S & S Foods Inc. in Mustang, OK, and Faye’s Texas Naturals in Goliad, TX, share a lot in common. Both are acidified food manufacturers, both are regulated by the Dallas District Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), from which both received an FDA warning letter in the last week of April.
The S & S Foods facility at 1209 Highline Lane in Mustang was subjected to an FDA inspection Oct. 20 to Nov. 9, 2015. The Faye’s Texas Naturals facility at 123 Courthouse Square in Goliad was inspected between Jan. 27 and Feb. 10 this year. In both instances FDA inspectors found acidified food products that were being prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth, or whereby the products may have been rendered injurious to health. S & S and Faye’s both fall under federal acidified food regulations, and the warning letters asked the owners of the two companies to take a look at them. Each company was given 15 working days to respond to FDA’s specific concerns about their individual operations. Among those specific concerns are: S&S Foods Inc.
- Failed to provide FDA with information about its “scheduled processes,” actually being followed, including conditions for handling such conditions as heat, pH controls, salt, sugar and preservation levels;
- Failed to process acidified food in conformity with scheduled processes;
- Failed to conduct tests and record results as required;
- Failed to maintain instruments for measuring, resulting and recording conditions; and
- Jars with swollen and leaking lids that were returned to the company by customers were later returned to the market on the notion that lactic acid bacteria was the cause of spoilage and would not cause illness.
Faye’s Texas Naturals
- Failed to provide FDA with scheduled processes for new products;
- Chili Petin Pepper Sauce packaged in 2-ounce bottle without a scheduled process by a qualified person;
- Failed to insure pH values not higher than 4.6 as required due to insufficient testing and recording of results;
- Failed to maintain and document other required records;
- Failed to maintain necessary measurements for regulating and recording to control the growth microorganisms; and
- Manufacturing codes were missing.
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