Three guilty in salmonella-tainted peanut trial

ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - More than five years after hundreds of Americans got sick from eating salmonella-tainted peanut butter, the top executive at the Georgia plant where it was made was convicted Friday and faces prison time in a rare food-poisoning trial which advocates said sends a stern warning to others who may be tempted to place profits over safety.

Former Peanut Corporation of America owner Stewart Parnell, 60, could face more than three decades in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, wire fraud and other crimes related to the outbreak in 2008 and 2009 that was linked to nine deaths and prompted one of the largest food recalls in U.S. history. His brother, Michael Parnell, and a second co-defendant could face 20 years in prison or more.

Experts said it was the first time American food processors have gone to trial on federal charges in a food-poisoning case. Food safety advocates applauded the jury verdict reached after a seven-week trial, though they also noted the case was unusually egregious.

The brothers will be allowed to remain free pending sentencing if they can post bond. Federal marshals led them from the courtroom.

Stewart Parnell was convicted of knowingly shipping bad peanut butter to customers who used it in products from packaged crackers to pet food. The jury also found him and his food broker brother guilty of faking results of lab tests intended to screen for salmonella.

Prosecutors said the brothers used fake results so that wait times for real tests wouldn't slow down their hectic shipping schedule to customers including Kellogg's.

After being told a shipment faced delay while awaiting lab results, Stewart Parnell wrote an email referenced several times by prosecutors in the case that read: "Just ship it. I cannot afford to (lose) another customer."

Mary Wilkerson, the peanut plant's quality control manager, was convicted of obstruction of justice for withholding information from investigators, as was Stewart Parnell.

The outbreak sickened 714 people in 43 states by the time federal investigators traced it to Peanut Corporation's plant in Blakely, in January 2009. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that nine people who ate the tainted peanut butter died, though it couldn't say for sure salmonella caused each death.