Feds Seize Rodent-Infested Snack Foods

WASHINGTONU.S. marshals acting on behalf of a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) court order today seized $859,000 worth of packaged snack food products from a rodent-infested warehouse owned by Mid-States Services Inc. in Athens, Ga. The crackers, cookies and potato chips were slated to be sold to jails and prisons throughout the southeastern United States.

The federal complaint alleges the products are adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they have been held under insanitary conditions, whereby they may have become contaminated with filth. FDA and the Georgia Department of Agriculture (GDA) investigated the facility from July 14 through July 21, 2010, and found widespread active rodent infestation both inside and outside the facility." Specifically, investigators found 14 live rodents, seven dead rodents, 23 gnaw holes on multiple food containers, multiple containers of food containing rodent pellets, four rodent nests, and apparent rodent pellets too numerous to count, on and around food packages, as well as finding structural defects making the facilities accessible to rodents.

This is an example of quick action by the FDA and our state partner to prevent contaminated food from reaching consumers," said Michael A. Chappell, acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. The FDA took this action because the company failed to provide adequate safeguards to ensure that products they produce or hold for sale remain free of contamination."

On July 15, GDA placed all food in the warehouse under a stop-sale order. On July 19, the company voluntarily destroyed some of the food but, as alleged in the complaint, a significant amount of food was not destroyed. On July 21, 2010, FDA investigators provided the warehouse manager a list of inspectional observations documenting the violations, but the company did not formally respond.

As soon as we heard about this unlicensed warehouse and the conditions under which food was held, we took action with FDA," said Tommy Irvin, Georgia commissioner of agriculture. We used our authority under the Georgia Food Act to immediately stop the sale and movement of food from the warehouse. We also promptly alerted the facilities in Georgia that had received food from this warehouse."