U.S. Marshals seized food products at a storage and processing facility in Washington after the Food and Drug Administration found that rodent and insect infestation were rampant at the facility, according to new reports.
The facility is Dominguez Foods of Washington, Inc in Zillah, Washington. In a complaint dated September 29, 2011, the US stated that the food was adulterated as defined by the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
The seizure of the food is the first under an FDA detention order. Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the FDA can order the detainment of food when it is discovered to be adulterated or misbranded in an inspection. The food then cannot be transferred elsewhere unless by the FDA or when the order expires.
According to the FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. “We will aggressively use our enforcement tools to prevent adulterated food from reaching the public.”
Rodent droppings and urine stains where found on products in the warehouse at which the seizure occurred, as well as containers of food with evidence of rodent erosion, a nesting site, and one dead rodent, as well as alive and dead insects in and around food.
As a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer, I’m shocked to hear of these appalling and dangerous conditions, but I’m glad to see that the FDA is exercising their power to keep the public safe. In my experience as a product defect lawyer, I’ve seen that food prepared in unsanitary conditions can seriously sicken those who consume it.
