By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com
April 8, 2009
Federal marshals today executed an inspection warrant at the New Jersey-based Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc., which produces and distributes peanuts and peanut products.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested this action after the company refused to provide access to distribution documents and declined the FDA's appeals to remove potentially-tainted peanut products from the market.
FDA officials said regulated companies are required to grant the agency entry for inspection and access to distribution records. The FDA, however, does not have authority to force companies to recall food products.
According to the FDA, Westco Fruit and Nuts (Westco/Westcott) received potentially salmonella-tainted peanuts and peanut product from the Peanut Corporation of America (PCA). The Georgia company is the focus of a federal investigation involving a recent salmonella outbreak. PCA's tainted products are blamed for the illnesses in 691 people in 46 states and may have contributed to the deaths of nine others.
Recalls involving foods made with PCA peanuts and peanut products continue today.
But Westco/Westcott has refused to pull any of its items off the market that contain PCA peanuts or peanut products, the FDA said.
"FDA's enforcement action against Westco Fruit and Nuts is an appropriate step toward removing potentially harmful products from the marketplace, especially when, as in this case, a company is unwilling to share information FDA needs to ensure food safety," said Michael Chappell, the FDA's acting associate commissioner for regulatory affairs. "The FDA uses all appropriate legal means necessary to obtain information and fully investigate firms or individuals who put the health of consumers at risk."
The FDA said it asked Westco/Westcott on March 23, 2009, to recall all of its food items that contain PCA products because they could be contaminated with salmonella.
Three days later, the FDA issued a formal notice to Westco/Westcott requesting access to certain distribution records of its products that contain PCA peanuts. The company declined both requests, the FDA said.
The FDA said Westco/Westcott received three shipments of oil roasted salted redskin jumbo peanuts from PCA's Georgia plant between November 19, 2008, and December 30, 2008. The company sold those peanuts in various packages and also used them as an ingredient in a variety of mixed nut products and trail mixes it produced between November 19, 2008, and early February 2009.
The search warrant isn't the first time Westco/Westcott has run into problems over its handling of PCA peanuts and peanut products.
New Jersey officials on February 9, 2009, executed an embargo action at the company's distribution facility to stop it from further distributing potentially contaminated peanuts or peanut products in its inventory.
ConsumerAffairs.com contacted Westco/Westcott today. The company did not return our call.
The FDA said it has not received any reports of illnesses linked to Westco/Westcotts' products. The agency, however, urged consumers to check their homes for peanut products made or distributed by the company.
Consumers who find any Westco/Westcott's peanut products should put them in a plastic bag and discard the items, the FDA said. Consumers should also wash their hands after handling these products.
Salmonella is a bacteria that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems. Symptoms of salmonella poisoning include diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. In rare cases, salmonella can get into the bloodstream and cause more severe illnesses, including arterial infections (infected aneurysms, endocarditis, and arthritis).
The FDA has more information about this recent salmonella outbreak — and a list of all products recalled in its wake — on its Web site.
