Whole Foods FDA
In a letter dated June 8, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration formally warned retailer Whole Foods for a second time about several violations it found in its North Atlantic processing plant located in Everett, Mass this past winter. The FDA stated that the company’s responses to their initial letter, issued in March, were unacceptable due to lack of documentation regarding corrective actions taken to prevent further violations.
Violations by Whole Foods
In all, the FDA cited six, broad issues at the Massachusetts processing plant which it labeled as “not intended to be an all-inclusive list of deficiencies at [the] facility.” They include:
- Failure to store food under proper conditions to minimize the growth of microorganisms
- Failure to properly clean and sanitize equipment
- Failure to sanitize and fully dry food contact surfaces
- Deficiencies in plant design which lead to an inability to properly protect food and food contact surfaces from chemical contamination
- Hand washing facilities without the ability to heat water to the proper temperature for sanitation
- Failure to properly label toxic sanitizing agents.
All of these errors took place this past February and though Whole Foods has stated it is undergoing “employee retraining” to prevent future violations, their failure to provide proof of that training or changes to its facilities is what prompted this second letter by the FDA.
What Comes Next
Whole Foods has 15 days to respond to this second warning letter and provide proof of its corrective actions. At this point, no illness has been reported as originating from foods prepared in this facility. To read the full letter sent to Whole Foods, visit the FDA’s website, here.