The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to an American seafood processor, accusing the company of “serious violations” of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations, and “insanitary conditions” in processing crabmeat.
The FDA sent the letter this week to Intershell International Corp. in Gloucester, Mass. In the letter, the FDA reminded the company that inspectors visited the company’s processing facility on 22, 25 and 29 August 2014.
“We found that you have serious violations of the (HACCP) regulation,” the letter read.
The letter also accused the company of producing “adulterated” pasteurized canned crabmeat, saying “it has been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions.”
Specifically, the FDA accused the company of not adequately monitoring temperature. FDA also accused the company of transporting crabmeat from a supplier without packing it in ice.
The FDA acknowledged that the company did send an email on 9 September that addressed all the violations, but according to the letter the FDA found the response “inadequate,” mostly because the company did not provide updated plans, timelines for implementing changes or other proof that any changes were implemented.
The letter gave Intershell 15 days to respond, and warned the FDA could take further action, including seizing product and stopping the facility from operating.
