Whatever it is that is dripping from the ceiling might be getting into the food at Gourmail Inc., dba Jyoti Natural Food, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which sent a warning letter to the company last week. Conditions at the company’s plant, in Sharon Hill, Pa., that the airline food prepared there was “prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been contaminated with filth or rendered injurious to health.”
During an inspection, FDA investigators found water dripping into a kettle of food. Although company officials say that batch of food was destroyed, they did not take adequate measures to correct the problem by placing a tarp on the roof. They were also unable to provide a timeframe for when the repair could be made. Stained ceiling tiles made of a material that was diffcult to clean located above food preparation were supposed to have been replaced and were not.
Investigators also saw a hose “laying nozzle down on a movable step that workers stood on to access product inside the cooking kettles. Further, your firm’s Business Manager informed our investigators that water from this hose is added directly to in-process product. The movable step that the hose nozzle was laying on had visible filth on it, from prior use.”
The company has 15 days to respond to the letter outlining corrective actions it plans to take.
Airline food manufacturers that process meat items should be under USDA/FSIS daily Inspection, not FDA (sometimes) Inspections.