The company issued a statement categorically denying the allegations;[REF][REF][REF] in January 2009, it shut down production and laid off 50 employees at the Blakely plant [REF].
The recall did not involve major-brand peanut butters, since PCA primarily served only low-budget and institutional providers, but many consumers reacted by avoiding peanut products altogether, driving down the sales of all brands of peanut butter by nearly 25% [REF].