The US District Court for the Central District of California entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against the firm based in Los Angeles and corporate officers Sima Goldring and Sam Goldring to prevent the distribution of adulterated seafood products.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed the complaint on January 5 at the request of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The complaint alleges that L.A. Star Seafood imports, receives, prepares, processes, packs, holds and distributes ready-to-eat smoked and salt-cured seafood, including cold-smoked mackerel and steelhead trout, and pickled herring and sprats.
It added that the Goldring’s are L.A. Star Seafood’s corporate officers with the authority and responsibility for preventing and correcting violations of federal law at the company.
Pathogen control
The consent decree requires L.A. Star to control the presence of Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono) and Clostridium botulinum (C. bot).
It also requires the company to devise and implement Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans and Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures, and train staff in both.
No illnesses have been reported from L.A. Star Seafood Company products.
The defendants agreed to settle the litigation and be bound by a consent decree of permanent injunction which requires the FDA to determine that manufacturing practices have come into compliance with the law if they want to resume distributing seafood products.
“L.A. Star Seafood was repeatedly informed that the sanitation practices at its facility were deficient,” said Benjamin C. Mizer, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’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.”
Previous inspections
In 2012, at the FDA’s request, the company recalled some products due to potential contamination.
In 2013, the FDA inspected the L.A. Star facility, and sent the company a warning letter detailing steps it must take to comply with requirements.
These insanitary conditions were the result of deviations from current good manufacturing practices, such as not adequately cleaning surfaces and utensils used for cutting fish.
In 2014, another inspection of the facility documented the company and its owners’ continued failure to comply with the law.
According to the complaint, L.A. Star Seafood failed to adequately clean food-contact surfaces and food manufacturing equipment, utensils and containers to protect against contamination, and failed to protect in-process fish products from contamination.
Melinda Plaisier, the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, said the agency will take legal action to protect public health when necessary.
“This consent decree represents an agreement between the FDA and L.A. Star to ensure that if and when they reopen for business, they will be producing food that meets food safety requirements.”