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Peanut butter dumped in New Mexico landfill after Costco refuses to sell it or let it be donated. The dumped peanut butter was deemed safe even though it came from the Sunland plant linked to a 2012 salmonella outbreak.
So instead of selling or donating the peanut butter, with a value estimated at $2.6 million, the estate paid 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."
If any people got sick from that peanut butter, whether sold or donated, Costco would be hit with a lawsuit. Costco knew this and determined that they didn't want to take that risk.
This is a non-story, only made a story by those that don't understand basic business.
...and if they had donated it and anyone got sick it would be a PR nightmare and a nice, fat, legal case because they knew it was linked and donated it anyways. Not saying anyone would or would not. No one knows if anyone would have, even though the assumption was that anyone would not. If companies donate food they are not protected from litigation.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't, might as well dump it.
I don't see why this is news or a controversy. It's pretty standard business practices.
In this sue happy climate, it's better to be safe than sorry.
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