A federal court has enjoined Irvington Seafood from Alabama from distributing adulterated seafood products, according to the United States Department of Justice. The civil complaint for permanent injunction was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama on April 25, 2023.
The complaint alleges that Irvington Seafood violated the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by distributing adulterated ready-to-eat crabmeat products. Multiple FDA inspections of the defendant’s facility, that took place between 2006 and 2022, allegedly revealed that the defendants “prepared, packaged, and held crabmeat products under insanitary conditions and failed to comply with required current good manufacturing practices and seafood hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) regulations.”
According to the compliant, inspectors allegedly found maggots, flies, and roaches, the presence of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria on food contact and non-food contacted surfaces, and employees failing to properly wash their hands and aprons. The complaint also alleges that the defendants failed to take corrective action after repeated FDA warnings.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division said in a statement, “Food manufacturers and distributors must operate in strict compliance with the law. The department is committed to working hand in hand with the FDA to help ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply.”
The defendants have agreed to settle the suit and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction. The company owners must destroy all raw ingredients and food products currently in their possession. And before the company is allowed to process or distribute any food in the future, they must notify the FDA in advance, comply with specific remedial measures in the injunction, and let the FDA inspect their facilities and procedures.
