The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against L.A. Star Seafood Company of Los Angeles and its corporate officers. The company was producing adulterated seafood products.
The complaint alleges that the sanitation practices at the facility were deficient. Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer said, “the failure to actively plan for and control the presence of bacteria and neurotoxins commonly found in seafood processing facilities can pose a serious risk to the public health.”
FDA inspections in 2013 and 2014 documented a pattern of insanitary conditions. Listeria monocytogenes bacteria were found at the facility. Workers at the facility did not adequately clean surfaces and utensils for cutting fish, and the facility did not have and did not implement adequate Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans to control Clostridium botulinum and Listeria bacteria. Environmental samples found Listeria monocytogenes bacteria at the facility.
These violations were documented during inspections by FDA officials. The violations mean that the products are adulterated. The company was told to take precautions to fix the problems but did not. The consent decree signed March 26, 2015 by U.S. District Court Judge Michael Fitzgerald states that the company cannot operate until the FDA finds it can meet food safety standards.
