The former workers interviewed said they saw many of these problems and more.
Griffin, 27, who operated the roasting machines, said he cleaned them every two weeks. He said the plant was not as dirty as it has been portrayed by some, but it was not always as clean in the area where peanut butter and paste were produced.
Teresa Spencer, 30, who said she worked at the plant for two years before being laid off in 2007, said employees on the peanut line -- not trained as cleaners -- were often required to clean the plant and did so inefficiently.
James, 36, said he worked in the shipping area for eight months before leaving last year. He said he saw workers put new stickers on buckets of peanut paste that were out of date.
"Some of the bags of nuts had holes in them, and you could tell rats had eaten through them. And they would put tape on them or sew them up and send them out," James said.
He said that the employees often talked among themselves about the conditions, but that most workers did not complain to management because they wanted to keep their jobs.
"I'm not surprised this happened," James said. "I just hate that people died."
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dglanton@tribune.com
Tribune staff writer Sam Roe contributed to this report.
