FDA Orders Shutdown of Seafood Company
The agency ordered a smoked seafood manufacturer to cease its operations due to the presence of Listeria.
The FDA ordered Washington-based Jensen's Old Fashioned Smokehouse, Inc. to cease production of its smoked fish products due to the presence of Listeria. The company has been ordered to stop processing, preparing, packing, holding, and distributing any food from its facility after an FDA analysis of samples taken during an inspection confirmed the presence of Listeria in the facility.
The FDA press release said Jensen's Old Fashioned Smokehouse Inc. is subject to a consent decree of permanent injunction, which was entered by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in 2001. Under the terms of the consent decree, the company agreed to comply with requirements to control food safety hazards and ensure that its products are not adulterated.
The most recent inspection, however, confirmed the problem. In order to begin operations again, Jensen's Old Fashioned Smokehouse must thoroughly clean and sanitize the facility, hire an expert to develop a Sanitation Standard Operation Procedure, and test representative samples of all vacuum-packed smoked fish products on hand for Listeria.