Believe it or not, the peanut product recalls from the PCA salmonella outbreak are not over yet; and one Irvington, NJ-based distributor has been hiding (literally!) from the FDA's attempts to make contact with the company and recall their products. From a great write-up at Bill Marler's blog -
A federal official said Moradi [Westco/Westcott] "ran away and hid" when government inspectors showed up at his plant. Moradi acknowledged hiding from FDA inspectors but said it was because they had repeatedly visited him and staked out his plant, and he was frightened.
The company is Westco Fruit & Nut, operating out of a Coit Street location in Irvington, NJ. The company sent out mixed nut products and trail mix containing peanuts from PCA's Blakely, Georgia plant up until February 2009, and FDA is warning people to dispose of all products containing peanuts they may have from Westco/Westcott Fruit & Nut Company.
Westco/Westcott refused to cooperate with FDA in the recall attempt or provide any information to federal investigators, so today US marshals raided their building -
At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals today executed an inspection warrant at Westco Fruit and Nuts Inc. (Westco/Westcott), an Irvington, N.J.-based company. Westco/Westcott did not provide access to distribution documents and declined to recall products after an FDA request.
There's that 'voluntary' recall system in action. I guess the 'honor system' doesn't work when some companies are still willing to put profits before health, even if it risks potentially killing people... |
