The FDA Wants To Shut Down A Detroit Sandwich Maker
By Sam Lewis
Scotty’s Incorporated — sometimes doing business as Bruce Enterprises and Bruce’s Fresh Products — is being taken to court by the U.S. government. The issue at hand: producing food in unsanitary conditions, improper recordkeeping, and inadequate labeling practices.
In a complaint filed by the Department of Justice, the FDA is seeking to stop preparation and distribution operations at a Detroit maker of ready-to-eat foods. The injunction, which was presented Friday, November 21 in U.S. District Court, named Sandra Jackson—co-owner and manager of Scotty’s — as the defendant.
According to the filed complaint, Scotty’s makes, packages, stores, and distributes ready-to-eat sandwiches under unsanitary conditions. The company’s products are mainly sold to retail locations, such as convenience stores and gas stations in Michigan and Ohio. The complaint also states the company’s operations fail to keep proper records and abide by correct labeling practices. The FDA says Scotty’s fails to follow federal Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) regulations for processing tuna in the company’s tuna fish sandwiches.
Jackson denies the allegations, stating the company no longer offers the product. “We do not, and have not, sold any seafood in the last year to year-and-a-half,” Jackson says. “I order labels in bulk because I save money that way. Some of the labels still said ‘tuna fish’ on them, but we no longer offer it. The FDA even went to some of the locations that handle our products to check to make sure I didn’t manufacture tuna fish.”
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Jackson’s attorney, Jerry Moore, believes there is nothing wrong with the products his client produces. “To the best of my knowledge, their products are good and wholesome,” Moore says. However, Moore also believes the FDA’s case — based on improper HACCP, recordkeeping, and labeling practices — holds water. “The problem is that federal regulations have multiplied over the years. Now, they have a requirement that if you’re working with food products, you have to have your working method in writing,” states Moore. Moore admits that his client does not have a written, working plan for operations that meets the FDA’s requirements. Moore continues, “The safety of the product isn’t the issue. As I understand it, the regulations say a product is considered to be misbranded if the HACCP program isn’t in place.”
Scotty’s was inspected by the FDA between January 14 and February 6 of this year. During the inspection, the FDA determined Scotty’s products were being made in unsanitary conditions and could have been contaminated “with filth or rendered injurious to health.” The FDA notes the plant has had problems since 2006 and received warning letters in 2010. The FDA says Jackson did make some corrections as response to the warning letters, but Scotty’s “either did not follow through on their attempts to correct, or failed to sustain the corrections they made, because the FDA investigators observed and documented ongoing, significant violations during the October 2010 and February 2014 inspections.”
Moore says the company is working to rectify its practices. “I’ve been working with attorneys in Washington ... and with experts in food handling, on what we can do to satisfy the feds. The major concerns of the government in this request will be satisfied if we get the wording corrected.” At this point, Scotty’s future is in jeopardy. Will the HACCP violations, poor recordkeeping and labeling practices be corrected or will the history of non-compliance force the FDA to shutter Scotty’s doors?