Errant car manufacturer Volkswagen could face corporate manslaughter charges in the United States if its deliberate rigging of vehicle emission tests can be linked to pollution deaths by road users there.

Earlier this week, the former CEO and owner of the Peanut Corporation of America was sentenced to 28 years in prison for his part in a salmonella outbreak that led to the death of nine people across the US. More than 700 people suffered illness and 166 being hospitalised as a result.