Little Tokyo Seafood Processor Shut Down Over Alleged Unsanitary Conditions
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A downtown Los Angeles food processor and distributor has been ordered to stop producing ready-to-eat smoked and pickled fish over links to listeriosis and botulism, federal prosecutors announced MOnday.
Under the order from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), L.A. Star Seafood Co. Inc., must stop processing and distributing smoked, salt-cured and pickled seafood products until they can address unsanitary conditions and come into compliance with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, according to the DOJ.
Located in downtown's Little Tokyo, L.A. Star Seafood has been targeted by inspectors with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the past several years, prosecutors said.
Last Thursday, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald entered a consent decree of permanent injunction (PDF) against the company and its owners, Sam and Sima Goldring.
The government alleges unsanitary conditions at the plant were the result of deviations from good manufacturing practices such as failure to adequately clean surfaces and utensils used for cutting fish, according to a complaint filed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"L.A. Star Seafood was repeatedly informed that the sanitation practices at its facility were deficient," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the DOJ's Civil Division. "The failure to actively plan for and control the presence of bacteria and neurotoxins commonly found in seafood processing facilities can pose a serious risk to the public health."
There was no immediate reaction from L.A. Seafood officials.
