Seafood Listeria Risks Prompt FDA to Shut Down Yamaya USA

Posted on April 11, 2012

Another company is having its production shut down due to widespread safety issues that contributed to the contamination of their products.

This time, the firm in question is Yamaya USA, a Torrance-based importer and producer of a variety of fish items.  That company has entered into what’s known as a consent decree with the Food and Drug Administration.  The Justice Department has filed a complaint for permanent injunction on the FDA’s behalf, and under the terms of the new decree, Yamaya has to correct numerous safety violations before they can resume production of seafood at their facility.

Among the company’s alleged violations are a failure to follow the FDA’s current good manufacturing practice, a failure to comply with seafood hazard analysis critical control points regulations, and continued preparation of seafood in an environment that promotes the contamination of listeria monocytogenes.  This can contribute to listeriosis, which is a hazard to newborns, pregnant women, and persons with weakened immune systems.

Before Yamaya can ramp work up again, they must destroy their current food cache, clean the facility until it is no longer contaminated with listeria, hire a food safety expert to put in place prevention plans, and hire an independent party to conduct tests over the next five years.

Considering how dangerous a contamination is, I would think as a personal injury lawyer in Riverside that firms would take the threat more seriously.  I hope for the company’s sake that they can address the problems quickly, and as a San Diego personal injury attorney, I hope for the consumer’s sake that any food they eat is safe.

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