November 19, 2009

ROANOKE, Va. (AP) - A bankruptcy trustee says claims have been
filed for 154 people who say they were sickened by a salmonella
outbreak traced to a Virginia peanut company.

Peanut Corp. of America filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy amid
fallout from the outbreak, which left about 700 people sick and was
linked to at least nine deaths. The outbreak was traced to the
company's plants in Georgia and Texas.

The trustee, Roanoke attorney Roy Creasy, said Thursday that the
total number of claims includes some that have trickled in after
the Oct. 31 deadline, as well as some that are being withdrawn. So
it's unclear how many ultimately will be eligible for compensation
from a $12 million fund approved by a bankruptcy judge in
Lynchburg.

The fund will use money from Peanut Corp. insurance policies.