Florida based fish company agrees to comply with FDA regulations
sun-sentinel.com
The Associated Press
Posted April 14 2005, 9:15 PM EDT
MIAMI -- A smoked fish company whose products have been recalled from many states has agreed to destroy its inventory and comply with federal food processing regulations, according to court documents.
Federal officials had accused SeaSpecialties Inc., also known as Florida Smoked Fish Company, of violating health codes and distributing fish contaminated with the bacteria listeria.
Ready-to-eat smoked salmon and other seafood products that may have been contaminated were recalled Wednesday from distribution in the eastern United States. The products, under a variety of labels, had been sent to wholesalers, retailers, restaurants and cruise ships, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services said in the recall.
Production and national distribution of all smoked fish products from the company's Miami plant will halt to meet U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, according to documents filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Miami.
The company agreed to clean and sanitize the plant, implement a new contaminant monitoring system and appoint an independent auditor. The company must also develop an employee training program for sanitary food handling and personal hygiene practices.
The fourth-generation family company was founded in Brooklyn in the 1920s and moved to Miami in the 1950s. It buys smoked fish from Massachusetts and raw fish from Chile, Norway, Denmark and Canada.
All smoked fish products listed in the plant's current inventory will be destroyed, according to the court documents.
According to a lawsuit filed earlier this month, government attorneys claimed the company failed to heed repeated warnings to implement an adequate way to ensure that food safety standards were in place to prevent contaminated food from reaching the consumer.
Federal inspectors in January found 25 percent of the fish tested positive for the bacteria listeria monocytogenes. The bacteria causes a potentially fatal disease that primarily affects pregnant women, newborns and adults with weak immune systems.
No illnesses have been reported, the Agriculture Department said.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Miami did not immediately return a call for comment Thursday.
Calls to the company and its attorneys were also not immediately returned Thursday.
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