The FDA wants a judge to block the maker of Mexicali cheese from operating in its New York manufacturing facility because of “persistent unsanitary conditions” that contributed to the spread of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria.
The agency’s legal action in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York is against Mexicali Cheese of Woodhaven, N.Y., and two of its officers. A civil complaint seeks a permanent injunction in hopes of protecting consumers from possible food poisoning. The lawsuit follows an FDA Warning Letter to the company in October 2010 and a recall of “Queso Cotija Cheese” in August of the same year.
The Warning Letter was issued after three days of inspection at the plant found Listeria in five locations along with numerous food safety violations, including using a rusted metal rack to grate cheese and operating with unclean food-handling surfaces and utensils.
According to the FDA, Mexicali Cheese makes and distributes a variety of soft Mexican cheeses to grocery stores and supermarkets in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Mexicali Cheese’s products include queso fresco [fresh cheese], queso oaxaca [Oaxacan cheese] and queso para freir [cheese for frying].
If entered by the court, the injunction would stop the company and its officers from manufacturing and distributing food until they can bring their operations into full compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and FDA food safety regulations.
