DOJ Seeks Court Order to Close Mexican-Cheese Processor in New York

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking to enjoin the operation of a cheese-processing facility in New York due to the Listeria monocytogene (L. mono) contamination of its Queso Hebra, Queso Fresco and Queso Cotija Molido cheeses. U.S. v. Peregrina Cheese, Inc., No. 09-2888 (E.D.N.Y., filed July 7, 2009). According to DOJ, state and federal inspections of the facility since at least 2004 have revealed serious sanitation problems. Because product samples and equipment surfaces tested positive for the same L. mono strain, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) analysts concluded that “the strain has formed a niche at Peregrina Cheese’s facility.”

The owners have apparently refused to shut down the plant to properly sanitize it, claiming that the state food safety agency approved the “use of an antimicrobial agent as an additive in Peregrina Cheese’s Queso Fresco product.” The owners did not, however, provide “any information as to the level of use” nor “the effectiveness of such application.” DOJ seeks to permanently enjoin the company and its owners from violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act “by introducing or delivering for introduction into interstate commerce any article of food that is adulterated.” The complaint also seeks a court order requiring the company and its owners to cease processing or distributing food from the plant until they bring their operations into compliance with the law “to the satisfaction of FDA.”