Insanitary Maryland Sprout Processor
A Maryland bean sprout processor has been shut down under court order while the owner addresses insanitary conditions found by public health inspectors. The company is Vegi-Pak Farm LLC of Mount Airy. The situation came to a head last week when the U.S. Department of Justice filed a complaint in U.S. District Court seeking a permanent injunction against the facility until it could be brought into compliance with food safety laws.
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Vegi-Pak General Manager Brian Lee told the Baltimore Sun newspaper that the company is complying with a consent decree that details a list of required actions, including cleaning the facility, storing seeds safely and treating them to reduce pathogens. There has not been a known outbreak of Salmonella or E. coli linked to the plant, but sprouts are susceptible to contamination even in plants that are in general compliance with food safety laws. That's because they are cultivated with heat and moisture, conditions that also favor clustering of E. coli, Salmonella and other harmful human pathogens.
Since 1996, there have been 32 reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with different types of raw and lightly cooked sprouts. Most of these outbreaks were caused by Salmonella and E. coli infections.
The most recent multi-state outbreak started last November and sickened 140 individuals with Salmonella through February 9, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In that outbreak, the investigation indicated a link to eating Tiny Greens Alfalfa Sprouts or Spicy Sprouts at Jimmy John’s restaurant outlets. Half of the illnesses were in Illinois, where Jimmy John's and Tiny Greens are based.
Before the shut-down, Vegi-Pak had been processing and packaging tofu and soybean and mung bean sprouts distributed to Korean markets in Maryland, Virginia and Washington. According to the DOJ complaint, Food and Drug Administration inspectors found equipment coated in food waste and a fly infestation inside the facility in September. In addition, workers were not adequately washing and cleaning the soybeans, and reported they were instructed by the company president to fabricate disinfection records, according to the complaint. A state inspection also found problems.
