WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar released the following statement regarding today’s sentencing in the federal case stemming from the salmonella outbreak in peanut butter in 2008 and 2009 that led to nine deaths, including three people from Minnesota. Klobuchar previously called for the prosecution of the case.

"No one should ever have to suffer the fate of Shirley Almer, a grandmother and recovering cancer patient from Perham, Minnesota, who died from simply eating a piece of peanut butter toast. The efforts of Shirley’s son, Jeff, and all those who have worked to raise the awareness of food safety deserve to be commended today. While this announcement won’t ease the terrible loss ‎for families of those who died, it will hopefully give them some measure of closure after years of waiting for justice. It should also serve as a powerful reminder to prevent anyone from knowingly selling dangerous and tainted food to unsuspecting customers in the future.”

Klobuchar advocated for the families of those who died in this outbreak and also authored food safety legislation that was passed into law to improve federal, state, and local officials’ ability to investigate food safety outbreaks.