A recent Warning Letter was sent to a sprouts producer due to its failure to comply with the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. Violations included:
- No documentation to demonstrate that spent sprout-irrigation water or in-process sprouts were tested for Salmonella and E. coli O157:H7 from each production batch
- No confirmation of presumptive positive samples. Instead, they collected a secondary sample after the detection of a presumptive positive, which despite its negative result, does not negate the previous positive
- The GMP failure to clean and sanitize food contact surfaces (i.e., irrigation nozzles were dirty despite recent sanitation)
- Lack of food safety training of supervisory personnel
Complying with all relevant FSMA rules is critical, primarily for the safety of the food, but also to keep your business safe from FDA warnings and other enforcement actions.
