Hamtramck, Michigan, U.S.A.-based Home Style Foods, which makes deli salads and seafood products, was ordered to shut down after repeated food safety violations.
U.S. District Judge Sean F. Cox, on behalf of the United States Food and Drug Administration, entered a consent decree of permanent injunction against Home Style, along with owner Michael J. Kowalski and quality manager Juan Valesquez.
The decree means that Home Style must discontinue selling food products until it complies with federal regulations, the FDA said in a press release.
“This action follows several inspections conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which found Listeria monocytogenes in the company’s food preparation area and violations of seafood safety regulations associated with the processing of fish and fishery products,” the FDA said.
“The company failed to take the appropriate corrective actions resulting in this action,” FDA Chief Counsel Stacy Cline Amin said. “When a company fails to follow the law, the government will take action to protect the food supply.”
The consent decree prohibits the defendants from receiving, preparing, processing, packing, holding, labeling and/or distributing foods at or from their facility, or any other facility, until the company meets certain requirements.
During FDA inspections between 2009 and 2018, FDA investigators observed “significant objectionable conditions,” the agency said. Inspectors also found L. mono in the facility in two of the inspections, including the most recent one.
The FDA is not aware of any confirmed illnesses relating to Home Style’s products.
“However, consumers who think they may have been sickened by these products should seek the assistance of a health care professional and contact the FDA to report problems with any FDA-regulated products,” the agency said.
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