The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that, on behalf of the agency, the U.S. Marshals Service conducted a mass seizure of FDA-regulated spices and food additive products held for sale under insanitary conditions. Specifically, these food items were exposed to prevalent rodent invasion along with other insects, such as live and dead pests.
The seizure was completed today at Lyden Spice Corporation in Miami, Florida. The food products seized at the property consist of more than 25,000 boxes/bags of bulk ready-to-eat spices and food ingredients, such as monosodium glutamate, crushed red chili, and sesame seeds.
By U.S. Fda
October 4, 2021
” The FDA plays an important function in securing the U.S. food supply and assisting to ensure that our food is not infected at any point throughout its journey along the supply chain,” stated Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D. “We take our responsibility seriously and will continue to take action against those who threaten the security and quality of the products we manage as a required action to safeguard the general public health and the safety of Americans. The extensive unhygienic conditions discovered at the Lyden Spice Corporation are disturbing and will not be tolerated.”
The U.S. Department of Justice filed the grievance on behalf of the FDA in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, declaring that the food at Lyden Spice Corporations facility are adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and asking for that the foodstuff be condemned and surrendered to the United States.
The grievance declares that an examination of Lyden Spice Corporation that the FDA carried out between June 8 and June 28, 2021, exposed unhygienic conditions, consisting of rodent feces too various to depend on and around pallets with containers of food, proof of rodent gnawing and urine on food containers, and rodent nesting product in between food pallets. The FDA detectives likewise observed live and dead pests on food packaging, along with obvious bird droppings in the food storage area.