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FDA Moves to Shut Down Dirty NJ Cheese Manufacturer

By Paul Napoli

January 4, 2010

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will petition the federal court to shut down a New Jersey cheese manufacturer in the interest of public safety. The FDA says Quesos Mi Pueblito, of Passaic, NJ, has a history of operating under insanitary conditions, producing cheese contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes and failure to correct violations despite federal and state warnings.

Quesos Mi Pueblito's varieties of soft, semi-soft and hard Mexican cheeses are sold in grocery stores and supermarkets in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Among Quesos Mi Pueblito's products are queso oaxaca, queso fresco, queso requeson and queso cotija molido. In August, the company recalled all its cheese products with Sell by Dates from February 2, 2009 to August 27, 2009 due to possible Listeria contamination.

An inspection by state and federal officials found several serious health violations at the Quesos Mi Pueblito manufacturing facility, including a deep pit in the cheese production room with standing water and sewer gases leaking from a sewer pipe. They also found refrigeration temperatures as high as 55 degrees, uncovered cheeses on rusty racks and an infestation of cockroaches. Inspectors found Listeria in several areas of the facility.

Subsequent visits to the cheese manufacturing facility found the company failed to correct the health and safety violations.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in Newark for a permanent injunction against Quesos Mi Pueblito and two of its officers, Felix Sanchez and Jesus Galvez, citing recent inspections by the FDA and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services found Listeria-contaminated cheese and insanitary conditions at the Passaic company.

An injunction would prohibit Quesos Mi Pueblito and its officers from manufacturing and distributing food until their facility and operations comply with food safety regulations.

"FDA's work with federal and state partners to root out or remedy food manufacturers not compliant with food safety laws ensures safer foods get to our dinner tables," said Michael Chappell, the FDA's acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs.

Listeriosis, a serious and sometimes fatal infection caused by eating food contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, is recognized as an important public health problem in the United States. People suffering from listeriosis may suffer gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The most serious manifestations of listeriosis include septicemia, meningitis (or meningoencephalitis), encephalitis, and intrauterine or cervical infections in pregnant women, which may result in spontaneous abortion or stillbirth. These disorders are usually preceded by influenza-like symptoms including persistent fever.

While healthy people may also be at risk, people most susceptible to the disease are children, frail or elderly people, pregnant women and people with immune systems weakened by corticosteroids, anticancer drugs, graft suppression therapy or AIDS.

L. monocytogenes has been associated with such foods as raw milk, supposedly pasteurized fluid milk, cheeses (particularly soft-ripened varieties), ice cream, raw vegetables, fermented raw-meat sausages, raw and cooked poultry, raw meats (all types) and raw and smoked fish. It is quite hardy and resists the deleterious effects of freezing, drying and heat and its ability to grow at temperatures as low as 3°C permits multiplication in refrigerated foods.

Listeriosis has an extremely variable incubation period. It can range from three to 70 days, but symptoms usually appear within a month. Specific laboratory tests are the only way to identify this disease. People who are experiencing symptoms and fear they may have contracted Listeriosis, especially those people most at risk, should contact their physician.

When a product causes serious injury or death, it is important to contact a personal injury attorney who has experience in handling product liability cases. Products liability is the branch of law that deals with the liability of parties involved in the manufacturing of a product for any damages caused by the product. Call Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP today at 888-529-4669 to discuss your case and determine if you are entitled to compensation for your injuries.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Napoli

Full post as published by New York City Personal Injury Lawyer on January 05, 2010 (boomark / email).