According to reports released Monday by the state Department of Agriculture, the Georgia plant that produced the tainted peanut butter that led to the recent salmonella outbreak, has had a history of sanitation lapses.

The plant was cited repeatedly in 2006 and 2007, according to health inspection reports for having dirty surfaces, grease residue and dirt buildup throughout the plant. The 2008 inspection reports showed that the plant was repeatedly found in violation of the cleanliness standards and inspectors found mildew on a ceiling along with a host of other problems.

The problems were described as "relatively minor and for the most part corrected on site" by Virginia-based Peanut Corp. of America, the owner of the Blakely, Georgia, plant. Production at the Blakely plant was stopped and a nationwide recall was issued of peanut butter and peanut paste made there after July 1, 2008 by Peanut Corp. of America.

The Georgia officials provided the inspection reports in response to a request by The New York Times under the state's open records act. A report in the New York Times said that Georgia agriculture inspection reports depicted a series of sanitation lapses in the Blakely plant and citing an inspection report from August 23, 2007 of at least three incidences in which "food-contact surfaces" were "not properly cleaned and sanitized" being noted.

The PCA responded to the article with a statement sent to the CNN which said, "When the observations were noted during inspections by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, corrective action was taken immediately where possible and subsequently when immediate action was not possible." This statement was accompanied by a copy of the state inspection report from last October which said, "The most recent inspection observations by the state [the October inspection report] were relatively minor and for the most part corrected on site."

The inspections are undertaken by the state as a part of a contractual agreement with the Food and Drug Administration. Inspections of the Blakely plant found gaps in warehouse doors large enough to let rodents get in, areas of rust that could flake into food, unmarked spray bottles and a host of other violations. Two of the inspection reports of 2008 said the plant was in violation of practices to ensure that "food and non-food contact surfaces were cleanable, properly designed, constructed and used."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said current salmonella outbreak has sickened almost 500 people across 43 states and may have contributed to seven deaths. As a result more than 125 products containing peanut butter and peanut paste from the Georgia plant have been recalled which include Trader Joe's celery with peanut butter packs and nutrition bars from Clif Bar, NutriSystem and Luna. PCA said the recall does not involve any peanut butter jars sold directly to consumers as the peanut butter and peanut paste made at the Blakely plant were sold in bulk to manufacturers.