ALBANY, Ga. (AP) - After a decade-long criminal investigation into a salmonella outbreak linked to Peter Pan peanut butter, a ConAgra executive has pleaded guilty on behalf of the company to a single misdemeanor charge of shipping adulterated food.
The guilty plea settles a criminal investigation into the source of the salmonella blamed for sickening at least 625 people in 47 states.
No individuals at ConAgra faced any charges. Leo Knowles, president of ConAgra Grocery Products Company, entered the plea Tuesday before a federal judge in Georgia.
Judge W. Louis Sands was to decide later Tuesday whether to accept a settlement ConAgra reached with federal prosecutors. It calls for ConAgra to pay $11.2 million, including an $8 million fine that the Justice Department says would be the largest criminal fine over food safety in the United States.
