Two seafood processors – Donggang Hongxing Food Co. of Dandong, China, and Pavlos Trifonidis of Kavala, Greece – were both sent warning letters by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for “serious violations” of regulations related to the companies’ seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) protocols.
Donggang Hongxing’s “Frozen Boiled Short Necked Clam (Vacuum Packed)” was found by the FDA to be potentially adulterated due to inadequate HACCP plans. According to a release from the FDA, an initial inspection on 22 to 23 May, 2019, uncovered the violations.
A follow-up letter, sent by the company on 6 June, 2019, included a revised HACCP plan for the products, but the FDA found that the response “was not adequate.” The FDA’s warning lists several steps in the HACCP plan that could cause the proliferation of harmful pathogens, including clostridium botulinum.
Pavlos Trifonidis was given a similar warning letter for an inadequate HACCP plan, related to the company’s product “Lakerda (Thunnus alalonga)” – tuna packed in oil – and its canned salted anchovies as being potentially adulterated. Similar to Donggang Hongxing, an initial inspection – dated 14 to 15 March, 2019 – discovered violations, and a follow-up response by Pavlos was deemed inadequate.
The FDA lists multiple issues in the HACCP plan, including inadequate critical limits at certain control points, mainly related to temperatures. According to the FDA, the inadequate control limits could result in the development of scombrotoxins.
Both companies were given 15 days to respond to the warning from the FDA.
“If you do not respond or if we find your response inadequate, we may take further action,” the FDA warning states.
That action can include the refusal of imported fish or fishery products, including placing the on detention without physical examination.
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