News Feature | March 31, 2014

FDA Shuts Down Seafood Processor After Routine Inspection

Sam Lewis

By Sam Lewis

FDA Shuts Down Seafood Processor

Worries of Listeria contamination have led to the closing of Seattle’s Jensen’s Old Fashioned Smokehouse

Inspectors with the FDA found Listeria monocytogenes after an analysis of collected samples during an inspection of Jensen’s Old Fashioned Smokehouse in Seattle. The company processes, distributes, and sells smoked fish products in stores throughout Washington, California, and Oregon.

According to the FDA, the bacterium was found in processing and storage areas of the facility. This has resulted in the FDA ordering the plant to cease all operations — preparing, processing, packing, holding, and distributing — of food products at this plant. To date, no illnesses have been reported.

Jensen’s Old Fashioned Smokehouse was already under consent decree of permanent injunction. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington entered this sanction on the plant in 2001. The terms of this arrangement makes the company liable for controlling food safety hazards and ensuring it creates pure, untainted food products.  The most recent FDA inspection of the plant found the food products within the Jensen’s facility have been adulterated, which consequently, was the basis of the shutdown under the terms of the consent decree.

In order for the facility to reopen, Jensen’s must comply with several requirements. The company must clean and sanitize the facility completely and hire an expert to create and implement a Sanitation Standard Operation Procedure. This expert must also cultivate an environmental microbial monitoring program for Listeria. Finally, Jensen’s must run tests for Listeria on samples of vacuum-packaged fish products in the facility and present the FDA with its findings.

The Guide To Critical Cleaning

This is not the Jensen’s first encounter with the FDA. Back in Sept 2007, containers of two of the company’s varieties of salmon spread were recalled due to fears of Listeria monocytogenes. One month later, the company made another recall of the same spreads.