FDA requests seizure of adulterated breaded seafood at Wisconsin firms

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals seized breaded seafood products that have been repacked by Fellerson, Inc., a firm that does business as K&S Wholesale Meats, for Soderholm Wholesale Foods, both of Sun Prairie, Wis., because the products are adulterated, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to FDA.

K&S Wholesale Meats allegedly repacked breaded seafood, including shrimp, haddock fillets, pollock fillets, and ocean perch fillets, under Soderholm's "Seaside" label without having a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan in place, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

HACCP is a science-based system of preventive controls for food safety that commercial seafood processors develop to identify potential food safety hazards and steps to keep them from occurring. The FDA Seafood HACCP program was designed to increase the margin of safety for U.S. consumers and to reduce those illnesses that do occur to the lowest possible levels.

"K&S Wholesale Meats has repeatedly ignored FDA warnings to conduct a hazard analysis and implement a written HACCP plan, in order to prevent adulteration of their breaded seafood," said Dara A. Corrigan, the FDA's associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. "By taking this action, the FDA is demonstrating its commitment to protecting the public health from the dangers of adulterated food products."

The FDA issued a Warning Letter to K&S Wholesale Meats on Jan. 13, 2010, for not having a HACCP plan in place for their breaded seafood products. They responded to the Warning Letter promising corrections. Subsequent inspections in September 2010 and March 2011 revealed that the firm continued to repackage breaded fish without a written HACCP plan.

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Federal Food Safety Information

The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nation's food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.