Crab meat containing Listeria remains a problem for the Alabama seafood company

Just a year ago, U.S. District Judge Kristi K. DuBose signed an order banning Irvington Seafood of Irvington, Alabama, from continuing in business. But this week, Food safety news reported that Irvington Seafood is recalling its 1-pound packages of “Crab Meat: Jumbo, Lump, Finger and Claw Meat” because they may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

How did a court-shut down company come back so quickly?

In the 24-page order, called a “Consent Decree of Permanent Injunction,” Judge DuBose closed Irvington Seafood but also issued instructions if the company wanted to get back up and running.

The order closure for Irvington Seafood came after 16 years of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) findings that the company processed and stored seafood products under unsanitary conditions. The U.S. Department of Justice sought to block Irvington Seafood from further distributing its crabmeat products.

The permanent injunction issued a year ago targeted business owner Kevin S. Sakprasit and officers Helene Nou and Kammie C. Richardson. That court order came nearly a year after the company issued a recall for some of its crab products due to FDA findings.

The risk of infection was registered on May 27, 2022, after the. FDA tested the crab on May 9, 2022. The FDA found Listeria monocytogenes on Irvington’s cooking equipment and in a cooking room.

Last year’s court order stated that between 2006 and 2022, multiple FDA inspections of the Irvington Seafood facility found that crab meat was prepared, packaged and stored under unsanitary conditions and did not meet the required current good manufacturing practices and critical control point for the hazard analysis of seafood (HACCP). ) regulations.

FDA inspections found, among other things, the presence of maggots, flies and cockroaches; the presence of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes on surfaces of equipment that come into contact with food and non-food; and that employees did not properly wash their hands and aprons.

A year ago, it said the Alabama seafood company had failed to take “necessary corrective action” after repeated warnings from the FDA.

Kevin Sakprasit, the owner of Irvington Seafood, agreed to the terms of the Consent Decree of Permanent Injunction. While the order shut down his business, it also provided a detailed plan for resuming operations.

The order stated, among other things, that if Irvington Seafood obtained the services of an independent laboratory with no personal or financial ties to the company, along with independent experts, to establish a Listeria Monitoring Program, it could reopen. The company must conduct a hazard analysis program to the FDA’s satisfaction to get back on track.

A HACCP plan and numerous other programs had to be developed to satisfy the FDA, including sanitary control and environmental monitoring. It was also necessary to implement food safety employee training programs to the FDA’s satisfaction.

The order required Irvington Seafood to undergo an extensive inspection by outside experts. It was also necessary to destroy all processed and finished food items in their custody.

Upon resuming operations, the company was required to immediately implement its HACCP, SSOP and Listeria monitoring program. The FDA could determine that Irvington Seafood is not following the rules and take certain actions.

The majority of the 24-page order consists of detailed instructions on how the company can resume operations, which are believed to have been followed by Irvington Seafood as they returned to business over the past year.

But as in the year before the Permanent Injunction, the company is in the midst of a recall of its crab meat due to Listeria contamination. The recalled product is:

• “Crab meat: Jumbo, lump, finger and claw meat”

The product comes in a 1-pound tub package marked with license number AL 111-C and the company name “Irvington Seafood.” No illnesses have yet been linked to the recall. The recalled “Crab Meat: Jumbo, Lump, Finger and Claw Meat” was distributed to distributors in Alabama and Mississippi. Products can end up in fish markets or restaurants.

Final product test results as of May 17, 2024 from EMSL Analytical Inc. found crab meat processed on May 12, 2024, batch #133, and tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes. Of the 94 samples taken on May 13, 2024, 23 samples Jumbo, 24 samples Lump, 24 samples Fingers and 23 samples Claw Meat. Based on the laboratory report, 12 samples of Claw Meat and 2 samples of Fingers that were positive for Listeria.

Production of the product has been suspended while the FDA and the company continue to investigate the cause of the problem.

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