Feds Get Tough on Seafood Producers
The Department of Justice recently took action against seafood producers
in Wisconsin and Alabama for products that were either processed in
plants lacking Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans or
misbranded. In Wisconsin, a U.S. attorney filed a complaint to seize a variety
of breaded seafood products in the possession of Soderholm Wholesale
Foods, Inc. and Fellerson, Inc. and sold under the “Seaside” label. United States v. “Seaside” Breaded Cod Fillets, No. 11-277 (W.D. Wis., filed April 18, 2011). According to the complaint, these products are adulterated “in
that they have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions
whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.” Investigations in
2010 allegedly revealed that the companies did not have a written HACCP
plan and failed to adopt one after warning.
Meanwhile, seafood wholesalers Karen Blyth and David Phelps have reportedly
been sentenced in an Alabama federal court to 33 months and 24
months in prison, respectively, following convictions for 13 felony offenses
involving the sale of fish from Asia and Africa. They purportedly falsely labeled
the fish as domestic products or as species other than what they actually
were. The investigation leading to the convictions apparently found that some
of the fish seized tested positive for chemicals and antibiotics used overseas
but prohibited from use in the United States. Blyth and Phelps are Arizona
residents; their company sold fish and seafood to customers in Alabama,
Florida and Mississippi at an inflated cost.
According to an assistant U.S. attorney, “These significant sentences are appropriate penalties for Blyth and Phelps, who committed multiple felonies in conspiring to scam consumers with falsely labeled, cheaper fish substitutes from Asia and Africa. Their fraudulent scheme artificially deflated the cost of wild-caught fish and gave them an unacceptable economic advantage over law-abiding fishermen.” The prosecutions are intended to “send a clear message that instances of consumer fraud will not be tolerated.” See Department of Justice Press Release, May 5, 2011.
