FDA Files Complaint Against Ready-to-Eat Sandwich Maker for Selling Adulterated Foods

The U.S. Department of Justice, for and on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), filed a complaint seeking a permanent injunction against a Ready-to-Eat Sandwich Manufacturer, Rel's Foods, Inc. (Rel's) in order to prevent the company from manufacturing or seeling adulterated food products. The company makes and sells a variety of sandwiches to sell at convenience stores, mini-marts, deli markets liquor stores and gas stations in the Southwest particularly in Nevada and California. The complaint alleges that the company has had extensive history of operating under insanitary conditions selling food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes (L. mono). Listeriosis, the illness caused by L. mono, can cause fatal infections in young children, the elderly, and individuals with weakened immune systems, and pregnant women may suffer miscarriages or stillbirths as a result of the infection. The complaint further alleges that FDA investigators have found L. mono inside Rel's production facility on numerous occasions since 2002. Additionally, routine laboratory testing by the Department of Defense and the California Department of Public Health, Food and Drug Branch (CFDB) found L. mono in the company's processing plant and finished sandwiches. Based on recent laboratory analyses, CFDB has embargoed and seized all in-process and finished products inside the facility. Inspections have further revealed that the company repeatedly violated the current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) requirements for the preparation and selling of food. Investigators also found poor employee sanitation practices and inappropriately maintained facility and manufacturing equipment, including excessive condensation dripping onto food contact surfaces. Consumers who have eaten the products and who experience symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, should contact their health care professional. Consumers can report problems with FDA-regulated products to their district office consumer complaint coordinator.

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