FDA Warning Letters: One Dairy, Two Seafood Processors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued warnings to one dairy and a seafood processor in its latest round of posted warning letters.  Superior Cattle Feeders of Calipatria, CA, was cited for illegal drug residues in a steer sold for slaughter. Kidney tissue samples from the animal showed the presence of desfuroylceftiofur at 86.48 parts per million (ppm). FDA has established a tolerance of 0.4 ppm for this drug.  Kwong Yet Lung Company of Las Vegas, NV, was found to have “serious violations” of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations — one of which was the failure to monitor the condition and cleanliness of food contact surfaces, including sanitizing solution, gloves and outer garments.  In addition, the company’s “Breaded Shrimp Butterfly Tail off” product was considered adulterated because it contained an unsafe color additive and misbranded because its label did not state that the product contained artificial coloring, FDA stated.  The company has also had to make corrections to its labels for “KING NEPTUNE BREADED SHRIMP BUTTERFLY T/ON.”  Lastly, seafood importer Koryeo International Corp. of Brooklyn, NY, failed to ensure that its frozen breaded raw oysters were processed in accordance with the seafood HACCP regulations.  Each company was given 15 days to respond to the concerns raised by FDA in the warning letters.