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FDA Warns Seafood Processors Over HACCP

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

An Indonesian fish importer and a Wisconsin seafood processor have nothing in common except for the fact that they both were subjected to Jan. 13 "Warning Letters" from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Both letters were in a batch released by FDA on Jan. 26.

Crystal Cove Seafood Corporation based in Floral Park, NY, imports the fish from a processing facility owned by a company called "J1. Raya Banyuwangi" located in Indonesia.

In its letter to the Indonesian processor, FDA said it obtained a copy of its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan from Crystal Cove.  The agency found the foreign fish processor's HACCP plan has "serious deviations" from U.S. seafood HACCP regulations.

"Accordingly, your Frozen Cooked Shrimp are adulterated in that they have been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health," FDA's Office of Compliance Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Director Roberta Wagner wrote.

The letter goes on to address specific concerns about cooking times and cooling procedures.

Wisconsin's K&S Wholesale Meat Inc., based in Sun Prairie, was also written up for violating seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations.  For that reason FDA's Minneapolis District Director W. Charles Becoat wrote K&S to inform the seafood processor that its fish and fishery products are "adulterated" under federal law.

K&S was told that it must conduct a hazard analysis for each fish or fishery product that it produces to determine the safety hazards that might occur and then have a written plan to control them.

FDA said K&S did not have a HACCP plan for shrimp, breaded shrimp, breaded white fillets, breaded Pollock fillets, breaded ocean perch fillets, breaded clam strips, breaded cod fillets, breaded haddock fillets, and crab cakes.

K&S was also told it must maintain sanitation control records that, at a minimum, cover the safety water coming into contact with food or food contact surfaces, storage and handling of toxic chemicals, and employee health.

The seafood processors have 15 working days to provide FDA with information on how they plan to come into compliance with U.S. laws and regulations.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on January 28, 2010 (boomark / email).