FDA issues first warning letter to tahini importer implicated in recent Salmonella outbreak
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced issuance of the first warning letter using the authority under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Final Rule on Foreign Supplier Verification Programs (FSVP) for Importers of Food for Humans and Animals. Since 2017, the FDA has been conducting FSVP inspections, with a primary focus on helping importers understand the requirements and how to take corrective actions if deficiencies are observed. Moving forward, the FDA will take more steps to ensure compliance with FSVP, including reinspecting importers that had deficiencies in previous inspections and by acting immediately when FSVP deficiencies are found that pose an imminent public health risk.
The warning letter, dated July 30, was issued to the Brodt Zenatti Holdings LLC in Jupiter, Florida who imported tahini from the Israel-based manufacturer, Karawan Tahini and Halva. This tahini was implicated in a Salmonella outbreak in May and was recalled. FDA investigators found Brodt Zenatti Holdings LLC to be in significant violation of the FSVP rule, which requires that importers perform certain risk-based activities to verify that food imported has been produced in a manner that meets applicable U.S. food safety standards.