QA Director Pleads Guilty to Concealing Conditions That Lead to Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Cereal

A QA Director has pleaded guilty for concealing food facility conditions that led to a Salmonella outbreak where 130 people were infected. "Ravi Chermala overlooked unsanitary conditions that led to the Salmonella outbreak linked to Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal in 2018.

From the Justice report, "Ravi Kumar Chermala, 47, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce. Chermala, Kerry’s Director of Quality Assurance until September 2018, oversaw the sanitation programs at various Kerry manufacturing plants, including a facility in Gridley, Illinois, that manufactured Kellogg’s Honey Smacks breakfast cereal for Kerry’s customer, the Kellogg Company. In pleading guilty, Chermala admitted that between June 2016 and June 2018, he directed subordinates to not report certain information to Kellogg’s about conditions at the Gridley facility. In addition, Chermala admitted that he directed subordinates at the Gridley facility to alter the plant’s program for monitoring for the presence of pathogens in the plant, limiting the facility’s ability to accurately detect insanitary conditions."

Don't be this guy.


https://www.foodprocessing.com/food-safety/news/21438121/former-kerry-qa-director-pleads-guilty-in-2018-salmonella-outbreak-from-kelloggs-honey-smacks-cereal
Former Kerry QA Director Pleads Guilty in 2018 Salmonella Outbreak
Nov. 20, 2022

Ravi Chermala overlooked unsanitary conditions that led to Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal recall and 130 illnesses.

Dave Fusaro

A former Kerry Inc. quality assurance executive pleaded guilty to not reporting food safety conditions at a Kerry contract manufacturing plant that led to a salmonella outbreak from Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal, sickening 130 people nationwide.

Ravi Kumar Chermala was director of quality assurance for Kerry Inc., overseeing sanitation programs at several Kerry manufacturing plants, including a facility in Gridley, Ill., that manufactured Honey Smacks breakfast cereal for Kellogg Co.

In pleading guilty, he admitted that between June 2016 and June 2018, he directed subordinates not to report certain information to Kellogg about conditions at the facility. In addition, Chermala said he directed subordinates to alter the plant’s program for monitoring for the presence of pathogens in the plant, limiting the facility’s ability to accurately detect insanitary conditions, according to U.S. Dept. of Justice records.

In June 2018, the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) linked an ongoing outbreak of salmonellosis cases to Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal produced at the Gridley facility. In response, Kellogg voluntarily recalled all Honey Smacks cereal manufactured at the plant since June 2017.

The CDC eventually identified more than 130 cases of salmonellosis linked to the outbreak with illness onset dates beginning in March 2018, but no deaths were related to the outbreak.

Chermala pleaded guilty in late October to three misdemeanor counts of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce. Sentencing is expected in January.

Former Kerry Inc. Manager Pleads Guilty in Connection with Insanitary Plant Conditions Linked to 2018 Salmonella Poisoning Outbreak | OPA | Department of Justice
Department of Justice
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Friday, October 21, 2022
Former Kerry Inc. Manager Pleads Guilty in Connection with Insanitary Plant Conditions Linked to 2018 Salmonella Poisoning Outbreak
A former quality assurance director for food manufacturer Kerry Inc. pleaded guilty today to charges related to the manufacture of a breakfast cereal linked to a 2018 outbreak of salmonellosis, or Salmonella poisoning.

Ravi Kumar Chermala, 47, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor counts of causing the introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce. Chermala, Kerry’s Director of Quality Assurance until September 2018, oversaw the sanitation programs at various Kerry manufacturing plants, including a facility in Gridley, Illinois, that manufactured Kellogg’s Honey Smacks breakfast cereal for Kerry’s customer, the Kellogg Company. In pleading guilty, Chermala admitted that between June 2016 and June 2018, he directed subordinates to not report certain information to Kellogg’s about conditions at the Gridley facility. In addition, Chermala admitted that he directed subordinates at the Gridley facility to alter the plant’s program for monitoring for the presence of pathogens in the plant, limiting the facility’s ability to accurately detect insanitary conditions.


“Food safety professionals cannot conceal potentially dangerous problems from customers or government regulators,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who engage in such conduct.”


“Today’s announcement reinforces that if an individual violates food safety rules or conceals relevant information, we will seek to hold them accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Lynda M. Burdelik, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations Chicago Field Office. “The health of American consumers and the safety of our food are too important to be thwarted by the criminal acts of any individual or company.”


In June 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that an ongoing outbreak of salmonellosis cases in the United States could be traced to Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal produced at Kerry’s Gridley facility. In response, Kellogg’s voluntarily recalled all Honey Smacks manufactured at the plant since June 2017. The CDC eventually identified more than 130 cases of salmonellosis linked to the outbreak, with illness onset dates beginning in March 2018. The CDC did not identify any deaths related to the outbreak.


Salmonellosis can cause symptoms such as diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps that last several days in healthy adults. Absent prompt treatment, salmonellosis can cause severe dehydration and even death in infants, young children, the elderly, transplant recipients, pregnant women, and individuals with weakened immune systems.


Chermala pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge Jonathan E. Hawley in Peoria, Illinois. The sentencing date is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2023. Further information about the case will be posted to the department’s Information for Victims in Large Cases website at https://www.justice.gov/largecases.


The matter is being investigated by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Cody Matthew Herche and Senior Trial Attorney James T. Nelson of the Department of Justice, Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch.


For more information about the enforcement efforts of the Consumer Protection Branch visit the branch’s website at http://www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.