The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas ordered J and L Grocery, LLC. of Alma, Arkansas, the company’s owner, James T. White, and its manager, Lori A. Layne, to stop distributing food, drug products, medical devices and cosmetics until the company complies with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and other requirements listed in a consent decree.
According to the amended complaint, J and L Grocery held FDA-regulated products under insanitary conditions in which they may have become contaminated with filth, including widespread insect, rodent and other live animal infestation, in violation of federal law.
During the FDA’s inspection in September-October 2018, investigators observed multiple live and dead rodents, rodent nesting, live racoons, live cats, a dead possum, animal feces and urine-stained products in and around the company’s seven warehouses and sheds used to store food and other products. The FDA issued two Administrative Detention Orders and the U.S. Marshals Service conducted a mass seizure of the company’s FDA-regulated human and animal food products, over-the-counter (OTC) drugs, cosmetic products and medical devices.
The consent decree of condemnation and permanent injunction entered by U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes, III requires J and L Grocery to cease distribution of FDA-regulated products until it completes corrective actions. Under the consent decree, J and L Grocery may not resume operations until it establishes and implements a comprehensive written sanitation control program and receives written authorization from the FDA that it appears to be in compliance with the FD&C Act, among other requirements. As part of the consent decree, the company agreed to destroy the seized products.
