US peach producer Prima Wawona is in the thick of bankruptcy proceedings and a pending auction for sale. According to Prima Wawona’s interim CEO John Boken, the firm’s collapse and bankruptcy is mainly due to the 2020 Creek Fire and a three-year-old peach recall. This claim was revealed as Prima Wawona owner Paine Schwartz, an investment firm, is accused in a lawsuit of intentionally tanking the company for financial gain.
Boken said Prima Wawona’s problems can be traced back to a Salmonella outbreak in August 2020. The company voluntarily recalled all peaches it distributed over the previous two months even though there was not a link to its peaches. The FDA investigation did not find any connection tying the company’s peaches to the Salmonella outbreak, but Prima Wawona was left bearing the costs.
Boken also blamed the 2020 Creek Fire, which burned nearly 400,000 acres in the Sierra National Forest. In total, Prima Wawona estimated an $18 million reduction in earnings because of the Creek Fire.
Source: sjvsun.com