11Alive's Kevin Rowson trails Stewart Parnell, owner and president of the Peanut Corporation of America, after he refused to answer questions at a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Capitol Hill February 11, 2009 in Washington. (File photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
(AP) -- Four executives who were charged in connection with a deadly peanut salmonella outbreak pleaded not guilty on Thursday in court.
The owner of Peanut Corporation of America, Stewart Parnell and three others appeared in a federal court in southern Georgia. All four were released on bond.
The four executives were all charged in a 76-count indictment that included conspiracy and mail fraud.
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In 2009, the salmonella outbreak killed nine people and sickened hundreds nationwide.