A former peanut company executive has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for his role in a nationwide salmonella outbreak blamed for killing nine Americans and sickening hundreds more.

A federal judge in Albany sentenced 61-year-old Stewart Parnell on Monday in what is believed to be the most severe punishment ever handed out to a producer in a foodborne illness case. The former Peanut Corporation of America owner was convicted a year ago of knowingly shipping food tainted with salmonella and for faking lab records that said his products were safe.

Peanut butter and other products from Parnell's plant in Blakely, Georgia, went to customers who used them in foods from snack crackers to pet food. The salmonella outbreak in 2008 and 2009 triggered a massive food recall.

Parnell told the victims: "I think about you guys every day." He acknowledged problems at his plant, but did not address emails and company records that showed Parnell knowingly shipped salmonella-tainted peanut butter and faked lab records.

Prosecutor Alan Dasher told Judge W. Louis Sands that Parnell should be "punished to the extreme."

Parnell's brother, Michael, received 20 years. Mary Wilkerson, the plant's quality control manager, received five years,