The former chief operating officer of a rural Michigan farmers’ cooperative has been charged with one felony count of introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce. According to a story published Thursday in the Huron Daily Tribune, JoAnn Rutkowski of the former Thumb Oilseed Producers Cooperative in Ubly, MI, was indicted for causing the introduction of soy flour containing Salmonella into interstate commerce between December 2010 and January 2011, and that she did so “with the intent to defraud and mislead.” Rutkowski pleaded not guilty March 11 before a federal magistrate in Bay City, MI, and is scheduled to go to trial in U.S. District Court there on July 8. If convicted, she could spend a maximum of three years in prison and pay a $10,000 fine. The cooperative of 180 members in 10 Michigan counties produced and sold soy flour, soy grits and refined soy oil. After two FDA recalls of its products (in February 2010 and October 2011) for potential Salmonella and a subsequent $7-million lawsuit from a food manufacturer, the cooperative filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2012.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
As part of its enforcement activities, the Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or
A man has been given a suspended sentence in England for food safety offences.
Arfan Sultan, from Ilford, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Nov. 14 following an investigation
A grocery company in New Zealand has been fined for selling recalled hummus products that may have contained Salmonella.
Foodstuffs South Island was told to pay $39,000 (U.S.
Rwanda has lifted a ban on some South African food products that was put in place in 2017 because of a Listeria outbreak that sickened more than 1,000 people.
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
Prairie Farms is announcing a recall of select Prairie Farms Gallon Fat Free Milk produced at its Dubuque, IA, facility and distributed to Woodman’s stores in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Aoun brand tahineh is under recall in Canada because of contamination with Salmonella.
The recall was triggered by test results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The recalled tahineh was
Thanksgiving is a time for family, friends and feasting. Once the holiday meal ends, the spotlight turns to enjoying the leftovers in the days ahead. To keep those leftovers safe
