Employees had nowhere to wash hands at ice cream factory behind listeria outbreak, FDA says

[sl8]

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/big-olaf-creamery-listeria-fda-investigation/

Employees had nowhere to wash hands at ice cream factory behind listeria outbreak, FDA says

BY TRE'VAUGHN HOWARD
FEBRUARY 2, 2023 / 9:04 PM / CBS NEWS

Employees at Big Olaf Creamery, the Florida-based creamery behind a multistate listeria outbreak last year, had nowhere to wash their hands before they entered the production room, according to an investigation conducted by the Food and Drug Administration. The outbreak killed at least one person and hospitalized 27 others across 11 states.

"It was observed that there was no handwash sink outside of the production area for employees to wash and sanitize hands before entering the production room," the FDA wrote.

The FDA's investigation found a range of other issues at the ice cream manufacturer that contributed to the outbreak, including a lack of a written food safety plan. Throughout its inspection, the FDA visited the facility 14 times and found that the manufacturer failed to ensure individuals were qualified to "perform their assigned duties and have records documenting food hygiene and food safety training."

The organization also found that the facility had been recontaminated with listeria while the outbreak was still ongoing last July.

[...]

[edhopper]

1. The problem is obviously

over regulation.

[Kid Berwyn]

2. Make the factory owners eat their shit as payback.

Conservative approach, I know, but justice.

[sir pball]

3. They visited FOURTEEN TIMES but never shut the place down?

In NYC, not having a handwash sink in a foodservice business is an instant closure – slap the dreaded Yellow Tag in the window, tell the patrons to put their forks down and go home, and you're not unlocking that front door until the City visits again and confirms you're fit for operation.

The same should have happened to this plague cauldron; IMO somebody at the FDA needs to have their career terminated over this.

[secondwind]

5. You beat me to it ......

[Paladin]

4. Food prep inspectors keep millions healthy and alive. Don't ever doubt it.

Never for one minute believe that this ice cream producer is an isolated incident. Coast to coast, there are stupid/criminal food factory supervisors who put us all at risk.

And yes, as a matter of fact, I DO know what I'm talking about...

[NickB79]

9. We had a roof leak once in our dairy plant

Rain water leaking into 5,000 lb vats of cottage cheese.

A supervisor told me to collect the dripping water and plate it for coliform bacteria. He thought if it came out clean, we could package the cheese. I refused, told him our tests don't detect every possible pathogen (who knows what's growing in pigeon shit on the roof) and went straight to my QA manager and the plant manager.

He got his ass reamed out, and we dumped that cheese for pig food.

My standard in my lab has always been, I'm not letting it out the door unless I'm ok feeding it to my own child.

[Paladin]

10. Excellent standard. My compliments. (nt)

[Kingofalldems]

6. Good ol' MAGA deregulation at work.

[3catwoman3]

7. How thoroughly disgusting.

A quote from their website - " Every tub of Big Olaf Ice Cream is hand mixed with the finest ingredients...". Including a dollop of listeria.

[NickB79]

8. Part of my job is to swab for listeria in our dairy plant weekly

50 swabs a week, randomized across the facility. The moment we find a surface with even a presumptive positive (because it takes days to confirm listeria), we shut that location down, rip everything apart, scrub, foam and sanitize walls and floors, and keep it down until we get two sequential negative swabs.

Listeria is not something to mess around with.