FDA suspends facility registration of Texas seafood firm

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has suspended the facility registration of Texas-based seafood company Topway Enterprises after inspections revealed major, repeated food safety violations.

During inspections conducted earlier this year, the FDA and the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) found serious sanitation issues. The agencies found several samples that contained Listeria and pathogenic Listeria monocytogenes (L monocytogenes).

As the company failed to implement corrective actions at the facility, the FDA issued a safety alert on 18 July.

In the alert, the FDA advised restaurants and food retailers in Texas and Louisiana to discard recent shipments of Topway’s ready-to-eat seafood products. These include raw tuna and salmon, due to possible Listeria contamination.

The alert also advised consumers who have recently purchased ready-to-eat seafood products in Texas and Louisiana to contact the restaurant or food retailer for information about where the product was processed and sourced.

It said consumers who think they have purchased or consumed Topway products should discard them.

People who eat food contaminated with L monocytogenes may develop listeriosis, an infection that can have serious adverse health effects.

The FDA conducted the first inspection in February and detected 31 non-pathogenic Listeria on swabs collected throughout the facility and observed egregious sanitation deficiencies.

The investigators issued FDA Form 483 to document inspectional observations pertaining to unsanitary conditions at the facility.

On behalf of the FDA, the Texas DSHS conducted a follow-up compliance inspection from 24 June to 3 July and found that the company failed to correct the sanitation and seafood safety compliance deficiencies.

Texas DSHS found 66 non-pathogenic Listeria positive samples, egregious sanitation deficiency observations and four environmental swabs that tested positive for L monocytogenes.

On 3 July, FDA and Texas officials notified Topway of the results of their inspections, after which the company agreed to cease operations and recall certain products.

However, the company has not implemented adequate corrective actions to address the risks that were identified. It continued production in a temporary location while cleaning its regular facility.

The FDA said that it is working with the company to address the violations at both locations.