PORTLAND, Maine — Federal regulators have shut down a Maine seafood processing plant for what were described as “numerous violations” of federal laws and health regulations.
The Food and Drug Administration also ordered Portland Shellfish Co., which processes lobster and shrimp, to recall and destroy seafood the company’s president says is worth about $25,000.
The FDA says Portland Shellfish won’t be allowed to reopen until it updates its plans and procedures for making sure the seafood it processes is safe.
The Portland Press Herald reports that the FDA’s letter says a conveyor belt used in shrimp processing at the plant tested positive in February for listeria, a potentially deadly bacteria.
The FDA previously shut down the company in January 2011.
The company’s president says the FDA is being unduly harsh.
Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com
The FDA is being unduly harsh? Eating listeria contaminated food is unduly harsh!
We don’t need no job destroying regulations
thats sarcasm for those that take it at face value
We don’t , but everyone has the right to purchase food that is safe to eat !
okay job destroying…..let me know how you feel when a family member is affected by listeria!!!!
the state and federal inspectors can’t be everywhere all the time…..businesses take advantage of that and put our health at risk…..if you are concerned about jobs be concerned about the business owners not taking responsibility for their employees health and job safety!
Consumers “dying” to eat Maine lobster……..great, just what the Maine Commercial Seafood market needs to go through. The company president is making the wrong “public relations” response to the press. Fix it.
I have been in food service in that general area on the coast for 15 plus years. First if you get Listeria, you will wish it had been salmonella or e-coli. Listeria, Shigella etc kill people. What’s worse is that Portland seafood has been known to be a dirty place for years. They have been reported more times then anyone can count. What’s sad is there are only 7 health inspectors in the state of Maine. They are not on the road everyday either. Thank god there are smart people out there sourcing food for their customers the best way possible. To keep them safe from food borne illness’. You can’t rely on the state of Maine, or the Seafood warehouses anymore and feel good about it. I watched a health inspector get paid off once in front of my own eyes. Don’t believe me, check out Pine Tree Market in Northeast Harbor, that is an outbreak in the making! The fix to this is use Sysco, or head to the docks folks!
You sound like your desperate rep from sysco looking for business! I’ve been in that store before, what a nice locally owned, locally grown, organic meats and fish and awesome selection of wines! Health inspectors do a fine job. Stop criticising!!
People cannot buy from Sysco directly. The truth is that Sysco runs a very good seafood program but the interesting thing is that they have also sold crabmeat from this company for years.
The interesting thing is that listeria is mostly found in soil and does not commonly show up in seafood unless that seafood has come from an area infected with sewage.
Years ago as a young chef I saw a health inspector twice a year. I have not seen one in any establishment I have worked in since 2005.
If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If that fish has listeria, you’ll feed him for the rest of his life.
So much for small business and self regulation. Guess this outfit wants to poison a few people with listeria and have lawsuits forever in the court system. This outfit will also destroy the reputation of Maine Lobster as a good quality food. They have been warned and warned by the FDA and given every chance to clean up their act. Guess it will take people getting sick and lawsuits to wise up this outfit.
$25,000 must mean nothing to this company, shut them down permanantly. The solid reputation of quality seafood from Maine is at stake (steak if you like to chuckle). This could mean a devastating blow to our already weak economy !
This certainly isn’t good and they have had issues in the past. Who knows besides the inspector(s) and employees what the true conditions are there but I will say, thats why we all should cook our food throughly no matter what it is!
The Press Herald article is much more informative. This company has been required to recall lobster meat 4 times since 2008, this is their 2nd failed inspection within one year, and simply have not done what they are required to do. The company’s president says that they are being picked on; well, you fail one inspection; you are on the bad boys list. You fail another inspection within a year; then you are grounded.
Unduly harsh, eh? The president of that company needs to be replaced with someone who has a better sense of responsibility. If he has a history of being shut down, something is awfully wrong if he continues the practice of filthy conveyor belts. He’s lucky no one has been poisoned to date. I certainly would not buy seafood from that company…no sir!
This problem is easily taken care of with a pressure washer pushing out 180 degree water mixed with quatinary ammonia.
As a professional chef that has been involved in commercial food production I will say that some FDA regulation is a bit suspect. However the majority of it is extremely important and serves a vital purpose. I will also say that the FDA is for the most part a reasonable organization to work with and that if this product had to be destroyed it was for good cause.