(perhaps they should have called it kombucha.....)
City Herald
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/state/washington/article247154559.html
‘Putrid and decomposed’ fruit used in juice for students, Washington lawsuit says
By Brooke Wolford
November 13, 2020 02:04 PM
A Washington company that is no longer in business used rotting fruit to make juice for school children, the Food and Drug Administration said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington.
The Valley Processing plant in Sunnyside, Washington supplied nearly 3 million servings of apple juice a year to the federal school lunch program, the lawsuit said.
City Herald
https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/state/washington/article247154559.html
‘Putrid and decomposed’ fruit used in juice for students, Washington lawsuit says
By Brooke Wolford
November 13, 2020 02:04 PM
A Washington company that is no longer in business used rotting fruit to make juice for school children, the Food and Drug Administration said in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Washington.
The Valley Processing plant in Sunnyside, Washington supplied nearly 3 million servings of apple juice a year to the federal school lunch program, the lawsuit said.
Annual inspections occurring between 2016 and 2019 revealed several violations of FDA regulations, according to the lawsuit filed by the federal government on Nov. 6 in the U.S. District Court of Eastern Washington. The company was made aware of the violations, but failed to act on them, according do the lawsuit.
A consent decree filed in conjunction with the lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against Valley Processing.
The consent decree says the company has to “suspend its operations, destroy its remaining inventory and adopt a sanitary control program developed by an independent expert before it could reopen,” the New York Times reported.
Company has closed
The company has closed and “has no intent to ever resume operations,” Lillian S. Hardy, a lawyer for Valley Processing, said in an email to McClatchy News.
Hardy told the New York Times that the FDA’s complaint is misleading. “The company has not sold juice directly to consumers but through other suppliers,” according to the Times.
Hardy told the New York Times that the FDA’s complaint is misleading. “The company has not sold juice directly to consumers but through other suppliers,” according to the Times.
“Valley Processing is confident the juice sold by its customers was in full compliance with the F.D.A. guidance,” Ms. Hardy told the Times.
Mary Ann Bliesner, the president of Valley Processing, said she was disappointed with the government’s decision to bring action against the company.
”I have always placed as my top priority the production of juice that is of the highest quality,” Bliesner told McClatchy News in a statement. “I recognize the government identified numerous areas in which the company could have done a better job of complying with regulatory requirements. While it was a difficult decision to make, after decades of operating Valley Processing I made the decision to sell the company assets and leave the juice industry. I intend to fully comply with the terms of the consent decree.“
FDA investigation found ‘serious violations’
In December 2015 and January 2016, FDA inspectors found “serious violations” of health regulations, according to a warning letter from the Seattle District Office for the Department Health and Human Services.
“Your apple and pear juice, concentrate and essence products, are adulterated in that they have been prepared, packed or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health,” according to the letter, which is cited in the lawsuit.
Analysis of Valley Processing’s apple juice revealed it had high levels of arsenic, according to the letter.
“Inorganic arsenic is a toxic substance and prolonged exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic is associated with cancer, skin lesions, developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity and diabetes in humans,” the letter said.
The lawsuit states that the company’s juice products consist of fruit that was “filthy, putrid or decomposed” and “otherwise unfit for food,” according to a consent decree from the court.
“Inorganic arsenic is a toxic substance and prolonged exposure to high levels of inorganic arsenic is associated with cancer, skin lesions, developmental effects, cardiovascular disease, neurotoxicity and diabetes in humans,” the letter said.
The lawsuit states that the company’s juice products consist of fruit that was “filthy, putrid or decomposed” and “otherwise unfit for food,” according to a consent decree from the court.
Inspectors also found rodents in the processing plant and rodent droppings were discovered on top of some fruit used in juice, according to the lawsuit.
Valley Processing also produced grape juice and stored its concentrate “outside in covered barrels,” the lawsuit said.
Valley Processing also produced grape juice and stored its concentrate “outside in covered barrels,” the lawsuit said.
“Many of these barrels contained grape juice concentrate that was several years old, with some lot codes dating back to 2008,” according to the lawsuit. “As confirmed by FDA sampling, the grape juice concentrate in these barrels was contaminated by filth and mold, and thus not suitable for human consumption.”
“Defendants have an extensive history of processing juice under grossly insanitary conditions,” the lawsuit said. “Although Defendants claimed to be interested in making necessary changes, compliance with the law has clearly not been a priority.”
Read more here: https://www.tri-cityherald.com/news/state/washington/article247154559.html#storylink=cpy
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