A seafood importer and processor in Los Angeles and a dairy operation in Arizona were recipients of the most recently posted food-related warning letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
FDA’s Los Angeles District Office sent a letter dated March 7 to Los Angeles Fish Co. describing the results of an inspection of its seafood processing and importer establishment on Nov. 18, 20 and 23, 2015.
The agency found that the company did not have a written Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for salmon intended for raw consumption to control the food safety hazards of parasites, pathogen growth and toxin formation, and undeclared allergens.
FDA also wrote that the firm’s HACCP plan for Fresh Scombroid Fish Products was not adequate to control the hazard of scombrotoxin (histamine) formation. The agency recommended continuous temperature monitoring and recording for refrigerated storage of these fish products.
Additional comments in the warning letter involved problems with preventing cross-contamination at the processing facility.
Inspectors observed an employee picking up trash from the floor with his gloved hand, exiting to discard it, and then returning to the processing room and continuing to handle and fillet fresh salmon without washing or sanitizing his hands or changing gloves, FDA’s letter stated.
The agency also noted that the written HACCP plan on file was from 2010 and the company “must also have a written guarantee from your foreign processor that the imported fish or fishery product is processed in accordance with the requirements of the seafood HACCP regulation … .”
The foreign manufacturer’s written HACCP plan and the letter of guarantee should be updated annually, FDA wrote.
Windmill Dairy in Casa Grande, AZ, was sent a letter on March 24 from FDA’s Los Angeles District Office regarding inspections made there on Aug. 19 and Dec. 10, 2015.
Two dairy cows sold for slaughter as food were adulterated, the agency wrote. One had 0.239 parts per million (ppm) of penicillin in the kidney tissue, and the other had 0.082 ppm of penicillin in the kidney tissue.
“FDA has established a tolerance of 0.05 ppm for residues of penicillin in uncooked edible tissues of cattle …,” the warning letter pointed out.
The dairy also did not use the drug as directed by its approved labeling and/or by a veterinarian’s prescription, administered the drug without following the dosing instructions, and failed to maintain complete treatment records, according to FDA.
Recipients of FDA warning letters have 15 working days from receipt to respond with details of the procedures they have taken, or will take, to correct the current violations and prevent them from recurring.
