Goya Distribution Center Back in Business

Goya Foods of Florida announced yesterday that its Miami distribution center has passed a complete, plant-wide inspection by a team of federal and state regulators, who found no evidence of any of the unsanitary conditions alleged by the union involved in the seven-month labor dispute with the company. The inspection was conducted by a team of five inspectors -- two from USDA and three from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DOACS). The facility serves primarily as a warehouse and distribution facility for Goya products.

Last Thursday, the Florida DOACS conducted a separate inspection which resulted in Goya being granted permission to resume operations in the small packaging area of the facility, which had been temporarily shut down during the investigation.

"Coming on the heels of last week's favorable report by state inspectors, this thorough, multi-agency inspection reaffirms in the strongest possible terms what we have known all along -- that the allegations made by UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees ) were false and part of an organized disinformation campaign designed to tarnish the Goya name and improperly influence ongoing labor negotiations," said Mary Ann Unanue, president of Goya Foods of Florida.

Goya Foods, Inc. is America's largest Hispanic-owned food company.