NAIROBI, Kenya – Somali pirates hijacked a German tanker loaded with liquefied petroleum gas Thursday off the Horn of Africa. The ship's 13-man crew was reported safe, even though gunshots were heard over the ship's radio.
The MV Longchamp is the third ship captured by pirates this month in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
Piracy has taken an increasing toll on international shipping in the key water link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Pirates made an estimated $30 million hijacking ships for ransom last year, seizing more than 40 vessels off Somalia's coastline.
More than a dozen warships from countries including Britain, France, Germany, Iran, China and the United States now patrol Somali waters to protect vessels. But the warships were not near the Longchamp when it was taken, said Lt. Nathan Christensen, a Bahrain-based spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet.
Seven pirates boarded the Bahamas-registered Longchamp early Thursday, the tanker's manager, Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement, said in a statement.
Spokesman Andre Delau said the ship's master had been briefly allowed to communicate with the firm and had said the crew of 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian were safe.
"We think that everything is in order, nobody is injured," he told The Associated Press.
No ransom demands have been made yet, the company said.
Robin Phillips, deputy director of the Bahamas maritime authority in London, said the Longchamp had been traveling in a corridor secured by EU military forces when it sent a distress signal before dawn.
"Ships and helicopters were dispatched, but they arrived too late," said Phillips, adding that gunshots could be heard over the radio.
He said the ship later set a course for Somalia, to the south.
Christensen said the ship was seized off the southern coast of Yemen, about 60 miles (95 kilometers) from the town of al-Mukalla, the capital of the Hadramaut region.
He also said 21 ships since Dec. 1 have taken "aggressive, evasive maneuvers" and successfully evaded pirate attacks.
Noel Choong, who heads the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center, said Thursday's hijacking was the first attack since Jan. 14. For the past two weeks, strong winds have made it difficult for pirates to launch their small boats, but the weather has now improved, Choong said.
There have been 15 attacks so far this year, and three ships seized, he said.
Cyrus Mody of the International Maritime Bureau said 166 crew on nine ships were still being held off the coast of Somalia, not including the Longchamp. Six other hijacked ships have been released this month, including an oil tanker freed for a reported $3 million ransom.
Somalia, a nation of about 8 million people, has not had a functioning government since warlords overthrew a dictator in 1991 and then turned on each other. Pirates see its lawless coastline as a haven.
Also Thursday, an official said the breakaway Somali region of Puntland had agreed to a French request that it take custody of nine suspected pirates arrested Tuesday by France.
"We consider them to be a real threat for the regional security and the world, as well," said Abdullahi Said Samatar, the Puntland security minister.
The German military reported two more suspected attempts by pirates to attack ships in the Gulf of Aden early Thursday.
A German navy frigate received an emergency call from a cargo ship, the European Champion, which reported that it was being followed by a skiff. A military statement said the skiff backed off after the German ship sent its on-board helicopter to the scene.
A second cargo ship, the Eleni G., radioed that it was being pestered by several skiffs. A German frigate sailed toward the ship, which shook off the suspected pirates.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
S. American leaders join anti-Davos social forum
BELEM, Brazil – South America's leading advocates of socialism got a hero's welcome from 100,000 activists at the mouth of the Amazon River Thursday as they demanded an overhaul of global capitalism.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the time has come for the world's leftists to "leave the trenches," propose solutions and "launch a political ideological offensive everywhere."
About 500 advocates for landless Brazilians in a sweltering gymnasium and roared in approval as Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa belted out the Cuban classic "Comandante Che Guevara," accompanied by a lone guitarist. Bolivia's Evo Morales and Paraguay's Fernando Lugo joined them on stage at the World Social Forum. But the loudest cheers were for Chavez.
"Chavez is fighting for people like me and his presence validates our movement," said 34-year-old Brazilian activist and singer Nicinha Durans, whose bright red shirt read "Hip Hop Militant."
Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, also saluted the crowd at the annual protest against the World Economic Forum, where the rich and powerful gather at the Swiss ski resort of Davos each year.
"Before you are four presidents — four presidents who could not be here were it not for your fight," he said. "I see so many brothers and sisters here, from Latin America's social movements to European figures."
Later, more than 10,000 of the 100,000 activists in Belem for the forum packed a convention center, waving red flags and dancing atop chairs to Brazilian music while waiting for the leaders plus Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to address the crowd.
A Brazilian Indian who identified himself only as Vander said he traveled for a full day by riverboat to reach the event so he could "be here to represent my people and their struggle."
Silva — a former union leader who has steered Brazil on a centrist course as president — decided to make his first social forum appearance in three years instead of going to Switzerland.
Some activists said they weren't angry at him for shunning the gathering in previous years, and predicted a warm welcome.
But Durans said others will protest against Silva because his administration has embraced many of the free-market economic policies he denounced before being elected president in 2003.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the time has come for the world's leftists to "leave the trenches," propose solutions and "launch a political ideological offensive everywhere."
About 500 advocates for landless Brazilians in a sweltering gymnasium and roared in approval as Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa belted out the Cuban classic "Comandante Che Guevara," accompanied by a lone guitarist. Bolivia's Evo Morales and Paraguay's Fernando Lugo joined them on stage at the World Social Forum. But the loudest cheers were for Chavez.
"Chavez is fighting for people like me and his presence validates our movement," said 34-year-old Brazilian activist and singer Nicinha Durans, whose bright red shirt read "Hip Hop Militant."
Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, also saluted the crowd at the annual protest against the World Economic Forum, where the rich and powerful gather at the Swiss ski resort of Davos each year.
"Before you are four presidents — four presidents who could not be here were it not for your fight," he said. "I see so many brothers and sisters here, from Latin America's social movements to European figures."
Later, more than 10,000 of the 100,000 activists in Belem for the forum packed a convention center, waving red flags and dancing atop chairs to Brazilian music while waiting for the leaders plus Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to address the crowd.
A Brazilian Indian who identified himself only as Vander said he traveled for a full day by riverboat to reach the event so he could "be here to represent my people and their struggle."
Silva — a former union leader who has steered Brazil on a centrist course as president — decided to make his first social forum appearance in three years instead of going to Switzerland.
Some activists said they weren't angry at him for shunning the gathering in previous years, and predicted a warm welcome.
But Durans said others will protest against Silva because his administration has embraced many of the free-market economic policies he denounced before being elected president in 2003.
Rebels begin joining DR Congo army
RUMANGABO, DR Congo (AFP) – The first of more than 6,000 Congolese rebels took part in a ceremony Thursday to integrate their units into the regular army as part of a deal to end the conflict in eastern DR Congo.
Defence Minister Charles Mwando presided over the ceremony at one of the country's biggest military barracks, which had fallen to National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) rebels last October.
"I note the integration of the CNDP and (self-defence militia) Pareco into the FARDC," said the minister, referring to the government army.
Nord Kivu provincial governor Julien Paluku told the ceremony that "at the end of this integration, the two million displaced people can hope to return to their homes."
The province, which borders Rwanda in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has been worst hit by a spate of conflicts over the last 15 years which have displaced an estimated two million people.
Eleven rebels marched in line to a table where they were each given green FARDC (Armed Forces of DR Congo) uniforms in exchange for their CNDP fatigues, to applause and shouts of approval from civil society representatives.
They were then examined by two army doctors before they dissolved into the ranks of army soldiers.
"We are going to form integrated brigades within the FARDC (Armed Forces of the DR Congo)," one of four CNDP commanders at the ceremony, Colonel Claude Micho, told AFP.
More than 6,200 rebels are to be integrated into the regular army, according to the army chiefs of staff.
However, the International Crisis Group think-tank has called on the Congolese authorities to introduce a vetting mechanism "to exclude significant human rights abusers from the national army and to address issues of accountability."
It said in a statement that the CNDP and the FARDC had committed "mass crimes and widespread sexual violence" in the province.
It said the rebel chief of staff Bosco Ntaganda in particular "has a horrendous record of causing severe suffering to civilans during his operations," and had been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Rebel leaders declared an end to their conflict with Kinshasa last month following an internal rift which sidelined long-time leader Laurent Nkunda.
Nkunda was subsequently arrested in neighbouring Rwanda, his erstwhile sponsor, as the bulk of his rebel force backed a joint operation by Rwandan and Congolese forces to oust Rwandan Hutu FDLR rebels from Nord Kivu, who have been at the centre of more than a decade of unrest in the region.
Sporadic clashes between the Rwandan army and the FDLR, however, have gone on for a week, a rebel spokesman, Laforge Fils, told AFP on Thursday.
"There have been clashes followed by lulls... for a week between us and the Rwandan army," he said.
"The Rwandan army is preparing to attack two strategic areas," where many FDLR rebels were based, he added.
Rebels on Wednesday predicted that more intense fighting would erupt within days in eastern Congo amid an expected assault by government forces on rebel positions.
Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo launched a joint military operation on January 20 against the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) which has been based in eastern Congo for more than a decade.
Elements of the FDLR, at the centre of years of instability in the region, are believed to have taken part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
International Crisis Group also warned that the Rwanda-DR Congo joint operation "carries as many dangers as opportunities."
"The deployment of up to 7,000 Rwandan troops in eastern Congo will not achieve its goals within two weeks, as claimed by the Congolese information minister," it said, adding that they would have to track down the FDLR deep into Nord Kivu and far from their own bases.
Defence Minister Charles Mwando presided over the ceremony at one of the country's biggest military barracks, which had fallen to National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) rebels last October.
"I note the integration of the CNDP and (self-defence militia) Pareco into the FARDC," said the minister, referring to the government army.
Nord Kivu provincial governor Julien Paluku told the ceremony that "at the end of this integration, the two million displaced people can hope to return to their homes."
The province, which borders Rwanda in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has been worst hit by a spate of conflicts over the last 15 years which have displaced an estimated two million people.
Eleven rebels marched in line to a table where they were each given green FARDC (Armed Forces of DR Congo) uniforms in exchange for their CNDP fatigues, to applause and shouts of approval from civil society representatives.
They were then examined by two army doctors before they dissolved into the ranks of army soldiers.
"We are going to form integrated brigades within the FARDC (Armed Forces of the DR Congo)," one of four CNDP commanders at the ceremony, Colonel Claude Micho, told AFP.
More than 6,200 rebels are to be integrated into the regular army, according to the army chiefs of staff.
However, the International Crisis Group think-tank has called on the Congolese authorities to introduce a vetting mechanism "to exclude significant human rights abusers from the national army and to address issues of accountability."
It said in a statement that the CNDP and the FARDC had committed "mass crimes and widespread sexual violence" in the province.
It said the rebel chief of staff Bosco Ntaganda in particular "has a horrendous record of causing severe suffering to civilans during his operations," and had been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.
Rebel leaders declared an end to their conflict with Kinshasa last month following an internal rift which sidelined long-time leader Laurent Nkunda.
Nkunda was subsequently arrested in neighbouring Rwanda, his erstwhile sponsor, as the bulk of his rebel force backed a joint operation by Rwandan and Congolese forces to oust Rwandan Hutu FDLR rebels from Nord Kivu, who have been at the centre of more than a decade of unrest in the region.
Sporadic clashes between the Rwandan army and the FDLR, however, have gone on for a week, a rebel spokesman, Laforge Fils, told AFP on Thursday.
"There have been clashes followed by lulls... for a week between us and the Rwandan army," he said.
"The Rwandan army is preparing to attack two strategic areas," where many FDLR rebels were based, he added.
Rebels on Wednesday predicted that more intense fighting would erupt within days in eastern Congo amid an expected assault by government forces on rebel positions.
Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo launched a joint military operation on January 20 against the FDLR (Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda) which has been based in eastern Congo for more than a decade.
Elements of the FDLR, at the centre of years of instability in the region, are believed to have taken part in the 1994 Rwandan genocide of 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
International Crisis Group also warned that the Rwanda-DR Congo joint operation "carries as many dangers as opportunities."
"The deployment of up to 7,000 Rwandan troops in eastern Congo will not achieve its goals within two weeks, as claimed by the Congolese information minister," it said, adding that they would have to track down the FDLR deep into Nord Kivu and far from their own bases.
North Korea scraps all accords with South
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Friday it was scrapping all accords with the South, the latest in a series of verbal attacks on its neighbor that analysts say are more aimed at grabbing the attention of new U.S. President Barack Obama.
One analyst said the latest rise in tension increased the chances of a military clash on the heavily armed border that has divided the two Koreas for more than half a century.
"There is neither way to improve (relations) nor hope to bring them on track," North Korea's KCNA news agency quoted the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as saying.
Tension had reached "such extremes" that "inter-Korean relations have reached the brink of a war," KCNA said, using a phrase commonly carried by North Korean state media.
South Korean officials were not immediately available for comment.
Friday's threat focused largely on a basic accord the two Koreas struck in 1991 that analysts said Pyongyang might feel inadequately reflects its position on disputed ocean waters.
Other deals were reached during a brief period of detente that followed a summit between the leaders of North and South Korea in June 2000, which led to reunions of separated families, communication systems to defuse military tensions and rail and road links across their heavily armed border.
Impoverished North Korea has bridled at the hard-line policy of the year-old conservative government in the South which has ended a free flow of unconditional aid. Seoul has promised massive aid and investment only if Pyongyang is serious about giving up its nuclear weapons program.
But the isolated state has made clear it is not ready to sacrifice the little international leverage it has in the form of a nuclear threat, without first establishing diplomatic relations with the United States.
In recent months, it has all but closed the few border links with the South that were open, though a lucrative industrial park operated by Seoul just inside its border has remained open.
"First, all the agreed points concerning the issue of putting an end to the political and military confrontation between the north and the south will be nullified," KCNA quoted the committee as saying.
"Second, the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-aggression, Cooperation and Exchange between the North and the South and the points on the military boundary line in the West Sea stipulated in its appendix will be nullified," it said.
SEEKING UPPER HAND
Korea University professor Yoo Ho-yeol said the latest comments had three main aims: to pressure South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, scare the United States and to drum up political support at home.
North Korea had hinted in a New Year's message that it was willing to work with Obama by saying it wanted good relations with countries that treated it in an amicable manner.
"The North probably believes that this type of thing is the most effective way of getting the upper hand with the U.S. ahead of negotiations by raising tension," Yoo said.
The North's bureaucracy works slowly to form policy and it may still be trying to figure out its approach with the new Obama team, analysts said, making it easier for Pyongyang to direct its anger of Washington's allies, including Seoul.
"What is worrying is that the possibility of a military clash is rising," Yoo said, pointing to the possibility of broader confrontation than naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
The latest move follows comments by a U.S. national security official that the secretive state's leader, Kim Jong-il, appeared to have rebounded politically from his recent health scare and is making major decisions.
One analyst said the latest rise in tension increased the chances of a military clash on the heavily armed border that has divided the two Koreas for more than half a century.
"There is neither way to improve (relations) nor hope to bring them on track," North Korea's KCNA news agency quoted the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as saying.
Tension had reached "such extremes" that "inter-Korean relations have reached the brink of a war," KCNA said, using a phrase commonly carried by North Korean state media.
South Korean officials were not immediately available for comment.
Friday's threat focused largely on a basic accord the two Koreas struck in 1991 that analysts said Pyongyang might feel inadequately reflects its position on disputed ocean waters.
Other deals were reached during a brief period of detente that followed a summit between the leaders of North and South Korea in June 2000, which led to reunions of separated families, communication systems to defuse military tensions and rail and road links across their heavily armed border.
Impoverished North Korea has bridled at the hard-line policy of the year-old conservative government in the South which has ended a free flow of unconditional aid. Seoul has promised massive aid and investment only if Pyongyang is serious about giving up its nuclear weapons program.
But the isolated state has made clear it is not ready to sacrifice the little international leverage it has in the form of a nuclear threat, without first establishing diplomatic relations with the United States.
In recent months, it has all but closed the few border links with the South that were open, though a lucrative industrial park operated by Seoul just inside its border has remained open.
"First, all the agreed points concerning the issue of putting an end to the political and military confrontation between the north and the south will be nullified," KCNA quoted the committee as saying.
"Second, the Agreement on Reconciliation, Non-aggression, Cooperation and Exchange between the North and the South and the points on the military boundary line in the West Sea stipulated in its appendix will be nullified," it said.
SEEKING UPPER HAND
Korea University professor Yoo Ho-yeol said the latest comments had three main aims: to pressure South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, scare the United States and to drum up political support at home.
North Korea had hinted in a New Year's message that it was willing to work with Obama by saying it wanted good relations with countries that treated it in an amicable manner.
"The North probably believes that this type of thing is the most effective way of getting the upper hand with the U.S. ahead of negotiations by raising tension," Yoo said.
The North's bureaucracy works slowly to form policy and it may still be trying to figure out its approach with the new Obama team, analysts said, making it easier for Pyongyang to direct its anger of Washington's allies, including Seoul.
"What is worrying is that the possibility of a military clash is rising," Yoo said, pointing to the possibility of broader confrontation than naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
The latest move follows comments by a U.S. national security official that the secretive state's leader, Kim Jong-il, appeared to have rebounded politically from his recent health scare and is making major decisions.
Australian throws four-year-old daughter off bridge: police
SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian man was charged with murder after allegedly throwing his four-year-old daughter from a city bridge into a river during peak hour traffic on Thursday, police said.
The 36-year-old man, believed to be involved in a custody battle with the girl's mother, allegedly threw her from a 60-metre (200-feet) high section of the West Gate bridge into the Yarra River in the southern city of Melbourne.
The incident took place in front of hundreds of motorists while two other children, boys believed to be aged six and eight, remained in the four-wheel drive, police said.
"No one had the opportunity to intervene ... it all happened fairly quickly," Detective Inspector Steve Clark told reporters.
"He's got straight out of the car and taken the young girl and walked to the edge of the bridge, so that would have happened in a matter of seconds."
Horrified witnesses called police, who were on the scene within moments and retrieved her body from the water. They spent 45 minutes attempting to resuscitate the girl on the riverbank.
She died from severe internal inuries within hours of being airlifted to hospital.
The man was arrested outside the city's law courts building with the two young boys shortly after the incident, and was "visibly distressed", Clark said.
He was not mentally fit to be interviewed, and his lawyers said he could not appear in court because he was suicidal and in an "acute psychiatric state". His case will be heard in May.
"It's a dreadful set of circumstances, and often you think you've seen it all but you haven't," Clark said, adding that the man was believed to be embroiled in a custody battle with his wife.
"There have been some ongoing family court matters as I understand it between the father and his wife," he said.
The couple reportedly reached an agreement in court on Wednesday appointing joint custody. The boys were interviewed by police and have been returned to their mother.
The 36-year-old man, believed to be involved in a custody battle with the girl's mother, allegedly threw her from a 60-metre (200-feet) high section of the West Gate bridge into the Yarra River in the southern city of Melbourne.
The incident took place in front of hundreds of motorists while two other children, boys believed to be aged six and eight, remained in the four-wheel drive, police said.
"No one had the opportunity to intervene ... it all happened fairly quickly," Detective Inspector Steve Clark told reporters.
"He's got straight out of the car and taken the young girl and walked to the edge of the bridge, so that would have happened in a matter of seconds."
Horrified witnesses called police, who were on the scene within moments and retrieved her body from the water. They spent 45 minutes attempting to resuscitate the girl on the riverbank.
She died from severe internal inuries within hours of being airlifted to hospital.
The man was arrested outside the city's law courts building with the two young boys shortly after the incident, and was "visibly distressed", Clark said.
He was not mentally fit to be interviewed, and his lawyers said he could not appear in court because he was suicidal and in an "acute psychiatric state". His case will be heard in May.
"It's a dreadful set of circumstances, and often you think you've seen it all but you haven't," Clark said, adding that the man was believed to be embroiled in a custody battle with his wife.
"There have been some ongoing family court matters as I understand it between the father and his wife," he said.
The couple reportedly reached an agreement in court on Wednesday appointing joint custody. The boys were interviewed by police and have been returned to their mother.
Russia's S7 cancels Boeing 787 order
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Russia's S7 has become the first airline to cancel a major contract for Boeing Co's (BA.N) 787 Dreamliner, as the country's airlines face their worst-ever financial crisis.
The order for 15 787s, due to be delivered in 2014, was worth about $2.4 billion at list prices. The cancellation is a blow for Boeing, whose new, lightweight jetliner has not yet left the ground and is about two years behind schedule.
S7, the main domestic rival to Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot (AFLT.MM), will seek to lease the planes instead, the company said on Thursday.
"S7 retains interest in using the Dreamliner and at the moment is looking into receiving the planes under a leasing scheme at an earlier date, for which it is in negotiations with several leasing companies," it said, without naming the leasing company.
Russia's airlines were hit hard by high oil prices and global economic turmoil, which left about a dozen of them unable to fly last year.
The resulting crisis prompted Russia's government to create a new state giant, Russian Airlines, to absorb crippled carriers.
Boeing, which has faced a series of production problems on the 787 and a two-month strike last year by its assembly workers, is expecting more cancellations from airlines this year as the demand for flights wanes.
The plane maker warned on Wednesday that an airline had canceled a 787 order, but did not say which.
Boeing shares were down 4.5 percent to $41.30 in late morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
The order for 15 787s, due to be delivered in 2014, was worth about $2.4 billion at list prices. The cancellation is a blow for Boeing, whose new, lightweight jetliner has not yet left the ground and is about two years behind schedule.
S7, the main domestic rival to Russia's flag carrier Aeroflot (AFLT.MM), will seek to lease the planes instead, the company said on Thursday.
"S7 retains interest in using the Dreamliner and at the moment is looking into receiving the planes under a leasing scheme at an earlier date, for which it is in negotiations with several leasing companies," it said, without naming the leasing company.
Russia's airlines were hit hard by high oil prices and global economic turmoil, which left about a dozen of them unable to fly last year.
The resulting crisis prompted Russia's government to create a new state giant, Russian Airlines, to absorb crippled carriers.
Boeing, which has faced a series of production problems on the 787 and a two-month strike last year by its assembly workers, is expecting more cancellations from airlines this year as the demand for flights wanes.
The plane maker warned on Wednesday that an airline had canceled a 787 order, but did not say which.
Boeing shares were down 4.5 percent to $41.30 in late morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
Lab confirmed salmonella for Ga. peanut plant
WASHINGTON – A lab company president called to testify before Congress in the salmonella outbreak investigation said Thursday that manufacturers "can't retest away a positive result."
Charles Diebel, whose labs conducted tests for Peanut Corp. of America, said that if 100 containers were tested and only one or two turned up salmonella, the company should "throw the whole lot out."
Federal health officials say Peanut Corp. shipped tainted peanut products from its Blakely, Ga., facility after retesting them and getting a negative result for salmonella.
Peanut butter, peanut paste and other goods from the plant are being blamed for an outbreak that has sickened more than 500 people, triggered a massive international recall and raised doubts about the food industry's safety practices.
Deibel said his company — Deibel Labs Inc. — did not conduct day-to-day testing for the Blakely plant, but was asked on occasion to carry out certain tests. He said the company has turned over bacterial cultures to federal investigators.
Deibel and the president of another lab, J. Leek Associates Inc., have been called to testify Feb. 11 before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Deibel firm has been in existence since the 1960s and has its main lab in Chicago.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the panel conducting a hearing into the outbreak said the investigation shows "major gaps" in the nation's food safety system.
"I am extremely troubled by reports that the plan tested positive for salmonella numerous times but nothing was done to ensure that the product did not go on the market," Waxman said.
Peanut Corp., based in Lynchburg, Va., said in a statement it "categorically denies any allegations that the company sought favorable results from any lab in order to ship its products."
Charles Diebel, whose labs conducted tests for Peanut Corp. of America, said that if 100 containers were tested and only one or two turned up salmonella, the company should "throw the whole lot out."
Federal health officials say Peanut Corp. shipped tainted peanut products from its Blakely, Ga., facility after retesting them and getting a negative result for salmonella.
Peanut butter, peanut paste and other goods from the plant are being blamed for an outbreak that has sickened more than 500 people, triggered a massive international recall and raised doubts about the food industry's safety practices.
Deibel said his company — Deibel Labs Inc. — did not conduct day-to-day testing for the Blakely plant, but was asked on occasion to carry out certain tests. He said the company has turned over bacterial cultures to federal investigators.
Deibel and the president of another lab, J. Leek Associates Inc., have been called to testify Feb. 11 before the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The Deibel firm has been in existence since the 1960s and has its main lab in Chicago.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the panel conducting a hearing into the outbreak said the investigation shows "major gaps" in the nation's food safety system.
"I am extremely troubled by reports that the plan tested positive for salmonella numerous times but nothing was done to ensure that the product did not go on the market," Waxman said.
Peanut Corp., based in Lynchburg, Va., said in a statement it "categorically denies any allegations that the company sought favorable results from any lab in order to ship its products."
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