According to the letter (you can read it in full here), a New England food-prep facility run by the chain had some very serious violations that the FDA spotted when they visited over the course of five days during the month of February.
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Whole Foods Market is assuring shoppers that its food is safe to eat following a damning letter issued by the US Food and Drug Administration over conditions in one of its food-preparation facilities, which supplies 74 stores in the northeastern United States.
During an inspection of the facility in February, the agency found numerous violations of current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Unsanitary conditions found include food exposed to dripping water from the ceiling and pipes, as well as employees not washing their hands.
The FDA, in its June letter, said the company’s previous response was inadequate, adding that the company failed to mention steps it would take to supervise food processing operations and compliance going forward. Most alarmingly, some kitchen equipment tested positive for non-pathogenic forms of Listeria-and that meant that conditions were also ripe for the formation of the Listeria associated with food poisoning. One swab obtained from a “food contact surface” of a vegetable chopping machine revealed the presence of Listeria welshimeri bacteria.
The FDA recently published the letter it sent to Whole Foods after inspectors visited a MA food manufacturing facility in February.
East coasters who rely on Whole Foods’ ready-to-eat meals to live are going to want to rethink their strategy for a while.
The company also didn’t provide documentation about how it had fixed the problems, FDA said.
The first of Whole Foods’ new small-format stores, known as 365, which opened in Los Angeles in late May, had to recall three different kimchee-based products after discovering that they might contain shellfish or nuts that were not on the label.
According to the FDA, Whole Foods did respond to the initial notice in March, but the response was not adequate.
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The June 8 warning letter has caused considerable alarm, with shares of Whole Foods falling more than 2.5% Tuesday.
