In a warning letter to Quality Dairy Co. of Lansing, MI, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said the company is not doing enough to control for food safety hazards and the growth of the pathogen Listeria monocytogenes which can cause serious illness and death.
The warning comes after the company’s response to the findings of an FDA inspection earlier this year that the ready-to-eat sandwiches, salads and bakery products manufactured at the Lansing facility were considered adulterated under federal law because “they were prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth or whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.”
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Quality Dairy is a convenience store chain that makes its own dairy and bakery products. The facility in question is the 37,000-square-foot bakery facility in Lansing.
The company was supposed to have corrected the findings of the inspection report but in its warning letter, the FDA said it had come up short in a number of areas. Most troubling was the revelation that Listeria monocytogenes was a “resident pathogen” in the facility between 2016 and 2019.
Environmental swabs collected from the facility by state and federal inspectors in 2016 and 2019 were positive for Listeria monocytogenes. And genetic tests showed that it was the same strain. During its January inspection, the FDA found a non-pathogenic strain of Listeria in the facility, an indication that conditions are suitable for the growth of pathogenic strains there as well.
Symptoms of a Listeria infection can take up to two months to develop. They include high fever, severe headache, muscle stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. Listeria infections can cause serious illness and death. Among pregnant women, they can cause miscarriage and stillbirth.
The Listeria lawyers at Pritzker Hageman represent clients nationwide. If you or a loved one developed listeriosis from contaminated food and would like a free consultation with our experienced team, please call 1-888-377-8900, text 612-261-0856 or complete the form below.
