They want to make it ALL illegal. What do you think of Senate Bill 510

[Wifezilla]

"Company's failure to correct violations prompts court action

SILVER SPRING, Md., Jan. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice today filed a complaint for permanent injunction against a Jamaica, N.Y.-based beverage company to prevent it from processing and distributing juice and other products.

Hank J. Hagen and Milton S. Reid and their company, Mystical One LLC (also known as Mystical One Juice LLC), are charged with violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by failing to have a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan for certain juice products, such as the company's carrot juice products, and by failing to comply with current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP).

The FDA requires all juice processors to prepare and implement HACCP plans that identify and control food hazards associated with their juices, and it requires all food manufacturers to follow cGMP. The FDA is not aware of illnesses associated with Mystical One's juice products.

Among the violations observed by FDA investigators were failures to:

* adequately heat low-acid vegetable juices to destroy or prevent growth of dangerous microorganisms;
* properly clean food-contact surfaces; and
* maintain and monitor sanitation conditions at the manufacturing facility to prevent sources of possible food and water contamination.


Failure to identify and control food hazards could lead to the formation of Clostridium botulinum bacteria that can germinate in the carrot juice made by the company. The neurotoxin formed by these bacteria, when ingested in even very small amounts, could cause paralysis, difficulty breathing and death from asphyxiation. In 2006, six cases of botulism in the United States and Canada were linked to refrigerated carrot juice.

The complaint also charges Mystical One, Hagen and Reid with failing to conform to cGMP requirements for making, packing, or holding human food. Beverage products produced under conditions that do not comply with HACCP or GMP requirements are considered adulterated under the Act.

Violations cited by the FDA involved the following brands:

* Fresh Carrot Juice,
* Magnum Food Drink,
* Pineapple Ginger Drink,
* Sorrel & Ginger,
* Sea Moss, and
* Peanut Punch.


The company purchases ingredients, such as carrots, that originate outside of New York and sells products to food service establishments primarily in New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

The FDA's most recent inspection at the Mystical One facility in August 2010 found the same or similar violations observed during previous inspections of the company. The agency issued a warning letter to the company in October 2009 and the company agreed to bring its operations into compliance. However, Mystical One did not make the necessary changes.

"This action shows that FDA will take strong enforcement action against companies that fail to put the required preventive controls in place to protect their customers from foodborne illness," said Associate Commissioner for Regulatory Affairs Dara A. Corrigan. "Mystical One failed to adhere to food safety guidelines and we have stopped their operation."

The injunction was filed by the Office of Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, together with the Department of Justice's Office of Consumer Litigation."
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...tion-at-new-york-juice-company-113472514.html

Is this the start? Notice nobody was sick and the food wasn't toxic, they just didn't follow the procedures the FDA wanted them too. Makes you say hmmmmmm....

 

[ivan3]

Wifezilla wrote: Is this the start? Notice nobody was sick and the food wasn't toxic, they just didn't follow the procedures the FDA wanted them too. Makes you say hmmmmmm....

Oh, they were already on the radar in the State. The Feds gave them time to comply. Some results of /09 inspection; the sugar stored next to the insecticide is a nice touch.

Protection of food, food packaging material, and food contact surfaces from adulteration with lubricants, fuel, pesticides, cleaning compounds, sanitizing agents, condensate, and other chemical, physical, and biological contaminants/Proper labeling, storage, and use of toxic compounds, as evidenced by: 1) A large bottle with an attached spray nozzle containing insect spray was observed to be stored on the floor directly next to a bag of sugar in the labeling room. This sugar is used in the production of various juices; and 2) A spray bottle containing pine cleaner was observed to be stored directly next to an uncovered container of cinnamon on the bottom shelf of the preparation table in the juice production room. This cinnamon is used as a spice in various juices. [21 CFR Parts 120.6(a)(5), 120.6(a)(6), and 120.6(b), and 21 CFR Part 110.35(b)(2)]

Exclusion of pests from the food plant, as evidenced by: 1) Numerous flies were observed throughout the juice processing room and bottle labeling room throughout the inspection; 2) On August 10, 2009 the front door of your facility was observed to be left open and the back door leading to your juice production room was open, providing no screening between the outside and your production room; and 3) Garbage is stored in plastic bags on the ground outside the back screen door that leads directly to your juice production room. The grounds behind your back screen door that lead to your juice production room contain tall weeds and grass. [21 CFR Parts 120.6(a)(8) and 120.6(b), and 21 CFR Parts 110.35(c), 110.20(a)(1), and 110.20(b)(7)]

http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/EnforcementActions/WarningLetters/ucm201462.htm​

 

[slc]

Quote:
here is your food control bill.
H.R. 2751:

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

they took the language from 510 which failed and put it in h.r. 2751, after they stripped the original wording from from h.r. 2751 which was passed in 2009. now the food safety is in place and does not need to be voted on because h.r. 2751 was previously voted on and accepted. i read h.r. 2751 and i still don't know what it says. barnie he he

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-2751

HR510 is dead!

s510 HAS PASSED! It is now law.

"On Tuesday, January 04, 2011, the President signed into law:
H.R. 2751, the “FDA Food Safety Modernization Act,” which modernizes the food safety system to better prevent food-borne illness and better respond to outbreaks"

http://www.producetraceabilitynews.com/food-safety-modernization-act-now-law

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDA_Food_Safety_Modernization_Act

 

[Wifezilla]

Having done my time working in restaurants, I can see how a health department report can sound really horrible when the actual risk to customers is nonexistent. I have questions if shutting down the plant is the appropriate measure. Seems heavy handed. I guess if more stories of more place shut down pop up we will be able to see if there is a pattern.