Juice Maker Shut Down for 'Grossly Insanitary Conditions'

And some of it wound up in school lunch programs.

The Food and Drug Administration this week announced a settlement with a Washington state juice producer over unsanitary conditions and contaminated products.

The FDA said a federal judge, at its request, entered a consent decree between the agency and Sunnyside, Washington-based Valley Processing Inc. โ€” and its owner and president โ€” to halt the distribution of adulterated juice products.

The FDA previously filed a complaint alleging that Valleyโ€™s juice products contained inorganic arsenic and patulin toxins at levels that could pose health risks to consumers.

During an inspection, FDA investigators found that Valley processed juice under โ€œgrossly insanitary conditionsโ€ and failed to adhere to relevant food safety standards, including storing grape juice concentrate contaminated with filth and mold in off-site storage tanks and covered barrels outside its facility for several years. Valley reportedly combined the contaminated juice concentrate with newer lots and distributed the mixture to consumers โ€” which included school lunch programs.

The FDA complaint said that Valley promised to discontinue using that juice, but a follow-up inspection indicated that the company continued to use it.

The permanent injunction decree bars Valley Processing from receiving, preparing, processing, packing, holding, labeling and/or distributing FDA-regulated products unless it completes corrective actions โ€” and it must destroy any juice still in its possession.

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