A ready-to-eat salad manufacturer, a seafood processor, a dairy and a swine operation were the recipients of recently posted warning letters from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Reser’s Fine Foods Inc. of Beaverton, OR, was told July 1 by FDA’s Atlanta District Office that an inspection last fall of its salad production facility in Halifax, NC, revealed three different Listeria strains and that the bacteria had likely been present there since November 2013. FDA also noted several serious violations of Current Good Manufacturing Practices at the North Carolina plant involving inadequate cleaning and sanitizing of utensils and equipment. Food Safety News detailed the contents of the warning letter to Reser’s in a story posted July 28. FDA’s Kansas City District Office sent a warning letter on June 21 to Kohman Dairy LLC following a May 11-13 visit to the operation in Syracuse, KS. The letter stated that a cow sold for slaughter on or about March 9 had 21.02 parts per million (ppm) of Sulfamethazine in the liver tissue. FDA has established a tolerance of 0.1 ppm for residues of Sulfamethazine in the edible tissues of cattle. “The presence of this drug in edible tissue from this animal in this amount causes the food to be adulterated …” under federal law, the warning letter stated. Monroe Grain & Supply Inc. of Monroe, IN, was sent a warning letter from FDA’s Detroit District Office on June 29. Investigators visiting the firm’s swine operation from Jan 28 through Feb. 18 found violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the letter stated. Specifically, a hog sold for slaughter as food on or about Aug. 31, 2015, was found to have sulfadimethoxine in its kidney tissue. However, “FDA has not established a tolerance for residues of sulfadimethoxine in swine. The presence of this drug in edible tissue from this animal causes the food to be adulterated …,” the agency wrote. Recipients of FDA warning letters have 15 working days from receipt to respond with details of the procedures they have taken, or will take, to correct the current violations and prevent them from recurring. (To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)
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