WASHINGTON—At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Marshals today seized approximately $1 million worth of bulk restaurant food products at Won Feng Trading Company, a food processor and warehouse in Nashville, Tenn. The products are adulterated under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act because they have been held under unsanitary conditions whereby they may have become contaminated with filth.
Marshals seized all FDA-regulated foods, including a wide variety of bulk restaurant foods, such as 44-pound bags of rice, fresh produce and frozen-food products that are susceptible to contamination by rodents, insects or other filth.
The FDA had previously issued a Warning Letter to Won Feng in May 2009, citing numerous deviations from current Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements, including ineffective measures taken by the firm to exclude pests. The firm stated in a June response to the FDA that it had corrected the violations cited in the Warning Letter. A follow-up inspection in November 2009 found evidence of an active and widespread rodent infestation in the building, including live and dead rodents, rodent hair, rodent nesting material, evidence of rodent-gnawed food and rodent urine. Investigators also observed insect filth and live birds in the building, and found that the building had defects that could allow pests to enter food storage areas.
