ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Nearly a million jars of peanut
butter are being dumped at a New Mexico landfill to expedite the sale of
a bankrupt peanut-processing plant that was at the heart of a 2012
salmonella outbreak and nationwide recall.
Bankruptcy trustee
Clarke Coll said he had no other choice after Costco Wholesale refused
to take shipment of the Sunland Inc. product and declined requests to
let it be donated to food banks or repackaged or sold to brokers who
provide food to institutions like prisons.
"We considered all options," Coll said. "They didn’t agree."
Costco
officials did not return telephone calls seeking comment. But court
filings indicate the product was made with $2.8 million worth of
Valencia peanuts owned by Costco and had been sitting in the warehouse
since the company shut down and filed for bankruptcy last fall.
After
extensive testing, Costco agreed to a court order authorizing the
trustee to sell it the peanut butter. But after getting eight loads,
Costco rejected it as "not merchantable" because of leaky peanut oil.
Coll
said "all parties agreed there’s nothing wrong with the peanut butter
from a health and safety issue," but court records show that on a March
19 conference call Costco said "it would not agree to any disposition
… other than destruction."
So instead of selling or donating the
peanut butter, with a value estimated at $2.6 million, the estate is
paying about $60,000 to haul the 950,000 jars of nut butter — or about
25 tons — to the Curry County landfill in Clovis, where public works
director Clint Bunch says it "will go in with our regular waste and
covered with dirt."
The last of 58 truckloads was expected Friday, he said.
Sunland
made peanut butter under a number of different labels for retailers
like Costco, Kroger and Trader Joe’s, along with products under its own
name. But the plant was shut down in September 2012 after its products
were linked to 41 salmonella cases in 20 states.
It later reopened for about five months, but shut down last October after the company’s Chapter 7
bankruptcy filing.
Sunland
processed Valencia peanuts, a sweet variety of peanut that is unique to
the region and preferred for natural butters because it is flavorful
without additives.
Sonya Warwick, spokeswoman for New Mexico’s
largest food bank, declined to comment directly on the situation, but
she noted that rescued food accounted for 74 percent of what Roadrunner
Food Bank distributed across New Mexico last year.
"Our fleet
picks up rescued food from hundreds of locations weekly and brings it
back to the food bank," she said. "Before distributing it, volunteers
help label, sort or repack it for distribution to partner agencies
across the state.
"Access to rescued food allows us to provide a more well-rounded and balanced meal to New Mexicans
experiencing hunger."
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.