A complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that Meiko Foods manufactures and packages ready-to-eat seafood, including cooked seafood balls and fried fish cakes, without having a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan in place, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
The HACCP programme is a science-based system of preventive controls for food safety that was designed to increase the margin of safety for consumers, and to reduce the potential for illnesses to the lowest possible levels.
FDAs HACCP regulations require commercial processors of fish and fishery products to conduct a hazard analysis to determine whether there are potential food safety hazards and to identify and develop preventive measures to control those hazards.
Meiko Foods cannot continue to ignore FDA warnings, said Dara A. Corrigan, the FDAs associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.
A HACCP plan is an important tool ensuring that a company is taking proactive steps to protect the publics health and reduce foodborne outbreaks. By taking this action, FDA is demonstrating its commitment to making sure that food producers are protecting the public health from the dangers of adulterated food products.
The FDA issued a warning letter to Meiko Food on 3 November 2010, for not having a HACCP plan in place. A subsequent FDA inspection conducted between April and May 2011 revealed that the firm did not correct the deviations cited in the November 2010 warning letter, including significant HACCP deviations.
There have been no reported illnesses associated with these products.
FDA Requests Seizure Of Seafood at Meiko Food
US - At the request of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Marshals seized seafood products manufactured by the Meiko Food Company, South El Monte, California, because the products are adulterated.
