Over the past two months, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a series of warning letters to companies citing food safety violations. The following is a summary of these notices. A warning letter from the FDA was sent to the Ernest P. Shoup Farm on May 22, 2012 over the sale by the Dalton, Ohio dairy of a bob veal calf with tissue samples that exceeded acceptable levels for two animal antibiotics. The presence of these drugs in the edible tissues of the calf means it is adulterated, or not fit for human consumption. An FDA warning letter went out on May 21, 2012 to Tiffin, Ohio-based Smith Family Frosted Foods, LLC for “serious violations” of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations discovered during inspection. The agency is specifically concerned about the potential for Staphylococcus aureus in the company’s frozen breaded raw yellow lake perch feller product, and about the formation of Clostridium botulinum toxin in ready-to-eat seafood salads. The Ohio seafood processor was also told it needs more frequent monitoring of sanitation practices. Seco Spice Ltd. in Berino, NM received an FDA warning letter on May 18, 2012 about “serious violations” found at its chili pepper and spice manufacturing facility during inspection involving regulations for manufacturing, packing, or holding food. FDA inspectors out of Denver took environmental samples at the facility and 21 came back positive for Salmonella. The strain of Salmonella detected most recently is the same as that discovered in the plant in 2009. The Nut Factory Inc. in Greenacres, WA was the subject of an April 11, 2012 warning letter from FDA citing “investigator documented serious violations” of food manufacturing regulations. The list of violations contained in the letter were said to be enough to cause food produced in the facility to be adulterated.
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