The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking a permanent injunction against BCS African Wholesale Food Supply over concerns it is selling seafood that may put consumers at risk of botulism.
The FDA’s associate commissioner for regulatory affairs, Dara Corrigan, said yesterday (1 June) that BCS African Wholesale has “ignored warnings by the FDA and Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) by continuing to sell seafood that puts the consumer’s health at risk”.
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“By taking this action, a result of collaborative enforcement efforts with our state partner, FDA is demonstrating its commitment to protecting the public health from the dangers of adulterated and misbranded food products,” added Corrigan.
The FDA alleges that the company markets and distributes seafood products that are prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions under the Federal Food, Drink and Cosmetic Act.
It said that it considers uneviscerated fish over five inches in length that are salt-cured, dried, or smoked, such as the bony fish sold by BCS African Wholesale, to be adulterated because they could contain Clostridium botulinum toxin, which can cause botulism.
It also said that BCS African Wholesale’s bony fish is falsely labelled as Gutted Bony Fish and is being misbranded under the Act.
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By GlobalDataThe FDA sent the company a warning letter in July 2010 after the FDA and the MDA inspected the company’s facility. BCS African Wholesale assured the FDA that it was not selling uneviscerated fish. Following a further inspection two months later, the FDA and MDA found that the company was still selling adulterated seafood, including uneviscerated bony fish that were also misbranded.
