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FDA forces StarKist to revise and seriously improve its standards
Wednesday, March 09, 2011, 23:00 (GMT + 9)
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently addressed StarKist Co in a letter regarding the agency’s findings last November that the company’s processing plant in American Samoa violated the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulation.
The company refused to hand over certain records during that time.
Investigators found decomposed fish and improper temperature controls that rendered the products “injurious to health” and may lead to bacterial contamination with Staphylococcus aureus, the FDA told StarKist President Ingu Park in a letter.
"Your canned tuna and pouched packed tuna are adulterated, in that they have been prepared, packed or held under unsanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health," the FDA wrote.
In response, StarKist Quality Assurance Director John Aaron Maxfield in December replied that StarKist would be updating the HACCP plan for the processing of loins, as well as generally review its practices company wide and take FDA’s recommendations into account.
The FDA wrote that it would verify the corrections during the next inspection.
“We may take further action if you do not promptly correct these violations. For instance, we may take further action to seize your product(s) and/or enjoin your firm from operating,” the FDA warned.
But StarKist assured that its products pose no harm for human consumption.
"All StarKist products are safe and no product withdrawals are being initiated," said spokesperson Mary Sestric, reports Food Safety News.
"The quality and safety of all StarKist products continues to be our highest priority. We are committed to providing high-quality, nutritious products to consumers and look for ways to continually improve our products and processes,” she added.
In 2010, the company informed that it would lay off 600-800 workers from its tuna-processing plant in American Samoa, which cut the plant's work force to fewer than 1,200 people from a high of more than 3,000 two years prior. This came as a result of the US territory's rising minimum wage, which has hampered the company’s efforts to compete with cheap labour overseas.
Controlling more than one-third of the US tuna market share, StarKist boasts an annual revenue of USD 700 million.
The company is now owned by South Korea´s Dongwon Industries, the biggest tuna business in the world, which bought StarKist from Del Monte Foods in 2008 for USD 363 million.
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By Natalia Real
editorial@fis.com
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