Color-enhanced scanning electron micrograph showing Salmonella typhimurium (red) invading cultured human cells Credit: Rocky Mountain Laboratories, NIAID, NIH

TYLER—Denials and blame shifting by the Texas Department of Agriculture and Commissioner Todd Staples, as well as damning Food and Drug Administration inspection reports for the Peanut Corporation of American plant in Plainview fully illustrate that the Gilbert campaign’s findings of incompetence by Commissioner Todd Staples and his agency have hit their mark, a campaign spokesperson said Wednesday afternoon.

“The louder they deny any responsibility for this and the more they try to shift blame, the more this shows that our allegations are on target,” said Vince Leibowitz, spokesperson for the campaign of Hank Gilbert, the Texas Democratic Party’s nominee for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.

“Every time TDA leadership defends the incompetence of Todd Staples, it gets worse for them,” said Leibowitz. He noted that TDA officials cited “federal policy” relating to organic inspections in a piece by an online news publication Wednesday morning and that, although officials claim they went above and beyond this policy to ask for a health inspection certificate, they were, in fact, required to do a far more thorough inspection than TDA is leading the public to believe.

According to the Code of Federal Regulations governing the FDA’s National Organic Program, TDA officials were required to inspect the plant at a time when it was operating such that it was able to be demonstrated that the operation was in compliance with, or capable of complying with the regulations of the National Organic Program—including that prohibited substances aren’t being used on the products being certified as organic.

“That should tell anyone that the only way you can verify these things is to be present on the processing floor when the plant is in operation. Given what is in the FDA report from their inspection of the plant in February of 2009, I can’t imagine that TDA didn’t notice rat droppings, water leaking from the roof, and dead rodents littering the factory,” Leibowitz said. “Additionally, the Code of Federal Regulations governing the National Organic Program allows inspectors from TDA to actually test substances to make sure that prohibited substances have not and are not being applied to the products being certified as organic.

“Once again, Todd Staples is hiding the truth. Federal regulations actually go so far as to allow him to test these products. Nothing would have prohibited an inspector who walked through a feces-laden plant to have taken a sample for testing for the prohibited substances discussed in the federal regulations. Depending upon the test that was run, TDA officials would have also been alerted to the fact that there was a bigger problem with the peanuts in the Plainview plant,” Leibowitz said.

“Todd Staples is once again trying to shift the blame away from himself and his agency a sad attempt to make it appear as though he’s done nothing wrong,” Hank Gilbert said. “When one of my employees makes a mistake, I don’t blame them, fire them and walk away. I fix it and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Todd Staples obviously thinks that blaming things on others is acceptable. In this kind of job, with public health at stake, saying ‘I couldn’t do anything’ is just unacceptable. The issue is not that Staples couldn’t do anything, it’s that he chose to do nothing and blamed the inspector. Now he’s trying to hide, once again, behind old negative attacks on me, just like a typical politician, and just like he’s done in every campaign he’s ever run,” Gilbert asked.

“At the very minimum, Todd Staples and TDA have a moral obligation to keep Texans safe when they can,” Gilbert continued. “They can complain all they want to about lacking the statutory authority to do something, but the last time I checked, the Agriculture Code doesn’t prevent someone at TDA from picking up a phone, calling someone at the appropriate state agency, and saying that there is a problem at a food processing plant,” he continued.

Gilbert also pointed out that the lack of statutory authority to actually take any action in certain instances is a handicap to the agency and that Staples should have done something about it before now. “Commissioner Staples should have, as soon as this debacle in Plainview came about, gone to the Legislature and said that the agency needs more regulatory authority to protect Texans. He didn’t do it. As a result, he’s able to shift the blame to other agencies, individual inspectors, and anyone but himself. That’s not accountability, that’s just laziness,” Gilbert said.

“Finally, I find it impossible to believe, given the evidence in the FDA report, that the inspector didn’t report the problems at this plant to superiors at TDA. Every bit of this disastrous incident points to a cover up and the scapegoating of the most junior person, ironically, in the food chain,” Gilbert concluded.

FACT SHEET

The Food And Drug Administration inspection of the Plainview PCA facility found deplorable conditions there, including:

Rodent activity observed in crawl spaces.

Dead mouse stuck to a glue trap near the kitchen.

Rodent excreta pellets on countertops.

Rodent excreta pellets throughout the facility.

Unprotected rodent pest entryways.

Accumulation of roasted peanut debris on oil roasters cooling tunnel conveyor belt [LINK]

Contaminated peanuts from the Plainview PCA plant found their way into Peanut butter sold for human consumption. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention After Action Report, P. 12, LINK]

The Code of Federal Regulations spells out in detail that inspections for the organic program must be conducted at a time when the facility is operational so that compliance can be demonstrated:

All on-site inspections must be conducted when an authorized representative of the operation who is knowledgeable about the operation is present and at a time when land, facilities, and activities that demonstrate the operation’s compliance with or capability to comply with the applicable provisions of subpart C of this part can be observed, except that this requirement does not apply to unannounced on-site inspections. [7 CFR 205.403 (b)(2)]

The Code of Federal Regulations allows TDA to actually conduct additional inspections at its discretion:

A certifying agent may conduct additional on-site inspections of applicants for certification and certified operations to determine compliance with the Act and the regulations in this part. [7 CFR 205.403 (b)(2)(ii)]

The Code of Federal Regulations also allows TDA inspectors inspecting a facility as part of the National Organic Program to take samples of products:

That prohibited substances have not been and are not being applied to the operation through means which, at the discretion of the certifying agent, may include the collection and testing of soil; water; waste; seeds; plant tissue; and plant, animal, and processed products samples. [7 CFR 205.403 (c)(3)]

As part of Hank’s transportation rollout on Thursday, he will be on talk radio on WBAP.

On Thursday morning at 10 a.m. Hank will be a guest on Mark Davis’ show on WBAP. You can listen live here or, if you are in the Metroplex, turn your dial to 1080 AM.

As part of Hank’s transportation rollout on Thursday, he will be on talk radio on KLIF.

At 6 p.m. Thursday night, Hank will be live and in-studio on The Wells Report on KLIF if you are in Dallas, you can turn your dial to NewsTalk 570 AM, or listen live by going to KLIF’s website and clicking on the “LISTEN LIVE” Link on the top right hand corner of the page.

Hank will appear as a guest on The Power Hour, a nationally syndicated radio program hosted by Joyce Riley that Hank has appeared on many times to talk about the Trans Texas Corridor. Monday, Joyce will be talking to Hank about his race for governor. You can listen live from anywhere in the state on Monday between 8:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. by using this link.

Supporters in the Cameron/Elgin or Temple area can also listen to hank on their radios via KTAE-AM 1330. KTAE, one of The Power Hour’s Texas affiliates, also has a listen live link here.

Hank has made dozens of talk radio appearances during the campaign, and our communications staff is very proud of Hank’s ability to attract supporters through a medium typically utilized only by Republican candidates. It proves Hank is the only candidate in this race who can galvanize our Democratic base and reach out to independents and Republicans to turn Texas blue again.

Supporters across the state will have the opportunity to hear Hank live on “The Morning Drive with Robert Hallmark and Kurt Verlei” on News Talk KCRS/550AM out of Midland/Odessa.

If you are in the Midland/Odessa area, make sure to turn your radio dial to 550 AM about 7:30 a.m.. Hank is slated to appear live after the news break around 7:35 a.m. If you aren’t in the Midland/Odessa area but would still like to listen, you can listen live through KCRS’s website.

Hank has made dozens of talk radio appearances during the campaign, and our communications staff is very proud of Hank’s ability to attract supporters through a medium typically utilized only by Republican candidates. It proves Hank is the only candidate in this race who can galvanize our Democratic base and reach out to independents and Republicans to turn Texas blue again.

TURN YOUR DIAL TO HANK!

Listen to Hank live today at 12:05 p.m. CST on the Jack Riccardi Show on San Antonio’s KTSA! If you are in San Antonio or the San Antonio area, tune to your radio to 550 AM. If you aren’t, you can listen live at on the web by visiting www.ktsa.com.

Check your local listings or listen online!

Hank will  appear as a guest on the Texas State Network’s This Week In Austin. The show airs on dozens of TSN radio stations across the state.

One of TSN’s stations, KLBJ – 590 AM Austin, TX, broadcasts the show from 6am – 6:30am on Saturday, Sep 26.

You can listen online at KLBJ (www.590klbj.com/)

Check TSN’s website (link: http://www.tsnradio.com/stations.php) for the name of your local station, and contact your local station for the airtime in your area.

Check Your Local Listings For Hank!

This Sunday, all across Texas, Hank’s supporters will have the chance to hear him on several different radio shows and one television show to cap off his 13-media market Road to Prosperity Tour in which Hank unveiled his Pledging Allegiance To Texas Public Schools k-12 public education plan and announced his run for governor.

Hank will be headlining Inside Texas Politics on WFAA-TV Channel 8 in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The show will air:

Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009  |  9:00 a.m. CST  | WFAA Channel 8 | Dallas/Fort Worth.

Check Your Local Listings For Hank or Listen Online!

Hank will appear on the public affairs show ACCESS on five radio stations on ACCESS (Public Affairs Radio) Sunday, 9/27.  These stations are located along the Gulf Coast but you can also listen online at any of these stations.

The call letters for stations and their local broadcast times for ACCESS are as follows:

10:00 AM  |  KLVI – News Talk 560 (Listen online at www.klvi.com )

10:00 PM  |  KYKR -  95.1 FM (Listen online at www.kykr.com)

6:00 PM  |   KKMY  - 104.5 FM (Listen online at www.mix1045.com)

9:00 PM  | KCOL  - 92.5 FM ( Listen online at www.cool925.com)

7:00 AM  | KIOC- 106 FM ( Listen online at www.bigdog106.com)

Be sure to turn your dial to Hank this Sunday!