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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDole officials knew a salad plant was contaminated with Listeria for 1 & 1/2 years before
Inspection reports (483) obtained by Food Safety News revealed the timeline of positive Listeria results and inaction. Dole Fresh Vegetables Inc. finally suspended production at its salad plant in Springfield, OH, on Jan. 21 this year after a random test by state officials showed a bagged salad contained Listeria monocytogenes.
By that time, at least 33 people in the U.S. and Canada had been sickened with the same strain of Listeria as was found when Ohio inspectors tested the Dole salad they collected from a retailer. All 33 victims had such severe symptoms they required hospitalization. Four of them died.
Who knew and when did they know it
According to the FDAs inspection reports, in July 2014 Dole did swab tests of surfaces in the Springfield plant. The tests returned positive results for Listeria, but the facility kept producing salads, shipping them to dozens of states and at least five Canadian provinces.
At least five more times in 2014 and three times in late 2015 Doles internal tests showed Listeria contamination, but Dole kept the salad lines kept rolling until January this year.
The FDA inspection report states that Doles vice president for quality assurance and food safety, as well as the companys quality assurance manager, were aware internal tests on Jan. 5 and 7 this year showed Listeria on equipment and other surfaces in the plant. But Dole continued to produce and ship salads.
Jackie Wilson Said
(4,176 posts)cost effective, they dont if it isnt, no matter who dies or gets sick.
Corporations must capitalize profit no matter what or they are in violation of their charter and stockholders will fire the officers and put in new ones.
silvershadow
(10,336 posts)yortsed snacilbuper
(7,939 posts)"When they industrialize it to this kind of scale, they sort of forget that they're actually, really making food," says Marler, who represents a woman in the Dole outbreak and settled a case on undisclosed terms with Blue Bell. "The fact that (food companies) avoid testing food contact surfaces ... is because they know they're going to find an answer they don't want."
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/local/gray-matters/article/Lettuce-reminds-me-of-Blue-Bell-7383740.php
NickB79
(19,111 posts)Over 2,000 swabs a year. Last year we had our first positive swab in 5 years, which is actually far below normal for a factory our size. That one positive swab result was enough for our QA manager to shut down the loading dock where it was taken, have a crew sanitize it 3X a week for two weeks, and then keep it closed for another 4 weeks until we were absolutely sure it was clean. It also motivated us to upgrade our sanitation procedure to prevent listeria from entering through loading docks in the future.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Just imagine what the food processed overseas is like, where they have less restrictive rules about cleanliness.
Here, we have rules but the FDA has always given reasons why they cannot do good inspections.