Bug-infested facility prepared contaminated crabmeat that was sold across US, feds say
A seafood company’s ready-to-eat crabmeat was prepared in a facility crawling with bugs and had potentially fatal bacteria coating its surfaces, federal prosecutors said.
Repeated inspections revealed an infestation of flies, maggots and roaches at the Alabama facility over the years, as well as employees not properly washing their hands, according to the Justice Department.
What’s more is that ceiling condensation — a source of harmful bacteria detected at Irvington Seafood Inc.’s facility — regularly dripped onto cooked crabs and crabmeat, court documents show.
The company’s contaminated crabmeat, which was sometimes not fully cooked before it was packaged, was distributed and sold nationwide, prosecutors said.
Irvington Seafood is now permanently shuttered and must destroy all food products and ingredients as part of a court order and federal lawsuit settlement, the Justice Department announced in a May 11 news release.
Irvington Seafood can no longer sell “adulterated” products under the terms of the lawsuit settlement, which involves a consent decree of permanent injunction, officials said.
McClatchy News contacted attorneys Benjamin Harte Harris, III and Michel Nicrosi, who represented the company in the case, for comment on May 12 and didn’t immediately receive a response.
The settlement comes after Irvington Seafood recalled its 1 lb. packages of “Crabmeat: Jumbo, Lump, Finger, and Claw meat” over how it was potentially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, the Food and Drug Administration announced on June 3.
The recalled crabmeat was shipped to distributors in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, according to the FDA.
Food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can lead to a dangerous infection called listeriosis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Individuals most at risk are pregnant women, newborn babies, adults 65 and older, and those with weaker immune systems.
In the U.S., about 1,600 people are infected with listeriosis each year and roughly 260 people die as a result, according to the CDC.
Bacteria, maggots and animals found during the most recent Irvington Seafood inspection
The FDA’s most recent inspection of Irvington Seafood’s facility occurred between April 11, 2022, and June 10, when it was swabbed for Listeria mono, according to the lawsuit.
Listeria mono was found in five spots: three surfaces that food regularly came in contact with and two surfaces near where cooked crab was processed, a complaint says.
“The presence of Listeria mono in these areas is evidence of a seafood processor who has failed to maintain a clean and sanitary facility and has created an ideal environment for dangerous pathogens to contaminate seafood products,” the complaint says.
During this inspection, FDA inspectors witnessed ceiling condensation, which can cause bacteria to thrive, dripping onto food products, according to the complaint.
Meanwhile, Listeria innocua, a type of Listeria not known to cause sickness in people, was found in 13 different spots, according to the complaint.
In addition to the rampant bacteria, maggots were found infesting a wooden walkway leading in and out of the facility’s rear door, the complaint says.
Barrels containing “undesirable” crab parts were situated near that walkway, according to the complaint.
Bacteria and maggots weren’t the only creatures that roamed the facility, the complaint says.
FDA inspectors also saw a chicken, two cats and a dog on the property, according to the complaint.
The most recent FDA inspection also revealed the company didn’t make sure crabs were fully cooked, as two thermometers that monitored crabmeat product temperatures weren’t properly calibrated, the complaint says.
Earlier inspections reveal roaches, flies, beetles and E. Coli in crabmeat
Irvington Seafood facility’s filthy conditions date back to 2006, according to prosecutors.
From 2006 and onward, flies, maggots, roaches and beetles were found infesting the facility during different FDA inspections, the complaint says. The inspections, prior to the most recent one beginning in April 2022, took place in 2006, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019.
In 2015, the company’s lump crabmeat was found contaminated with E. coli, which can sicken people, according to the complaint.
E. coli can result in diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illnesses and additional negative health consequences, the CDC says.
“After each inspection, Defendants made numerous assurances to (the) FDA, including that they would retrain all employees, that they would clean and sanitize the facility, that they would calibrate thermometers more often, that they would fix the condensation problems, and that they would keep animals and bugs away from the facility,” the complaint says.
However, the company is accused of never getting its facility under control despite its promises.
“Food manufacturers and distributors must operate in strict compliance with the law,” Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, said in a statement.
Going forward, if Irvington Seafood seeks to prepare or sell food again, the FDA must be notified ahead of time and has to inspect their “facilities and procedures,” prosecutors said. The company must also abide by the terms of the lawsuit settlement.
This story was originally published May 12, 2023 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Bug-infested facility prepared contaminated crabmeat that was sold across US, feds say."
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