Peanut Corporation of America (PCA) was a peanut-processing business which is now defunct as a result of one of the most massive and lethal food-borne contamination events in U.S.

PCA came to operate processing facilities in Blakely, Georgia, Suffolk, Virginia, and Plainview, Texas, providing peanut and peanut butter products[3] primarily to the "institutional food" market (schools, prisons and nursing homes), to food manufacturers for use in cookies, snacks, ice cream, and dog treats, and to other markets.

This contamination triggered the most extensive food recall in U.S. history up to that time, involving 46 states, more than 360 companies, and more than 3,900 different products manufactured using PCA ingredients.

On February 13, 2009, Peanut Corporation of America ceased all manufacturing and business operations, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

In 1990 the FDA found PCA was distributing peanuts with high levels of aflatoxins, caused by mold that grows in nuts and seeds.

[citation needed] PCA was estimated to have manufactured roughly 2.5% of processed peanuts in the U.S. at its height,[8] with 90 employees and $25 million in annual sales in 2007.

[1] The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and permanently halted its processing and sales operations, after being found to be the source of a massive Salmonella outbreak in the United States beginning in 2008.

[12] On February 7, 2009, Oregon officials confirmed the first case of salmonellosis in a dog that had eaten biscuits contaminated with the PCA-produced peanut products.

[22] Parnell tripled revenue at the Blakely plant by 2004, turning its first profit in 15 years,[8] with production regularly surpassing 2.5 million pounds of peanuts per month.

"[24][25] Parnell ordered products identified with Salmonella to be shipped and complained that tests discovering the contaminated food were "costing us huge $$$$$."