. But we have to ask ourselves how many other products we consume that could cause illness—what we popularly call the stomach “flu” is really not the flu at all. And product contamination can happen anywhere, even in your own home.

The Early County News makes a case for not judging a community by the unfortunate actions of a single employer. The editors wrote, “But, the important thing to understand is that impressions of Blakely and Early County being ingrained in the minds of people across the country by this tragic, ongoing news story are not representative of our community.”