The attached discussion board question asks you to imagine why VPI and its employees would continue
to sell juice and concentrate that was old and putrid. The question also requires you to review the
ethical fading and role morality videos posted under this week 1 tab. (see "videos folder" posted
below)
Valley Processing, Inc. (Ethics) – Discussion Board
Behavioral ethics asks the question why. It is the study of why people make the ethical and
unethical decisions that they do. In the following case, I want you to imagine why the owner of
Valley Processing, Inc. (Mary Ann Bliesner) and the employees of VPI made the decisions that
they did to create tainted products and/or remain silent about the operations at the facilities.
How might the concepts of ethical fading and role morality come into play here?
The owner of Valley Processing, Inc. was indicted federally on accusations the plant sold
hundreds and thousands of gallons of juice and concentrate made from rotten, moldy, and filthy
ingredients. Some of the juice ended up in school lunch programs which provide free or reducedcost lunches to more than 20 million children daily.
VPI stored some juice and fruit concentrate outdoors in summer heat and winter cold, sometimes
for years. It was later sold for human consumption. According to allegations in court documents,
decaying remains of animals, bird and rat feces, dog and cat hair, feathers, fur, and insects were
found in stored drums or vats of concentrate and other fruit product.
Additionally, the Indictment alleges that Bliesner and VPI failed to register two facilities that
they used to store fruit juice products and lied to inspectors with the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) about their existence and use. According to the Indictment, one of these
facilities, located in Sunnyside, Washington, and known as the “Grape Road Facility” was used
to store tens of thousands of gallons of grape juice concentrate for years in concrete vats that
were not properly covered or cooled. According to the Indictment, when FDA investigators
finally learned about the facility during a May 2018 inspection, the juice concentrate had a layer
of mold and crust so thick and firm that a live rat was observed and photographed walking on top
of it. The Indictment also alleges that testing of samples taken at the Grape Road Facility
indicated that the product there was contaminated with bird and rodent feces, fur, insects,
decaying remains of animals, mold, yeast, and other contaminants.
Concentrate that was putrid and years old was blended with newer concentrate and labeled with a
new lot number and date of production and then sold by VPI.
It is also alleged that VPI falsified information about tests for dangerous contaminants or did not
do the tests. From summer 2017 to summer 2018 the plant shipped 19 lots of apple juice
concentrate that had been blended or reworked from 2016 product. The concentrate was not
checked for arsenic, a potential problem for apple juice products, until late summer 2018. The
results showed arsenic at more than double the FDA limit of 10 parts per billion, according to a
court document.
From 2014 to March 2017, employees of the plant were told to falsify information about patulin,
a mold toxin that can be found at high levels on rotten, bruised or improperly stored apples,
according to a court document. Defendants were told to list patulin testing on apple juice
products as pending, when in fact no testing had been done or test results showed levels that
exceeded FDA limits, according to a court document.
The charges against Bliesner carry a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison,
while the potential charges against VPI carry fines of $500,000 or more for each of the twelve
counts charged.
Why would the owner of Valley Processing, Inc. (Mary Ann Bliesner) and the employees of VPI
make the decisions that they did and create tainted products and/or remain silent about the
operations at the facilities. How might the concepts of ethical fading and role morality come
into play here?
References:
DOJ Press Release: Yakima Area Business Owner Indicted by Federal Grand Jury for Selling
Rotten and Adulterated Fruit Juice (September 15, 2022) https://www.justice.gov/usaoedwa/pr/yakima-area-business-owner-indicted-federal-grand-jury-selling-rotten-and-adulterated.
Annette Cary, Putrid and Rotten Fruit Used in Juice for School Lunches, TRI-CITY HERALD
(September 16, 2022) https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/local/crime/article265879036.html