A judge has ordered the company, located in Los Angeles, and its owners, Sima and Sam Goldring, to stop work until they demonstrate to the FDA that they can process food in compliance with food safety laws and regulations.
Following a product recall in 2012 due to potential contamination, the company was inspected several times by the FDA, but the company and its owners demonstrated continued failure to comply with the law.
“The FDA takes legal action to protect the public’s health when it is necessary,” said Melinda K. Plaisier, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.
“This consent decree represents an agreement between the FDA and LA Star to ensure that if and when they reopen for business, they will be producing food that meets food safety requirements.”
The decree requires the company to control for the presence of Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono) and Clostridium botulinum (C. bot), two disease-causing bacteria. The consent decree also requires the company to devise and implement Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plans and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, and train staff in both.
L. mono is a foodborne pathogen that can cause serious illness or even death in vulnerable groups such as newborns, elderly adults and those with impaired immune systems.
C. bot, a bacterium that can grow in seafood products, causes botulism, which is rare, but can cause paralysis and death without prompt treatment. The purpose of food safety regulations is, in part, to prevent the growth and spread of L. mono, C. bot and other microorganisms that cause foodborne illness.
No illnesses have been reported to date in connection with LA Star Seafood Company products.
