A Detroit area sandwich distributor is now under a federal court’s permanent injunction with orders to clean up its act. Scotty’s Inc. and co-owner and manager Sandra L. Jackson cannot — under terms of the injunction — receive, prepare, process, pack, hold or distribute any of their ready-to eat sandwich products until they complete a number of remedial steps. Scotty’s Inc. does business as Bruce Enterprises and Bruce’s Fresh Products. The order does not put Scotty’s Inc. out of business, but does require completion of a written sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) plans for each type of seafood being prepared, packed, held, or distributed, identifying all food safety hazards. Scotty’s must also provide employee training programs on all foodborne hazards and sanitation controls. All finished or in-process sandwiches in the company’s control or possession must be destroyed. Scotty’s cannot resume operations until the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notifies the business that it is in compliance with the remedial actions, the federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act and its implementing regulations. FDA has been working on Scotty’s problems for at least six years. A Nov. 9, 2009, warning letter to Scotty’s found the manufacturer’s ready-to-eat sandwiches were adulterated or impure. An FDA inspection the previous August found numerous problems, including a physical plant not in good repair. Five years after the warning letter the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint against Scotty’s. The action was taken at FDA’s request on Nov. 21, 2014. Seventeen months later, on March 28 this year, U.S. District Court Judge Robert H. Cleland ruled Scotty’s sandwiches were adulterated. Thursday the court issued the permanent injunction. It applies to Scotty’s facility at 3426 Junction Street in Detroit or any other facilities operating now or in the future. Scotty’s also must obtain the services of an outside food safety expert with no ties to the company. The company also must pay all costs of supervision, inspections, investigations, analyses, examinations and reviews necessary for FDA’s oversight. If the company reopens it must reimburse FDA for that same list of items as they are required for the agency to evaluate Scotty’s compliance with the court order. The current rates for such services, according to the order, range from $89.35 to $107.09 per hour. (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)