Health Law

KY Seafood Products & Labels Questioned

By Dan Flynn and Suzanna Schreck

But "Grandma's Tuna Sandwich," "Salmon Cakes," and "Ooohman Vegan Burgers" made by Louisville's Dolce LLC are adulterated and misbranded.

The Kentucky seafood processing facility has "serious violations" of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.

"Accordingly," FDA said in a May 10 warning letter to Dolce, "your tuna salad, tuna salad sandwiches and salmon cakes are adulterated, in that they have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.

The warning letter from Teresa C. Thompson, FDA's Cincinnati district director, said Dolce must have a HACCP plan for each kind of fish and fishery product that it produces.    A seafood processor must determine the food safety hazards that are reasonably likely to occur, including "any biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause a food to be unsafe for human consumption."

Thompson said Dolce does not have a HACCP plan for tuna salad and tuna sandwiches "to control the food safety hazards of histamine (scombrotoxin) formation, pathogen growth and toxin formation and allergens.'

Dolce also does not have a HACCP for salmon cakes.

The seafood company also does not disclose all the major food allergens in its "Ooohman Vegan Burger" and "Salmon Cakes."  The allergens milk and wheat are components of sour cream and panko used in Dolce "Salmon Cakes," FDA said.

And soy, also an allergen, is a component of an ingredient used in the Vegan burgers.

FDA also said Dolce's products were misbranded in that they are fabricated from two or more ingredients, but they are not listed on the label by common names in descending order by weight.

The Dolce products also failed to list the name and place of the business, manufacturer, packer, or distributor.

Dolce also used words on the ingredient label like "mayo" and "vegenaise" that FDA said were not common or usual.

FDA gave the Kentucky seafood company until approximately next Tuesday to respond the agency's concerns.

Full post as published by Food Safety News on May 21, 2010 (boomark / email).